Road Cycling - Shimano Ultegra or sram R9 rear cogs

any suggestions, i think i am going with the sram chain either way

DA chain and cassette.

DA?

Originally posted by djbowen1
DA?

DA = Dura-Ace

I'm assuming you have an Ultegra drivetrain for the most part? If so, I personally would just stick with an Ultegra cassette since it will probably shift smoother but would definately recommend the SRAM chain.

its a 105 rear derailer, tiagra (soon to be ultegra) and 105 shifters.

I was just talking to a bike shop mech last night about chains.I have ultegra on by bike,not chain but everything else.He said go with a DA chain and cassette and i would see even better shifting.He said i would feel and hear a difference.What are we talking about,less then 100 bucks.I think the cassette is around 40g lighter.

Basicaly a DA chain will probably shift a bit smoother, but a SRAM chain will last longer.. so it is a trade off which you prefer. As for the casssette, I have a SRAM cassette on my one road bike and shifts nice and smoothly never used a DA or any shimano cassette so can't really compare them.

Get the new SRAM R9 cassette and the SRAM chain or any other chain. Stay away from Shimano chains. The pincs are a pain in the ass for many and they fail. I have had horrible experiences with Shimano chains in the past.

Basicly if you want it to last buy SRAM.

How long?I already change basic shimano chains every 2500-3000 miles.

do thr R9 cahin is the way to go.

SRAM specs the PC-99 for the MTBs and the PC-89 for the Road bikes.

Other than the cutouts on the PC89R, am I missing something else?

Can I use the PC-99 for the road?

i'm inclined to disagree with xavier... chains is chains. all 9 speed chains of equivalent prices are pretty much equal, same with the cassettes. i have seen the wear of shimano chains equal that of the sram chains. the shimano hg-93 [blue box] chain is good, the sram pc-69 and pc-89 are good, the da chain is good... and the cool thing is that they all get about the same amount of wear and shift equally well. there are things worth having a brand preference for... chains are not among that list.

I've had a really good run with D.A. 9spd road chains...got around 10,000 kms on present drivetrain now. It's getting pretty noisy and I'm expecting a 'BIG SLIP' any day now. As long as I carefully install the correct joining pin, I never have any problem. Deviate from that prerequisite and you WILL have problems. Also wouldn't take an Ultegra chain if you gave it to me for free....been there done that, POOR value.

I'm in a bit of a quandry tho... I rang my LBS to line up a new drivetrain, and he all but called me a dickhead for wanting a D.A. chain since he believed "Everyone knows all Shimano chains are ****".

My feeling is he has little experience with D.A. chains. He insists on Sachs chain for AU$45 instead of AU$65 for D.A. I don't want to spend money needlessly, but I don't know whether to trust a cheaper chain, or a chain that uses a 'no-tool' reusable joining link. If it was that easy, wouldn't Shimano have taken that route in the 1st place? I think I will stay with D.A., I was just a little surprised to find my opinion in the minority. Opinions anyone?

I've had no problems with SRAM chains and don't like the idea of Shimano's pins compared to a joining link. I've been on rides (2) where friends Shimano chains have broken - whether it's their maintenance or the chains I can't say, but they are mevchanically adept riders. These experiences relate to MTB chains so may be irelevant...

I have no preference for chains and usually go with whatever my LBS has available in 9s for MTB and training bike and 10S for road racer.

I find no difference in performance between Shimano and SRAM chains.
On average they seem to last for similarly long periods with proper maintenance.

Originally posted by Richard D
I've had no problems with SRAM chains and don't like the idea of Shimano's pins compared to a joining link. I've been on rides (2) where friends Shimano chains have broken - whether it's their maintenance or the chains I can't say, but they are mevchanically adept riders. These experiences relate to MTB chains so may be irelevant...

The stock Shimano CN-7700/XTR chain on my MTB broke some time ago while I was trying to power my way through sand. I switched to a SRAM PC99 and have not had any problems with it. The PowerLink also makes cleaning much easier which IMHO itself indirectly increases the life and durability of the chain.

I have to agree that if you clean and maintain your chain on a regular basis, that both chains should perform equally well on road bikes.

I can't really say on MTBs because they get tortured differently [than road bikes], but regular maintenance and good shifting practices should yield the same results.

On that note, since I don't have personal experience with SRAM so far (I'm still running with the Shinano chain that came with my bikes), I plan on using them the next time I need to change chains on both my MTB and road bike, but that won't be for another couple of months of wear. I have to admit that the Powerlink is appealing and bought a pair to keep in my seat bag just in case.

OK guys, thanks. That has eased my mind regarding the SRAM. I have noticed that SRAM is the same brand as Sachs (former name?). My LBS talks of "Sachs", while I can also buy a "SRAM" online here in Oz...same thing. The model numbers seem the same.

I would probably be getting the 'economy' 9spd Sachs chain...the one with nickel plating only on the outside of the links. I thought I might get two chains and swap them around every week to go for maximum life from the drivetrain. Recently, I've been doing around 500-600+ kms/wk, so I think this could be worth while. The easy join powerlink makes this possible. How would the powerlink handle being taken on/off say 25 times in its life??? Might be wise to buy a few spares??? Are they as dear as the D.A. chain joining pins?:rolleyes:

Originally posted by chainreka
How would the powerlink handle being taken on/off say 25 times in its life??? Might be wise to buy a few spares??? Are they as dear as the D.A. chain joining pins?:rolleyes:

The PowerLink has no problems with that many removals and reinstalls that I know. I fully clean my chain every week or two weeks (300-400 miles) depending on how my mileage goes or what the weather/conditions are like. I would recommend buying a spare if you're intending on riding extended remote distances (touring) since it makes it easier to fix a broken chain. You of course can still use regular spare links but sometimes it's just quicker and easier to pop in a PowerLink instead.

Thanks for the tips Khuon.

Werent you asking about rear cogs? I was wondering why my bike didnt seem to shifting quite right. Then I found out it has an Sram crap cogset. Never put Ford wheels on Chevy. New drivetrains are designed to work as a unit. Mixing and matching parts, with the exception of maybe the chain, will only diminish driveline effiecency.

In other words, Shimano shifters and derailleurs should have a Shimano cassette.

Originally posted by miamijim
Werent you asking about rear cogs? I was wondering why my bike didnt seem to shifting quite right. Then I found out it has an Sram crap cogset. Never put Ford wheels on Chevy. New drivetrains are designed to work as a unit. Mixing and matching parts, with the exception of maybe the chain, will only diminish driveline effiecency.

In other words, Shimano shifters and derailleurs should have a Shimano cassette.

In my experience SRAM cassettes work fine with Shimano derailleurs, and are frequently specced on MTB's in the UK. As SRAM 'cogsets' are the same spacing as Shimano, and use similar ramping you shouldn't get any problems.

Richard, the only reason to spec a Shimano equipted bike with a Sram cogset is because its less expensive. My bike is/was spec'd with one from the factory and my vast experience as mechanic tells me that, although they have the same spacing, a properly matched drivetrain shifts better.

Originally posted by miamijim
Richard, the only reason to spec a Shimano equipted bike with a Sram cogset is because its less expensive. My bike is/was spec'd with one from the factory and my vast experience as mechanic tells me that, although they have the same spacing, a properly matched drivetrain shifts better.

Odd - I find SRAM cassettes shift just as well as equivalent priced Shimano cassette even with. I buy them over Shimano cassettes because I've also found they last slightly longer. As you say they have the same spacing so I can't think of any logical mechanical reason why they shouldn't work as well with Shimano deraillers and your the only person I know who has these problems but I respect the fact that your experiences may be different.

Richard, I'm not saying I'm having a problem per say, its just that it seems off to me. Maybe its that I've worked on so many bikes I tend to pick up on things most others wouldnt. As far as wear, I have my own philosophy, but as we all know, we can debate forever and never come to an agreement.

Back in the early days of indexing whenever there was problem the first thing you'd do was look for mix-n-match components. Once the offending component was replaced the shifting magicly was better.

Aside from cost, there is no reason not to replace it with what was there or to upgrade to the next level.

IMO,if ya got shimano,you stay with it and upgrade with shimano and campy the same way.