Sram vs Shimano

Andy

Same as the first 63 million times this thread has been done.

nickfrog

Still running my 1996 XTR M-950 8-speed groupset and no intention to change for as long as i can find the cassettes/chain. I guess the only few remaining "working" (not that they ever worked even when new) ESP 9.0 with twisty shifters are NOS.
I am sure they have improved a lot but why take a chance ?

spongtastic

I'll vote for SRAM, but only just thanks to their chains, Shimano just don't seem to last.

Only issues I've had with either has been SRAM 980 cassette that's totally fugged on the 12+13t after not enough abuse, and the god awful paint quality on the new Deore 590 chainset, 2 rides old and the arms had no paint, whereas the Alivio I ran as a SS lasted years.

I've found that both miss shift when they get covered in clag.

peter413

Northwind wrote:

I like how SRAM shifts, I think Shimano is probably actually better though but it doesn't feel as good in my hands. Shimano's cranks seem like the best option by miles though.

peter413 wrote:

I only run that because that is what came with the bike and am slowly upgrading to sram stuff. Only thing I would choose shimano over sram is front mechs.

Did you not choose the Pro bars yourself? Pro is Shimano

Ssshhhhhhh........

No one knows that

And anyway shimano didn't design them. The Athertons did

Chunkers1980

jpstar wrote:

I definitely prefer the shifter feel of SRAM to Shimano, compared to my mates bike. Just a lot more solid and you definitely know that you've changed gear.

I know I've changed gear when my finger/thumb presses the lever and there's a gear there to be had.

Have any of you SRAM people tried the M970 XTR rear shifter? This this the best bit of kit on my bike. If my bike got nicked and I got a new one this would be the first thing on my list to get again.

peter413

Chunkers1980 wrote:

jpstar wrote:

I definitely prefer the shifter feel of SRAM to Shimano, compared to my mates bike. Just a lot more solid and you definitely know that you've changed gear.

I know I've changed gear when my finger/thumb presses the lever and there's a gear there to be had.

Have any of you SRAM people tried the M970 XTR rear shifter? This this the best bit of kit on my bike. If my bike got nicked and I got a new one this would be the first thing on my list to get again.

Yes but how much more expensive are they than X.9 stuff when that feels just as nice :roll:

Chunkers1980

X9 pair £63

Admittidly I got them before the great 2009 price hike but:

XTR M970 Rear shifter £53
XT M770 Front shifter £15

I make that £5 more. Worth 5 times the difference.

peter413

Chunkers1980 wrote:

X9 pair £63

Admittidly I got them before the great 2009 price hike but:

XTR M970 Rear shifter £53
XT M770 Front shifter £15

I make that £5 more. Worth 5 times the difference.

But as you said that was before the prices went up. :roll:

and also you get a pair of X.9's but only 1 xtr and an xt shifter so........

myopic

Like most people I have combos of both Shimano chainset, cassette, front mech, SRAM shifters and rear mech. Would be happy to use either for most options to be honest, excpet I really like the positive feel of the SRAM rear mechs, as opposed to the more "sliding in " feel of the SHimano ones.

for chains I use KMC!

Chunkers1980

peter413 wrote:

and also you get a pair of X.9's but only 1 xtr and an xt shifter so........

Isn't that what you'd call a pair?

peter413

Chunkers1980 wrote:

peter413 wrote:

and also you get a pair of X.9's but only 1 xtr and an xt shifter so........

Isn't that what you'd call a pair?

No I would call a pair 2 XTR's not an XT and an XTR.

That is just 2 random shifters

Salsa

I personally mainly use Shimano but work in a shop that sells most bikes equipped with SRAM so use them a lot when test riding repair bikes.
I prefer Shimano personally for a couple of reasons, firstly I prefer the push/pull option of the shifters so that pushes me to Shimano. I have the latest XTR dual release shifters on all my bikes (amazing feel) & do use push/push sometimes but mainly push/pull as my thumb tends to clip the big paddle when down shifting which annoys me.
Secondly I see a few SRAM mechs fail because of the stupid b limit screw design, the thread goes through a plastic sleeve that splits on occasion making the mech unusable. If it was a metal piece this wouldn't be an issue.

I like SRAM chains as they are good vfm, not impressed with Shimano ones really, saying that I run top end KMC/Rohloff chains but my SS has an 8spd SRAM on & has been great.

SRAM fd's I find plastic & a bit nasty & I'll take Shimano everytime.

I run Shimano cassettes but would run that new one piece steel SRAM one if it was cheaper due to it being lighter than my XTR.

All SRAM groups I've used from cheap to all the various new double taps have felt very nice but so do the Shimano at the same levels. Some people say SRAM stays indexed better but I wouldn't find that an issue as I can set gears using the shifter barrel adjuster whilst riding if needed.

Cranksets I prefer Shimano for value & performance.

Brakes I'd take either but I run Avids & haven't tried high end Shimanos, saying that the new Formulas I got on my Rocky Mountain are amazing so I'd buy Formula R1s if I had the money.

I do have an X0 left shifter on my best bike though.

Chunkers1980

peter413 wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

peter413 wrote:

and also you get a pair of X.9's but only 1 xtr and an xt shifter so........

Isn't that what you'd call a pair?

No I would call a pair 2 XTR's not an XT and an XTR.

That is just 2 random shifters

We could just go on and on here. No a pair is front and rear. You are talking Paired.

Chunkers1980

I'm simply just alluding to the genius of the XTR M970 REAR shifter.

Chunkers1980

Say I hate Shimano and SRAM and ride MTB.

Do I have any other options that are even worth considering?

If it was soap - I'd have millions of choices.

pastey_boy

ive gone back to gripshifters, im running xo twisters and rear mech slx dual specific front mech, sram 980 cassette and a pc971 chain. recently tried a pair of the latest xt levers and shadow mech and i was totally underwhelmed. the levers felt cramped and vague. my current set up is the best ive used apart from the xt thumbie, 8spd xtr cassette, xtr shortcage combo i ran a few years back. the latest gripshifters are superb yet get little press. theyre light, positive, durable cheap and the micro front shifter eliminates any kind of cage rub plus you can rip through the whole cassette in one fell swoop. the 980 cassette seems more durable than the xt ones as well

Anonymous

i had the m970 shifters on my bike, they were pretty good, i liked them, they made my xtr mech change quite well, but no better than my xt did and not much better than any shimano, it doesnt matter how you dice it, they felt a bit vague, but that is probably more down to my ham fistedness.

all sram feels better for me as it is more positive so i got rid of xtr and replaced with x9 which is vastly better in my opinion.

MrChuck

I've only ever used Shimano because that's what's come on my bikes. But I'm sure SRAM's fine too- I'd be very suprised if there's any real way in which one is 'better' than the other.

Jimbob_no5

shimano mech and shifter & cassette with sram chain

Anonymous

Both Sram and Shimano are good, I pick Shimano for overall value for the money, but Sram is better on cassette and chain, the only fault I pick on Shimano is bp front mech, it very easy for mud to clog it and hard to clean the mud off it and their chain rust so easily.

chain~sram
cassette~sram
shifters~shimano
rear mech~shimano
front mech~sram

SCARFACExxx08

I use Shimano shifters and their shadow mechs chainsets etc. I use Sram chains and cassets. Sram shifters are just nasty, not really tried their mechs except their cheap end stuff that was on my partners bike and tht was poo! on which i would choose deore over. Shimano XT/XTR FOR THE WIN

Daz555

I prefer finger-thumb shifting so Shimano for me.

peter413

Daz555 wrote:

I prefer finger-thumb shifting so Shimano for me.

But that isn't really an option if you cover the brakes with just one finger.

Its fine if you cover them with two though but them my hands get shaken off the bars

richg1979

shimano everything appart from chain wich is sram.

never broke anything shimano but broke everything sram(appart from shimano chains).

broke 2 x9 rear mach from just droping bike and catching a bush, snapped straight off at nuckle both times, x9 shifter packed up after 4 months replacment started sticking 4 weeks after the bottom lever goes all floppy and kept sticking down 2 mates have had same prob too, pg990 cassette spun a sproket on alloy spider mate has had this happen too and shimano cassettes are way smoother and last 3 times as long. sram/truvativ bb last about a week.

ive had a fair few bikes and sram mechs/shifters are pretty crap when it comes to durability compared to shimano wich lasts forever

richg1979

peter413 wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

jpstar wrote:

I definitely prefer the shifter feel of SRAM to Shimano, compared to my mates bike. Just a lot more solid and you definitely know that you've changed gear.

I know I've changed gear when my finger/thumb presses the lever and there's a gear there to be had.

Have any of you SRAM people tried the M970 XTR rear shifter? This this the best bit of kit on my bike. If my bike got nicked and I got a new one this would be the first thing on my list to get again.

Yes but how much more expensive are they than X.9 stuff when that feels just as nice :roll:

yes but the xtr will still work the same in 5 yrs time where as the x-9 will be in the bin after 12 months.

peter413

richg1979 wrote:

peter413 wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

jpstar wrote:

I definitely prefer the shifter feel of SRAM to Shimano, compared to my mates bike. Just a lot more solid and you definitely know that you've changed gear.

I know I've changed gear when my finger/thumb presses the lever and there's a gear there to be had.

Have any of you SRAM people tried the M970 XTR rear shifter? This this the best bit of kit on my bike. If my bike got nicked and I got a new one this would be the first thing on my list to get again.

Yes but how much more expensive are they than X.9 stuff when that feels just as nice :roll:

yes but the xtr will still work the same in 5 yrs time where as the x-9 will be in the bin after 12 months.

That depends.

I usually trash at least one shifter each year beacuse of crashes.

I don't think any shifter would last me 2 years never mind 5

SDK2007

richg1979 wrote:

yes but the xtr will still work the same in 5 yrs time where as the x-9 will be in the bin after 12 months.

Not really true is it
I ran X9 shifters for 2 years and they worked like new before I swapped them for new X0 shifters, which wipe the floor with anything Shimano produce :P

richg1979

erm ye it is true, im sure i could round up about 5-6 shafted sram x-7/x9/x0 9sp shifters but dont know anyone who has had a shimano shifter pack up.

bails87

richg1979 wrote:

lucky bugger

Or maybe you were just unlucky

I've been running X-0 and X-9 for well over a year with no problems.

hoodlum-z

Realistically they are both good, but some people treat it like their favourite football team and defend them to the death.

Even the most ardent Sram fan would surely be happy with XTR, or XT even, on his bike and vice versa, Mr Shimano wouldn't turn down XX or XO.

The new Sram X7 looks tasty kit. Bet it's specced on loads of 2011 machines.