SRAM - A little bit crap

[HLaB]

My only experience of SRAM is on my mates bike. He got one with Ultegra and instantly replaced it with SRAM so I got the ultegra cheap. After reading Mickle's post I wish Id stuck with the Ultegra instead of upgrading to 2nd hand Dura Ace and upgraded to SRAM etap when I'd saved up the cash.

 

[Eziemnaik]

Anyone else using SRAM pc1110 chain? Seen these for as low as 8£, in dry environment so far there is no difference whatsoever compared to expensive chains, very happy with it (it does rust so I am not sure how would it work in UK)

 

[Globalti]

I like the fact that with Shimano I can be shifting into a lower gear while braking but pedalling gently. Can you do that with SRAM?

 

[vickster]

I like the fact that with Shimano I can be shifting into a lower gear while braking but pedalling gently. Can you do that with SRAM?

Yes, at least road groupsets. Braking and shifting are completely independent. one of my dislikes of Shimano is that the brake lever is needed for shifting and thus it’s not stable

 

[Globalti]

Er... not quite. You can be braking for a corner and shifting gears while holding back the brake lever, when there's a sudden steep climb just after the corner for example.

 

[vickster]

Er... not quite. You can be braking for a corner and shifting gears while holding back the brake lever, when there's a sudden steep climb just after the corner for example.

I don’t like the wobbly brake levers, to each our own 👍

 

[Kestevan]

When buying a new bike recently I had to make a choice between ultegra di2 and sram force etap.

The etap won. Didn't like the fiddly little buttons on di2 and the previous bikes I've had with sram have all behaved impeccably.

Wouldn't have been a deal breaker if it only came with di2.... But glad I had the choice

 

[Grievesy]

I have the London Road also, but I opted for the 1x11 setup.

I find the SRAM fine, it can be a bit clunky if you're changing gears while putting some power through the pedals but thats about it. I opted for the BB7 upgrade on the brakes though so I can't comment on the stock ones but they work fine for me

 

[Grant Fondo]

I have a Planet X London Road which I used for commuting. It has SRAM Rival gears and brakes and I'm not impressed. The gears whilst positive and reliable are clunky compared to my last bike which had Shimano Sora gears and Techno brakes. The hoods are not comfortable and the brakes are not as powerful. The worst thing is that I have to replace the brake pads every 6 months or so as the braking efficiency drop off. With my old bike, pads lasted about 3 years.

I had a Boardman with SRAM and it was more than a little bit crap, in fact it was pants.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Currently, I've got Shimano XTR on my MTB and Sram Red etap on my road bike. I like them both, no problems with either. Historically, I've had mostly Campagnolo which has always been excellent. I have had Shimano 105 many moons ago as well as Ultegra and Dura Ace, they were very reliable. When I think of it, I've never had any issues with any Groupset.

What's the shifting like with the SRAM Red eTap? Is it clunky as some have said in this thread? I'm considering buying a road bike with SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset, which I believe is somewhere near the top of the SRAM groupset hierarchy?

 

[Algarvecycling]

What's the shifting like with the SRAM Red eTap? Is it clunky as some have said in this thread? I'm considering buying a road bike with SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset, which I believe is somewhere near the top of the SRAM groupset hierarchy?

AXS is the top as I understand it. I like it, I don't find it clunky at all, the changes are instant and smooth and I tend to move through gears quickly when sprinting so really test the system almost daily!

I have a Trek Madone on order which will have Shimano - mechanical at first but I intend to upgrade to electronic (bizarrely, cheaper to do it this way) and then I can compare Di2 vs eTap and aero bike vs climbing bike.

 

[fossyant]

I had a Boardman with SRAM and it was more than a little bit crap, in fact it was pants.

Depends which model.

I have Shimano on my road bikes and 1 MTB (old Deore XT) and SRAM X9 on my Boardman. I like how precise and clicky the SRAM is, and in the 4 years I've had it, the bike has been faultless. Really like the SRAM Guide RS brakes, but then again I'm happy with XT, and the XT/SLX on my wife's MTB.

I find the small down shift lever on Shimano slightly more ergonomic on the MTB shifters than SRAM.

We've got SRAM X4 and X5 on my kids bikes, and that's been trouble free, despite being 'cheap'.

 

[Kestevan]

What's the shifting like with the SRAM Red eTap? Is it clunky as some have said in this thread? I'm considering buying a road bike with SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset, which I believe is somewhere near the top of the SRAM groupset hierarchy?

Cant comment on Red etap, as to be honest I just couldn't justify the price difference between Force Etap and Red Etap (worked out at over a £1000 in order rto save about 200g in weight).

The Force Etap shifts perfectly. Quickly and with no fuss in any gear. The alternate shifting modes 0 linear shift, where it automatically selects the next lowest/highest gear and you dont worry about front shifts, and compensating, where when you shift on the front it shifts up or down a gear on the cassette to maintein cadence ) work pretty well and are easy to setup from the app.

There's no need to manually trim the gears, and so far it's been a delight to use.

 

[Hacienda71]

I have had Sram on my last two road bikes and on my last mountain bike. Great shifting, yes it is positive and makes an audible click rather than Shimano wafty silent change, but I like that, it reminds me of a sequential shift in a race car rather than a wafty smooth change in a saloon. Each to their own though. It is a bit like saying do you like a noisy Hope freehub or a silent Shimano one, personal choice.
Over 50,000 miles on the two Sram shod road bikes I have had four failures. One was the same thing when a ratchet in the shifter lost some of it's teeth. Apparently a common fault on sub Red 10 speed shifters at that point in time. The first was replaced under warranty the second was beyond warranty expiry so I had to buy a new shifter. I have also had a Tiagra Shimano shifter fail in a similar way. I also had an Apex front brake caliper fail, mind you I have had shimano calipers seize, I do tend to ride my bikes in all weathers salty and water being sprayed at metal compomnents is always going to knacker them. The final issue I have had is a non drive side Sram Red crank arm delaminated or debonded slightly from the splines where it attaches to the BB so there was a slight give/wobble whilst peddaling, the crank had done at least 40,000 miles but it was still dissapointing. I have cranks on bikes from the 80's that a still perfectly functional. It may just be a risk with modern carbon cranks. One thing I have not noticed is a particularly short BB life. Despite Hambini et all slating the GXP system I have not found them to capitulate after 2 to 3k miles I normally get 8 to 10k miles out of a bb which seems similar to the Hollowtech 2.
The mtb has so far been fine but time will tell.
I would caveat all of the above with I have had fails on Shimano components over the years and I have had a lot of shimano stuff both on road bikes and mtbs.
My view, Sram is fine, but sometimes has issues as does Shimano. When they do have issues they seem to deal with it. I chose it as I preferred the definite gearchange action, the weight at a pricepoint and the shape of the shifters. Would I buy another Sram shod bike? Well I have with the MTB. Would I buy Shimano again yes.
Is Sram a bit crap? No not really.