SRAM - A little bit crap

[wheresthetorch]

Campagnolo. (Well, someone had to say it.)

 

[JhnBssll]

I've got Rival 22 on my commuter with the Rival hydro brakes. The shifting is more agricultural than my shimano equipped bikes but I quite like it, although the enormous hoods on the hydro brifters are ugly as sin I've had to machine a chunk out of the front brake caliper as it otherwise hit the spokes which is never a good sign Also the front mech somehow loosens itself and twists every so often but now I know to expect it I can keep an eye on things

I believe they bought Sachs chains did they not? I used to swear by sachs and whilst I now tend to buy KMC I've only ever had problems with Shimano chains, so at least SRAM win in that area

 

[Milkfloat]

Campagnolo. (Well, someone had to say it.)

We have a winner*

* of the crap components competition

 

[TyrannosaurusTreks]

I have a trek domane + e bike with scram force 1, i find it quite tractor like but positive.
i didn’t know that a hard push would change 2-3 gears🤔, sometimes I can get a smooth change but mostly a clunk.
Is there a knack I’m missing or is this scram as I had Ultegra before Which is obviously smooth as a baby’s bum.
i did a price up to change to Shimano £750 so will stick with what I have.

 

[vickster]

I’ve never had an issue changing just one gear on apex or rival. Be more delicate!

 

[MrGrumpy]

Have both Shimano 105 hydro on my CX bike ( first version ) and SRAM Force 10spd on my road bike. Quite like the double tap . Shimano does seem lighter at shifting though. However........ the front shifter broke on my CX so now running 1x11 . Will say I do go through pads quite quick on the CX and it’s just pure commute journeys in all weathers mind.
Problem I have now if I want to upgrade on the CX is post mount brakes , everything is flat mount these days .

 

[carlosfandangus]

My gravel frame was post mount, I bought a 105 groupset without thinking/researching, I ended up buying Deore mountain bike calipers to finish the build, I now have 2 105 flat mount calipers still wrapped in the draw!! I will get around to selling them one day

 

[JhnBssll]

Hope rx4-sh calipers are available in flat mount and are compatible with shimano hydraulic brifters

 

[adehooper]

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 have one of these with the Rival gearing also and first job I did when I got it 13 months ago was set up the gearing correctly as it was set up by the shop shockingly bad. Hasn't missed a beat since I did it myself. Can't say I find the hoods uncomfortable, maybe check your fit? A few degrees up or down on the handlebar can make all the difference.
As for the disc brake pads I whacked in a cheap set of Gorilla Pads at about 1500 miles from new and the bike is now up to 4500 miles and I still have wear left on them, though they are on my soon to do list. I always wash the bike down after a mucky ride taking care to remove all debris/grit around the calipers and I think this has held me in good stead, just an opinion of course.
I'm fortunate enough to own 4 different bikes and though it pains me to say it the road bike with 20 y/o Campagnolo tech is my favourite ride and is the smoothest when gear changing by quite a margin in comparison to both SRAM and Shimano.

 

[cyberknight]

I prefer shimano as i have big hands , sram works fine by me but as said it does feel more agricultural with a cavaet that mine is from 2011 ish so maybe he newer stuff is nicer.I did find getting the set up right a bit more tricky than shimano but once done it works ok .

 

[tudor_77]

Interesting... I had SRAM Apex on my old Boardman and absolutely loved it. I much prefer the way SRAM shifts compared to Shimano, even the 105 I have now.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

There's a special pill for people who suffer from SRAM ownership.

 

[nickr]

My bike has now done approximately 5K and recently the large chain ring has gone into sudden decline. I have to admit, I've not checked it for wear, as I've never had the issue on any of my previous bikes at more than double this mileage. So yet again another SRAM fail. Chainrings made of cheese.

 

[Exlaser2]

A have SRAM apex on my Van Nicolas Ventus , it was bought for me by my wife 7 years ago for my 50 birthday . It hasn’t missed a beat and I haven’t had a single problem with it . Is it as good as the campag Athena that I have on my other road bike . No but it’s a lot cheaper and when it was released it was a lot better than Tiagra and nearly as good as 105 at that time .

 

[Yellow Saddle]

A have SRAM apex on my Van Nicolas Ventus , it was bought for me by my wife 7 years ago for my 50 birthday . It hasn’t missed a beat and I haven’t had a single problem with it . Is it as good as the campag Athena that I have on my other road bike . No but it’s a lot cheaper and when it was released it was a lot better than Tiagra and nearly as good as 105 at that time .

This isn't helpful. Your and the bike's age are not a measure of durability. Mileage on the other hand, is.