Just fitted this to my canyon upgraded from ultegra as i got a bargain,never would i thought i would use sram as i have eps on my c59.
But to my amazment its superb.
Shifting front and back is flawless and its really light too.
I think i am converted now from shimano to sram,eps stays on my best bike.

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COLNAGO C59 MATT BLACK

VOLVO FH 12 480 BHP

I've loved Sram since I first bought Force shifters, and a rear derailleur about 3.5 years ago. Still have the same stuff, and it's still going strong. I've not experienced or seen the exploding shifters and constant breakage that has been reported on the internet. The stuff works really well imo.

Having said that, at the moment I am really fighting the urge to convert to Dura-Ace 9000. I think Sram is being put into Shimano's old spot as OK, but it has no soul by the perpetual bike snobbery.

Just think of SRAM as being Sachs. Instant history (118 years worth) and soul. Problem solved.

I had my first SRAM shifter problem last week. My Rival right side stopped shifting halfway thru a 2.5hr ride.

Had my LBS call SRAM and they sent another one right out.

...IIRC that right shifter was from 06! I couldn't see any serial #, so I don't really know.

I ran Shimano shifters for lots of years. Their continuing move towards lighter and lighter clicks drove me nuts. When I went 10sp a few years ago, I jumped ship to SRAM. Not going back till Shimano does something about that 'light action' crap.

M

I've got DA7800 on one bike, SRAM Red on another:
They are both very good.
I like the lighter clicks of shimano better. DA also shifts smoother, more noiseless, and faster. I have the general feeling that it is superior engineering and manufacture.

BUT
RED is lighter and cheaper, and I like the single-lever shifting concept of SRAM much better. It is certainly reliable and functional, even though the clicks to me seem very heavy and clunky. At least they are "positive". You will never be able to make a "stealth shift" coming into a sprint on SRAM !

I have had levers from both Shim and Sram fall apart "suddenly" after a few years of wear; but there were probably a few crashes on each one also, so I can't really blame the levers.

If I bought a new dream bike today, it would be hard to decide which way to go.

I've said this before and I've said it again.
Disclaimer: I am a sponsored bike racer in college. I am also a Final year mechanical engineer student
I was a sram convert from shimano. I love the solid action and the ergonomics of sram over shimano. rival is also the most bang for buck groupset.

BUT. I race. and I've had bad luck with sram in races. I've had a front derailleur fail the day before a race, and the same thing with a right shifter. a real PITA to remedy. I've had my brake lever pop out of the plastic housing after a fairly innocuous crash during stage 1 of a stage race. fixable, but not by the road. instant DNF.

after these parts failed, to satisfy my engineer curiosity I took apart the front derailleur, the shifter, and a spoilt rival rear derailleur. Have you wondered how sram gets their parts so light? through EXTREME ( and I mean extreme ) machining. some of the critical parts in your sram shifters ( to be specific, the part supporting the shift lever ) are aluminium parts a few millimeters thick. sram derailleurs have less springs than their shimano and campy counterparts. this also means that they are more susceptible to mechanical wear over time. the design of the shift levers is inherently more susceptible to crash damage- notice how they flare outward at the finger ends? this means they are going to get hit HARD when you go down. have seen this happen time and again. I see lots of busted sram levers in races and at the shop (used to work part time at a bike shop.) have never seen a shimano lever been so badly smashed apart that you can;t still race on it.

I havent actually taken apart a campy group, so I can;t comment on their parts.

so, yes, I like sram. but choosing sram is alot like choosing race day performance over ruggedness. it's great to use, great to race on. especially if you have a race mechanic crew or replacement bike standing by. but if you want sheer ruggednes and ability to get up adn keep going, choose shimano. it's abit heavier, but I'd give that up for some peace of mind in a race situation knowing that going down is a real possibility. I have a shimano 105 spare group standing by if I need it, and dura ace 7800 on my spare bike. when the time comes and my rival/force group dies, I'll most probably be going back to shimano.

Sram Shimano, love and hate.....
Sorry, imo, pointless thread.

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Cervelo R5 VWD 5637g/12.43lb
Cannyon Ultimate slx 5592g/12.33lb
Pronghorn XC SW Race 8284g/18.26lb

Just saying i have changed and its really good imo,i use eps on my other bike no comparison.

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COLNAGO C59 MATT BLACK

VOLVO FH 12 480 BHP

Too much failures, cracked my shifters twice. Only plus point is they are cheaper. I don't feel their shifting is superior than dura ace or ultegra.

I disagree - look at the superb post above yours. davidalone has provide exceptional and informative insight that people can add to their decision making process.

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Been a convert since the inception of SRAM for road bikes and always used SRAM on the MTB back in the day.

Used Apex, Rival, Force and Red and only problem has been a Rival shifter failure.

I have Force on the winter\trainer and Red on the summer. Only the weight is the difference as far as i can tell between the 2.

Agreed with pretty much what people have said. Originally had Ultegra 6700 that came on my frame, switched to SRAM Red, couldn't believe somebody would still use those shifters from Shimano that are mechanical.

I do think Shimano hoods are more comfortable though compared to SRAM. Since I don't have the latest Red, they supposedly worked on that complaint.

Never had any issues with failures/cracks/shifting etc...

I do run DuraAce/Ultegra cassettes though. Not shelling out $350 for a SRAM Red new cassette that is supposed to finally be as good as Shimano's old stuff finally.

I also run Shimano's DuraAce chain. SRAM/Quarq cranks, Rotor QRings.

Hodgepodge I know, but it all works great together.