SRAM Red: what wears out first - RD or shifters?

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Johnny Rad
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Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:22 am
Location: Zion

by Johnny Rad

I'm mid-way through season 4 and ~9-10K miles on my prev-gen SRAM Red kit and want to know if I should replace the shifters and/or rear derailleur (no crashes, ugly scratches, etc and I rarely ride in inclement weather). So, what's their expected lifetime / when do these things wear out?!

My Red 1070 cassette has no more than 2.5K miles, but is begining to exhibit chain skip / floati during shifts. My Vumaquad rings have >10K miles and have lost a noticeable amount of their mojo going from the small ring up to the biggie. My KMC X10SL chain is getting close to replacing again, so I'm planning to switch out all three items (cassette, rings and chain) at the same time. Cabling is new this season. Just want to know if I should budget on the RD and/or shifters, too...

What say the experts?

dolophonic
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Location: The 'Dena

by dolophonic

Rear mech has gone first . It survived a lot of miles. Shifters still good

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RussellS
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Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:31 am

by RussellS

Comment instead of answer. The idea of a shifter or derailleur wearing out is foreign. I think of them lasting forever, almost. I have a number of bikes with thousands to tens of thousands of miles on the shifters and derailleurs. Replacing shifters or derailleurs that are not broken is a foreign concept. I have rebuilt my Campagnolo Ergo shifters with new G springs and a few other parts. But that is not worn out like you are talking.

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brycerider
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by brycerider

RD dies first.

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bmxbandit
Posts: 69
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:47 pm
Location: UK/Industry

by bmxbandit

As already mentioned, why look to replace something that still functions correctly? That said, if your'e at the point of replacing the chainring's then it wouldn't hurt to put a new set of pulleys on the mech. If you really want to spend on new kit, get a yaw fd, they are way better than the previous red effort.

djay001
Posts: 89
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:59 pm

by djay001

I bought a used red rear derailleur with a wearing issue, check this subject
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=116790

Check if the ti axle that hold the cage is ok, mine get a lot of wear on the axle, but the derailleur seems in fine condition beside of that. So, this seems to be the part to check first. Unfortunately, i don't know for how many miles the derailleur was used.

Doolop
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Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:19 pm

by Doolop

Sram rear derailleurs are fairly well known for wearing out... Not in a way that the average cyclist would even notice though. The spindle that holds the cage in will wear down and cause play inevitably causing poor shifting. I have not seen this happen as much on any other derailleur. Thanks to the huge amount of cable that sram shifters pull that derailleur will continue working ~okay~ until the day it fails.

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pdlpsher1
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Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:09 pm
Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

My current road bike still has Dura Ace 9 speed shifters and RD. They have been in service for more than a decade and there's absolutely no play or noticeable wear. They have seen at least 50,000 miles of use. Like some of you I'm surprised to hear about RD replacements.

A while back on a ride one of the rider I was riding with had her SRAM RD spring break. Since then I've noticed quite a few people having the same problem. I wonder if SRAM has pushed too far for trading reliability for weight loss.

My next group will be Shimano Di2. I'm currently using SRAM 2012 Red crankset and brakes- yes, the same bike has 9-speed DA shifters and 2012 Red cranks :D I will stick to Shimano when it comes to shifting :smartass:

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Thirstyman
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Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:10 pm

by Thirstyman

Doolop wrote:Sram rear derailleurs are fairly well known for wearing out... Not in a way that the average cyclist would even notice though. The spindle that holds the cage in will wear down and cause play inevitably causing poor shifting. I have not seen this happen as much on any other derailleur. Thanks to the huge amount of cable that sram shifters pull that derailleur will continue working ~okay~ until the day it fails.


I agree with this observation and the one below about spring failures. I have had both issues happen to me on separate new SRAM RDs at roughly 10,000 (pin) and 3000 miles (spring).

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