SRAM VS SHIMANO!!

[purple gerbil]

HI ALL!!

FIRST OFF I HAVE JUST BEEN GIVEN A SMALL 16" K2 4000 FRAME...

NEED'S A LICK OF PAINT & BUSHES SEEM TO BE SOUND..

BEEN LOOKING ON FLEABAY AT X9 & XO SRAM MECH'S & SHIFTER'S...

ALSO THE NEW SHIMANO SAINT R/MECH SEEMS A GOOD PRICE WITH ALL THE XT/XTR TECH THROWN INTO IT!

OPINION'S & EXPERIANCES MOST GRATEFUL

[orange]

Can you turn off your caps lock - my ears are hurting

[4500_rider]

For me the decision between the two would boil down to what sort of shifting I wanted... grip or trigger.  If grip, and I hate grip... I'd opt for sram.  If trigger I'd go with shimano.

I've had both setups in the past and I do think the sram stuff functions better... easier to setup, doesnt need as much re-adjustment, keeps the chain tension really stiff/tight, and its a quieter drivetrain.  However, I dont think its as smooth, durable or as tough as the shimano stuff... the sram stuff i've had (x7,x5, xo) works well for a time but then, and specifically with the rear mechs, play starts to develop and you need to replace bushings & jockey wheels... whereas with my LX stuff, except for the occasional re-alignment, i've never had to touch in this respect.

One is better then the other in some respects but overall shimano gets my vote.

That saint rear mech though is a good choice... i've a friend that beats the living crap out of his bikes and that thing just keeps going... its bomb proof.

[DugB]

This topic has the possibility of becoming the "what oil do you use?" thread on a vintage car or motorcycle site, but here goes...

I happen to like older Shimano stuff...older because these frames were designed around it, so it always seems to fit if you buy the right part. For example, on my 856 frame I must've tried every front derailleur Shimano made and found that the XT F.D. made in the '96 timeframe was the best one, as it fit  around the pivot with no mods.

On my 4000 frame I really like the M950-M952 series of XTR stuff. You can find it cheap on eBay, it's light and it really holds together. And I really, really like the XTR M952 front derailleur, and how the shape of the cage changes. I get great shifts with it, time and time again. I'm running the whole XTR M95X setup on my 4000, with the exception of the brakes which have been replaced with Magura HS33's.

Also, does Sram even have a low clamp/pivot derailleur? I think that's what the 4000/5000 need.

- Doug

[purple gerbil]

This topic has the possibility of becoming the "what oil do you use?" thread on a vintage car or motorcycle site.

Cheer's lads kind of made up my mind of having shimano anyway as ive never owned one single item of sram grouppo before..
would sooner have reliability & tweak it once in a while than have things break on me all the time....
Just wanted a few pro's & con's and as to should i try something new or not...

[shovelon]

Well to pipe my thoughts on the matter, I too like the old XTR short cage rear cog movers. They shift magically with 7 and 8 speed chains. The 9 speed stuff gives me fists.

I think 9 speed chainsets were developed to keep our LBS in bussiness.

[DugB]

Haha, that's how I feel about the whole "niner" movement...to many old, cheap parts ob eBay so the bikdconpanies had to create a new size and get a bunch of bad science behind it.

If you like the old 7 speed stuff, maybe you're interested in s matched set of 3x7 original rapidfire brake/shift levers I have. They're in great shape! :-)

- Doug

[shovelon]

Thanks anyway, but I am a gripshifter.

Terry