verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . december 2007 learn how and when to remove this template message sram corp. type private industry cycling components founded 1987 headquarters chicago illinois united states key people stanley r. day jr. ceo products bicycle and related components revenue 524 million number of employees 3000 website www.sram.com sram corporation is a privately owned bicycle component manufacturer based in chicago illinois united states founded in 1987 . 1 sram is an acronym comprising the names of its founders scott ray and sam where ray is the middle name of company head stan day . 2 the company is known for producing cycling components including some internally developed such as grip shift doubletap dedicated 1x11 mountain and road drivetrains and the only available wireless electronic groupset sram red etap . 3 4 5 the company grew organically and through acquisitions to become one of the largest high end cycling component brands in the world selling under the brands sram avid rockshox truvativ quarq and zipp . their components are manufactured primarily in house in factories located in portugal taiwan china and the u.s. and distributed and sold as original equipment manufacturer oem equipment and aftermarket components in high end markets globally . contents 1 history 2 event sponsorships 3 triathlon 4 women s cycling 5 brands 5.1 sachs bicycle components 5.2 rockshox 5.3 avid 5.4 truvativ 5.5 zipp 5.6 quarq 6 sram groupsets 7 corporate 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit as a start up company sram introduced the grip shift or twist shift gear change method and technology to the road bike market in 1988 . that technology was then adapted for mountain bikes in 1991 . in 1990 the company sued shimano for unfair business practices noting that shimano offered in effect a 10 percent discount to bicycle manufacturers specifying an all shimano drivetrain and that few companies in the highly competitive industry would be willing to forgo such a discount to specify grip shift components . sram received an unspecified out of court settlement from shimano in 1991 . more importantly all shimano competitors won the right to compete in the lucrative oem bicycle components arena . 2 the years after the shimano settlement were marked by dramatic growth for the company as it increased sales greatly and added other companies to its portfolio . sram is an example of a recent trend within the high end cycle component segment of the bicycle industry where companies seek a position as a one stop shopping center for bicycle frame manufacturers bicycle brand owners supplying all or most of the parts needed to build a complete bike . sram now incorporates the former bicycle divisions of fichtel and sachs sachs huret and recently acquired component makers rockshox avid truvativ zipp and quarq see below . 2008 rock shox sid world cup mountain bike suspension fork in 1994 sram introduced their first mountain bike rear derailleur dubbed esp that featured a 1 1 cable actuation ratio that was more tolerant of cable contamination . the new derailleur was compatible with sram s esp grip shifters . this was a critical first step for sram toward producing a complete shifting system . by 1997 sram was ready to make its first acquisition sachs . this acquisition provided sram with a group of experienced metallurgists and engineers as well as a successful chain and internally geared hub production line . sram s released its first x.o rear derailleur in 2001 . it was a complete redesign of sram s existing esp derailleurs however it still made use of sram s proprietary 1 1 shift actuation ratio for improved shifting performance with worn or contaminated cables . made from forged aluminum the introduction of sram s first high end derailleur marked a turning point for the company s mountain bike shifting groups . the introduction of x.o also marked the first time trigger shifters were available as a shifting option for sram rear derailleurs . in 2002 sram acquired suspension manufacturer rock shox . teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in the year prior to the acquisition rock shox made a dramatic turn around . quality and oem assembly lead times were improved as rock shox made a return to prominence in the high end mountain bike market . a few years later since the acquisition for 2005 forks sram developed a new fork damper technology dubbed motion control that allowed riders to control low speed compression and rebound damping while also providing the ability to firm up the suspension with the flip of a switch . motion control was a market success and rock shox continues to use variants of the motion control damper on select models . avid was sram s next acquisition in spring of 2004 . avid produced popular hydraulic disc brakes and gave sram one more means to compete with shimano . later that same year sram purchased truvativ a crank bottom bracket and chainring manufacturer based out of san luis obispo california . with truvativ as part of the sram family the company could finally sell a complete drivetrain package to oem customers . although sram began as a manufacturer of road bike shifters the company had largely left the road market in 1993 in favor of the rapidly growing mountain bike market . by 2004 sram planned a return to the road and began development on a new road groupset force which it brought to market in 2006 . force was raced in the tour de france for the first time the following year . the group made use of a new proprietary shifting technology known as doubletap . the technology allows the rider to shift a derailleur in both directions using a single shifter paddle . late in 2007 sram made another acquisition zipp to complete its component portfolio . the zipp acquisition brought with it expertise in carbon fiber engineering and manufacturing particularly in wheel making applications . this also rounded out sram s component offerings thereby allowing sram to sell every component needed to build a complete bicycle . in 2008 sram introduced a new premium road groupset sram red the lightest complete road groupset available . sram s most recent acquisition was of the power meter crank manufacturer quarq . this acquisition took place in 2011 . by 2012 sram had incorporated power meters into its top of the line red road group . also in 2012 sram introduced wide range 1x11 mountain bike shifting with its xx1 groupset . the new groupset made use of a 10 42 cassette and a patented single front chainring that made use of both narrow and specially shaped wide teeth to retain the chain without a chain guide . the rear derailleur for the groupset was equally revolutionary and used a parallelogram that moved only laterally a technology called x horizon which offered more precise shifting and improved chain retention over conventional rear derailleurs . by 2014 this same technology was adapted for use on cyclocross bikes with the introduction of sram force cx1 . the group was expanded in 2015 to use chainrings up to 54 teeth for other applications such as tt tri road and fitness bikes . with the expanded applications sram simplified the naming of the group to force 1 . the same year the company also developed a lower price point 1x11 road groupset option with similar features rival 1 . 2016 sram red etap rear derailleur . in august 2015 sram announced that it would release its wireless electronic road groupset sram red etap . the group utilizes derailleurs with self contained batteries to shift using wireless signals sent from the shift levers . benefits of the system include more precise shifting faster setup and lower maintenance compared to a traditional mechanically activated shifting arrangement . sram red etap is currently the only available wireless shifting system and is the lightest electronically actuated groupset on the market . the company announced a hydraulic disc brake version of its wireless road group called sram red etap hrd in may of 2016 . the new brakes make use of a hydraulic lever design with both lever reach adjustment and lever contact point adjustment a first for road disc brakes . event sponsorships edit sram has made significant efforts to support racing through sponsorships made in partnership with race promoters . examples of this include the amgen tour of california ironman the sea otter classic and crankworks . at the amgen tour of california sram is the neutral race support sponsor for both the women s and men s races and a title sponsor for the entire women s race . sram is also a sponsor of specific stages within the men s atoc race . sram is the neutral race support sponsor for numerous professional ironman events including the us national championships european championships and world championships . as a title sponsor for the sea otter classic in monterey california for roughly a decade sram provides neutral race support for entrants and hosts large product display and technical service tents in the expo area . sram is also a supporter of the crankworks festival held at the whistler bike park in british columbia canada . triathlon edit in the late 1980s and early 90s sram grip shifters were quickly adopted by triathletes . grip shift s aim to allow riders to shift without removing their hands from the bars made the product uniquely suited to the needs of triathletes . these racers needed to maintain an aero tuck with their hands extended on aero extensions a place where grip shifters were designed to perch . it offered both sram and the athletes a competitive advantage at a time when there were few aerodynamic shifting options available . today sram sponsors a number of top triathletes including ironman world champ jan frodeno . other notable athletes sponsored by sram include sebastien kienle javier gomez marinda carfrae alistair and jonathan brownlee caroline steffen jordan rapp and non stanford . women s cycling edit 2014 time trial bike of world champion ellen van dijk with sram . sram is a standout among component manufacturers that has consistently assigned equal value to women s cycling . products and technologies that reflect that commitment to the broad range of female riders needs include shifter reach adjust wifli wide range road gearing options quarq cranksets available in down to 162.5 mm lengths and 38 cm wide zipp handlebars . sram is also an ardent supporter of women s professional cycling . sram is a title sponsor for the women s amgen tour of california empowered with sram . the company also sponsors many top teams in the women s world tour including 2015 uci team time trial world champions velocio sram as well as boels dolmans cycling team twenty16 p b sho air and optum pro cycling p b kelly benefit strategies . top female athletes sponsored by sram include 2015 uci road world champion lizzie armitstead 2015 uci junior road and time trial world champion chloe dygert 2014 uci elite time trial champion lisa brennauer and 2015 amgen tour of california empowered with sram winner trixie worrack . brands edit sram has purchased a number of companies enabling it to offer a full set of components rather than develop them from scratch . at the forefront of the company is the sram marque which is used for most of its groupsets . companies sram has purchased and converted into marque brands include rockshox truvativ sachs avid and zipp . 6 sachs bicycle components edit in november 1997 sram acquired sachs bicycle components including a significant hub gear production line from mannesmann sachs ag a unit of german telecommunications group mannesmann ag . sachs had 1 250 employees and annual revenues of more than