sram or shimano

morleyman200

hi all, currently got a 2x9 set up, and im looking at changing to either a 2x10 or 1x10 set up.
if i go 1x10 ill be looking at getting a chain device.

What im trying to discover, is it seems to be more expensive to buy the equivalent sram parts compared to shimano, ie X9 more expensive then XT.

Ive always used shimano, currently have a mix of XT and Deore, no is it worth spending more money and going for X9 rear mech with a X9 shifter, or stay with XT rear and shifter.
Im not bothered about the display on the shifter, so that makes no difference. and i am undecided what cranks to buy, looking at XT and also will probably go with a sram cassette and a KMC chain.

What would you choose?

Tom

rockmonkeysc

I have both SRAM X7 & Shimano SLX set ups. I much prefer Shimano.
I also have 1x9 & 1x10 set ups & I see no advantage to 1x10, they both have the same range of ratios on the set ups I have

warpcow

SRAM vs. Shimano is a matter of personal choice (and maybe budget). I prefer the feel of SRAM shifters, both ergonomically and performance-wise, though both my current bikes have Shimano. You can't really directly compare XT and X9 and expect pricing to be the same.

I agree with Rockmonkey to some extent. There isn't much of a difference between 1x9 and 1x10, though it is a little bit nicer to have closer ratios on a 10-spd cassette. 9-spd cassette with 36t, or even 34t, cogs can be a bit widely spaced imo.

YeehaaMcgee

Well, after riding mountain bikes for about two decades, and having used Shimano, SRAM, Sachs and Suntour, I should be fairly unbiased really.

Having said that...

Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano

(oh, apart from chains, in which case, Wipperman or KMC every time)

.blitz

I have a couple of bikes with as much XT as I can afford and they are most excellent. Shimano is definitely the best when it comes to precision shifting.

But...

...I also have three other bikes with SRAM X4/5/7/9 and they are just as good in a different way. Despite frequent intense neglect the SRAM setups require absolutely no maintenance I haven't tweaked the gears on my Cannondale for three years and the two other bikes have worked perfectly from day one with zero maintenance.

The Shimano setups are ultimately better but for me at least they require too much attention to keep them that way.

njee20

Personal. Shimano for my money.

delcol

2 month ago i would of said sram all the way i had never been a fan of shimano..

but now there's always a but..
that was untill i got a shimano xtr rear mech and shifters for christmass. i had-had sram x7 x9 and xo on bikes in the past and always liked it, more than the shimano on my 2 cheaper bikes.
i fitted the new xtr set up to my hardtail and have had a chance to ride it now and i have to say i am very very impresed. even more impressed than i was with my xo set up..
so if the cheaper shimano stuff is anything as good as the xtr then it will be a winner for sure...

njee20

so if the cheaper shimano stuff is anything as good as the xtr then it will be a winner for sure...

It's not quite, but XTR is cheaper than X.0, and IMO performs better than XX, so it's an easy comparison there...

cooldad

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Well, after riding mountain bikes for about two decades, and having used Shimano, SRAM, Sachs and Suntour, I should be fairly unbiased really.

Having said that...

Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano Shimano

(oh, apart from chains, in which case, Wipperman or KMC every time)

I have nothing to add to this except Shimano.

morleyman200

thanks for the replies.
i was personally more persuaded by shimano, purely because thats all i have ever used, now im struggling with cranks

i do alot of ''hard/heavy'' riding, out of all the shimano cranks, deore, SLX and XT, for the money which would you get? i know XT is the better, but then again it hits your wallet harder. i want a crank which stiff, and ideally lighter. so for the money, what would you get?

alos ive heard rumors that 10spd chains and cassettes etc work with 9 spd cranks?

Tom

Levi_501

The XT cranks are lovely, but a bit of a wallet hitter; they have gone up a fair lick in the last couple of years.

I am about to replace the cranks on my tarmac spec bike from Deore to SLX, follwoing others recomendations for value for money set up.

cloudynights

no contest, shimano all the way

YeehaaMcgee

morleyman200 wrote:

i do alot of ''hard/heavy'' riding, out of all the shimano cranks, deore, SLX and XT, for the money which would you get?

CT is a bit lighter, if that matters to you, but I honestly don't think Shimano actually make any current mountain bike cranks that can't take a pasting.
Until Saint came out, a lot of DH racers were using XTR cranks

Slow Loris

I love my SLX cranks, and you can get a bargain on a double and bash from Merlin atm I think. They frequently win awards for good reason, and they look good too.

YeehaaMcgee

Frankly, whilst other parts from SRAM compete well with Shimano, making it a 50/50 battle in terms of performance, I'll stick my neck out and say that Shimano cranksets are far and away the best choice, with nothing else coming close.

widge34

Well my Deore shifters and XT rear mech were brilliant on my last bike, but I have to say My SRAM X9 shifter and X9 rear mech have been faultless so far.

delcol

cranks wise i always been a reaceface fan. i got a 2x10 turbine on the f/s running sram x 9 shifters and mech..

i just stuck a truvativ noir carbon crank on the hardtail to go with the xtr set up and that crank is super stiff and reasonably light.. (it's a 9sp crank though) so far it's been faultless but i cant comment on durability as i not had it long..

ilovedirt

I'm not a fan of Raceface, been running them for a while now, and the bearing preload bolt just isn't that good, as that's what keeps the crank on as well. Had lots of trouble with it coming loose etc. I've got Shimano SLX on the other bike, which I've not had a problem with, and I'm about to upgrade the raceface evolve DH cranks on the DH bike to saints.

Oh, and I'm a SRAM man myself, though Truvativ cranks aren't great... Apparently their higher end stuff is decent though. Wouldn't mind trying out their Descendant DH cranks as they look quite nice.

scobbie

I'm also going to change to 2x10 in the near future. Been looking at Deore and SLX. The SLX is about £100 more, is it worth the extra? I'm on a pretty tight budget but if SLX is much better I would probably just try and wait and save the extra cash.

benpinnick

SLX is only £225 for a full set up - is Deore really only £125 nowadays?

scobbie

I just priced it on chain reaction cycles and SLX was about £280 and Deore was about £170. Where is SLX available for £225. Would you recommend spending the extra cash for the SLX?

Cheers

oodboo

I had 2x9 sram x7/x9 on my bike until I recently changed to 1x10 XT. Glad I paid the extra for the switch to Shimano. The XT cranks are a lot stiffer than the deore ones I replaced as well.

I'd pay the extra for the SLX over Deore.

benpinnick

scobbie wrote:

I just priced it on chain reaction cycles and SLX was about £280 and Deore was about £170. Where is SLX available for £225. Would you recommend spending the extra cash for the SLX?

Cheers

A full 3x10 SLX set up is £225 posted from Action-sports.de, and having just bought one I can vouch for it and their delivery was pretty good too. Yes I would spend the extra, the 50 is worth it for the cranks alone. You can then remove 1 or 2 rings depending on your desired set up. If you go 1x10 you can sell the front mech and shifter too. Or alternatively save a bit more and go full XT 2x10 for £330 ish.