May I reopen a "SRAM or Shimano" discussion?

[nuliajuk]

The most comfortable brake hoods I ever encountered were from one of the Campagnolo groups (maybe Athena?) on a rented road bike. They seemed to work well for my small hands, but I don't know if you have to have the matching derailleur and cassette with them or not.

[ny biker]

Which model of SRAM vs which model of Shimano? I know there are big differences within the Shimano line, and I assume there are similar differences within SRAM.

[IBrakeforPastry]

The Dolce Comp has SRAM Apex and the other bikes had Tiagra and/or 105. The LBS guy said that even though the Apex was a lower end SRAM, it was about even with the midline Shimano. At least that is what I inferred.

I've ridden 4 or 5 bikes this week. Except for the Comp, they all had Shimano. The Comp also comes with the 105, but by then I would just get the Elite.

[luvmyguys]

The Dolce Comp has SRAM Apex and the other bikes had Tiagra and/or 105. The LBS guy said that even though the Apex was a lower end SRAM, it was about even with the midline Shimano. At least that is what I inferred.

I've ridden 4 or 5 bikes this week. Except for the Comp, they all had Shimano. The Comp also comes with the 105, but by then I would just get the Elite.

When I was getting pedals put on my bike, the guy at the LBS (not where I bought my bike, so it wasn't a case of tooting their own horn) told me that the Apex was a good set. He said that the SRAM components he had on his bike were worth more than my whole bike was worth (?????), but that the Apex would do about 85% of what his components would.

Thus far, I've been really happy with my components.

[Penny4]

How does SRAM work? I have Schimano, and only test rode one bike with SRAM. I didn't really know what I was doing, so I didn't mess with the shifting too much. Tap once or twice, correct?

[Crankin]

I had no trouble when I went to Shimano from my mountain bike trigger shifters. It was totally intuitive and I never made any horrible errors. However, given my poor track record with even the most minute mechanical change, I decided against SRAM for my custom bike, despite the LBS pushing me for this. I am small and I have short arms and smaller hands, but I think my fingers are actually long for someone of my size. Anyway, I've never felt the hoods on my bike with Ultegra are too big. For me, the biggest thing that helped me was finding a bar with a short and shallow shape, along with the short reach brifters. Since Shimano no longer makes the short reach brifters in Ultegra, I went with 105s on the custom build, but the reach is about 2mm longer in the drops than on my other bike. I rarely use the drops anyway, but I doubt SRAM would make a difference. I think I made the right choice, because just getting used to a more relaxed geometry, the compact, and new pedals was enough. I was a wreck for 6 months.
My friend has a Ruby with the same compact double set up (mountain gears on the back), but with SRAM, as I have on my custom bike, with Shimano. Since I am probably going to be upgrading the bike I will be using on our trip next summer to a Ruby (the company gives this option), I want to try her bike out, as we are the same size. However, because she has SRAM and the bike I will be renting has Shimano, I told her I will test it on the trainer, as I don't want to crash her gorgeous bike!

[Miranda]

I've tried SRAM and had one component that came stock on my roadie...not a fan...Shimano girl here.

In comparison to Shimano imo I think it shifts rough. And the SRAM chain that came stock on my roadie for some reason with my Shimano groupo was just junk. It was rough and made the bizarre squeaking noise. Once I swaped it out for a Shimano chain I never had the problem again.

I am not sure if the LBS gets more of a profit margin with SRAM? Seems like I've read that before somewhere. But they seem to push it. No thanks!

As far as the hand issue that keeps being mentioned... I have thin lady hands, weak grip, but long fingers. A guys size small glove in full fingers works best for me fwiw. However, I have the Shimano short reach shifters and have never had a problem. There is a way to shim them too.

Good Luck with your shopping!

[pinsonp2]

My latest bike, the Giant TCX W, came with a SRAM double. My other roadies all have Shimano, and mostly triples. I do not see a big difference in the Rival vs the 105 except that the brakes are more comfortable for my smallish hands. I still ride one then the other with no problems. My take on it, it is down to personal preference. If you love the bike and are ok with the SRAM, go for it. I wouldn't let that deter you from the one that was speaking to you.

P2