Who rides with SRAM?

[Eden]

I haven't tried any bikes with SRAM on them, but your problems with Shimano may be a matter of grade rather than brand. My old 105 triple bike was a bit of a haul to shift the front, but my Dura Ace double shifts like a dream - its so smooth that sometimes I look to see if it really shifted... I'm guessing that an $8,000 SRAM equipped bike more than likely has the top of the line DA equivalent gruppo on it.

[anakiwa]

No experience with SRAM.

I had a very similar problem with Shimano- if it gets slightly out of tune I can't get the triple into the big ring without pushing really really hard- I ordered a custom bike a few months ago- when I posted a different question about the same problem a bunch of people wrote back with the same experience. I suspect that it's more the triple/STI shifter combo- and less the gruppo level.

I wound up doing a wacky combo- I put a R700 short reach shifter on the right/rear, and a bar-end (friction) shifter and standard brake lever on the left/front. I don't actually have the bike yet though- it'll be a few months before I can actually decide if I like it that way.

[Bluetree]

Thanks for the input. I am narrowing my choices for my next bike, and while I am somewhat confident of the integrity of SRAM, another of my concerns is finding a SRAM-certified mechanic in my area. I like the product, so it's definitely a viable option...

EDIT:
For those interested, I found a review of the bike/components I tested:
http://trigearreview.com/forms/Article.aspx?REVID=337

[HillSlugger]

My old 105 triple bike was a bit of a haul to shift the front, but my Dura Ace double shifts like a dream - its so smooth that sometimes I look to see if it really shifted.

I've read that for comparable components you can pretty much always expect a double to shift better than a triple. Can anyone validate this?