SRAM

[Clemson20]

Can someone explain to a Shimano guy the good, bad & ugly of SRAM? Also - I know RED is the top of the line stuff; but what is the difference between Rival & Force?

I know I can google it - but for someone reason I trust the people on this board.

Thanks!

[Tango]

Clemson20,
I have over 15,000+ miles on SRAM road (and countless more miles on SRAM mtn groups) groups over the last 4 years. I initially went to it after putting many miles on DA 7800, which was great, when I bought a new road bike and the cost of DA 7900 shocked me. Most of the miles are on the last generation of pre '12 Red, but a few thousand are on Rival (2nd Gen = current) and approx 1500 miles on current Apex with my CX/gravel bike. Overall, I think it's great stuff. It's light, reasonably priced, very reliable in weather from Florida heat to Midwestern sub-zero gravel rides and SRAM's customer service is excellent. The feel is more mechanical feeling vs Shimano's ultra refined smooth feel. Not an issues in FL but when riding is sub zero weather with heavy gloves, the SRAM shifting is more positive and easy to feel. Shimano seemed vague with cold hands on rough frozen gravel. I also prefer the hood shape on SRAM and the tactile feel of their carbon levers, but that's certainly personal. I have found it to be slightly more touchy about setup vs Shimano, but I couldn't disagree more when it comes to complaints about noise in the drivetrain being excessive. I also find that all SRAM benefits significantly! from setup without Gore Pro shift cables. The cables make shifting super smooth and you'll find yourself over shifting after first going to the Gore Pro from the stock cables/housing. I would not run a bike with Gore cables now. Excellent products. Early Red lacked a good FD big ring trim, but that was fixed and I find front shifting on Red just fine, not Shimano quality but plenty good. I run a KEdge chain keeper on all my bikes and they work well with Red, Rival and Apex. RD shifting is excellent as are the brakes. The SRAM chains seem to last about 1500 miles and are easy to replace with their link system. Cassettes (70 and 90 series) last 5,000+ miles. No complaints there. The one thing I find amazing, is that the feel and performance of Red vs Rival is almost identical. Rival is the best deal going for the money. It's a little heavier than Red and the 50 series cassette is possibly a little less refined/polished/noisy, but the shifting and performance is excellent. I run it on my travel/rough weather bike, but if I wasn't such a snob when it comes to having top tier road groups on my primary bike, the Rival would be excellent. Overall, the weaknesses are few. It's tough, positive shifting and comfortable with excellent cust service. Take your time with setup and you'll be fine. That being said, DA is still awesome, probably a more "refined-smooth" feel but more expensive. Either way you're good.

[Tango]

That's without Gore cables.....

[ProBikeFitter]

Clemson20,
The SRAM chains seem to last about 1500 miles and are easy to replace with their link system. Cassettes (70 and 90 series) last 5,000+ miles.

You only get 1500mi out of a chain?