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SRAM Red must be a terrible gruppo. "And, as always happens, my chain came off"

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SRAM Red must be a terrible gruppo. "And, as always happens, my chain came off"

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Old 03-13-14, 10:04 AM
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SRAM Red must be a terrible gruppo. "And, as always happens, my chain came off"

Excerpt from cyclingnews story on the Tirreno-Adriatico TTT with Mark Cavendish:

Cavendish: It's So Rewarding To Stand On The Podium Together | Cyclingnews.com

A little push between friends

Television images captured the moment when Tony Martin gave Cavendish a slight push. However the race judges decided that the push was not worthy of any kind of disciplinary action.

Cavendish explained that Martin pushed him after he lost his chain due to a long-standing problem with his SRAM gears.

"The problem is when we turned left on the straight road after the descent. After a corner, you want to put the power down," he said.

"And as always happens, my chain came off. It's a problem with SRAM, which we've talked about many times. So my chain came off, my foot came out and Tony was behind me at 50km/h. He has to come up to not go over my back wheel.
A few things to note:

1. Cavendish is not surprised this happened.
2. Cavendish is not angry this happened. That means he's seen it enough that he's past denial, anger, bargaining, depression and on to acceptance.
3. SRAM is specifically named as the problem. Cav does not believe it is the mechanic's fault.


Photo Credit: Cyclingnews.com
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Old 03-13-14, 10:09 AM
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Wow, from 11 teams in 2009 to 3 in 2014, and even those 3 don't seem to be happy. Things seem to be looking bleak for SRAM, particularly the public statement made by Cavendish.
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Old 03-13-14, 10:09 AM
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That does it! I'm throwing my three well adjusted, high functioning SRAM groups in the trash. I have had enough of Cavendish's chain coming off. I am not going to stand for it anymore. I stand with ya, Manx Missle.
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Old 03-13-14, 10:10 AM
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I believe it was Garmin that paid out of their team budget (as opposed to getting free gear from the sponsor) to get their riders Shimano a few years ago instead of SRAM.
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Old 03-13-14, 10:10 AM
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happened to me as well, on a couple of races. I have a Force FD, but I think my chainring is Red. I suspect it's the chainring, not the FD

Bu yea, the only thing I would use from sram now is the cassette, and probably the brakes, but I don't really care about what brakes I use.




Has anyone tried to put a shimano crank with a Sram FD? What's causing the chain to fall off anyway?

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Old 03-13-14, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by rpenmanparker
That does it! I'm throwing my three well adjusted, high functioning SRAM groups in the trash. I have had enough of Cavendish's chain coming off. I am not going to stand for it anymore. I stand with ya, Manx Missle.
That's because you can only dial it up to 200 watts. When you get into real cyclist territory, start putting the power down, this stuff bends.
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Old 03-13-14, 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by therhodeo
I believe it was Garmin that paid out of their team budget (as opposed to getting free gear from the sponsor) to get their riders Shimano a few years ago instead of SRAM.
That is correct!

Garmin-Cervélo switches to Shimano - VeloNews.com

Shimano, however, is not a new sponsor. Cervélo, the bike manufacturer, is purchasing Shimano groups for the team after repeated requests for Shimano from team members.
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Old 03-13-14, 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by spectastic
happened to me as well, on a couple of races. I have a Force FD, but I think my chainring is Red. I suspect it's the chainring, not the FD

Bu yea, the only thing I would use from sram now is the cassette, and probably the brakes, but I don't really care about what brakes I use.




Has anyone tried to put a shimano crank with a Sram FD? What's causing the chain to fall off anyway?
I use a 7900 53/39 crank and a Force FD. No issues to date.
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Old 03-13-14, 10:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Jiggle
That's because you can only dial it up to 200 watts. When you get into real cyclist territory, start putting the power down, this stuff bends.
Harsh...very harsh...
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Old 03-13-14, 10:38 AM
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I'm looking for a used Force or Red group in good/chain-throwing condition. Willing to spend $75-$100 bucks. Any takers?
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Old 03-13-14, 10:41 AM
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I've had Tiagra, 105, and now DA and have never lost a chain with very little maintenance on my part to ensure that. Of the guys I've ridden with the only guys who ever consistently lose their chain ride SRAM. So in my experience either its A. SRAMs fault or B. only people who aren't smart enough to shift correctly buy SRAM.
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Old 03-13-14, 10:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Jiggle
That is correct!

Garmin-Cervélo switches to Shimano - VeloNews.com

Shimano, however, is not a new sponsor. Cervélo, the bike manufacturer, is purchasing Shimano groups for the team after repeated requests for Shimano from team members.
It seems like that sentence right there would be worth a few bucks under the table or a very quiet form of sponsorship. Getting that sentence into press would be very valuable advertising.
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Old 03-13-14, 11:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Ricanfred
I'm looking for a used Force or Red group in good/chain-throwing condition. Willing to spend $75-$100 bucks. Any takers?
You're too slow. Coulda had mine, but now that Jiggle told me I don't ride hard enough to drop my chain, I guess I'll just keep them. Sorry.
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Old 03-13-14, 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by spectastic
Has anyone tried to put a shimano crank with a Sram FD? What's causing the chain to fall off anyway?
I don't know about that, but I do the opposite. I have shimano FDs with Sram shifters and cranks and have not had chain drop problems or any other issues.
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Old 03-13-14, 12:03 PM
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Why can't people just admit they made a mistake ? I'm not a sram fan but have used it in the past and it works fine till it breaks.
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Old 03-13-14, 12:16 PM
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So which component is likely to be causing the chain drops? I imagine the FD shouldn't be touching the chain so should have little to do with it. All the RD has to do is keep it tight with a spring, surely that can't be going wrong.

Is it likely to be the cranks/chain rings then? I wonder if it would drop as much with everything else the same but with FSA or something cranks/chain rings.
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Old 03-13-14, 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Dheorl
So which component is likely to be causing the chain drops? I imagine the FD shouldn't be touching the chain so should have little to do with it. All the RD has to do is keep it tight with a spring, surely that can't be going wrong.

Is it likely to be the cranks/chain rings then? I wonder if it would drop as much with everything else the same but with FSA or something cranks/chain rings.
I don't think there's enough info there to figure out exactly what's causing it. Unless there's some serious lateral flex with the big ring, there's more to it than just gears.
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Old 03-13-14, 01:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Adrianinkc
Why can't people just admit they made a mistake ? I'm not a sram fan but have used it in the past and it works fine till it breaks.
What mistake would he have made? He wasn't even shifting. What would he have to gain by publicly flaying his team sponsor?
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Old 03-13-14, 02:31 PM
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Had SRAM Apex. Issues with FD and lost chain a handful times. I liked the double tap system...that wasn't the issue. Looking forward to my new SS EVO with Ultegra 6800.
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Old 03-13-14, 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Jiggle
What mistake would he have made? He wasn't even shifting. What would he have to gain by publicly flaying his team sponsor?
Do you really think he was just riding along when his chain fell ? Cavendoosh is too proud to admit he screwed up while shifting so let's blame the sponser.
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Old 03-13-14, 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Adrianinkc
Do you really think he was just riding along when his chain fell ? Cavendoosh is too proud to admit he screwed up while shifting so let's blame the sponser.
Which explains why eight other teams jumped ship since 2009...how?
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Old 03-13-14, 02:36 PM
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Originally Posted by ConGrUenCy
Wow, from 11 teams in 2009 to 3 in 2014, and even those 3 don't seem to be happy. Things seem to be looking bleak for SRAM, particularly the public statement made by Cavendish.
1) Cavendish likes to *****,

2) My bet is the principal reason teams using SRAM are down is the lack of electric shifting, particularly for TT bikes.

3) Pro tour selection of groups is guided by a number of factors that don't pertain to amatuers, most notably who offers the best deal. Additionally SRAM's weight advantage isn't a factor for the pro's because all the groups can build up below UCI weight limits.
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Old 03-13-14, 02:37 PM
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This thread may have potential. ****
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Old 03-13-14, 02:38 PM
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Maybe Andy Schleck checked his bike before the TT and buggered the works.

Does anyone have a link to the actual video? I'd like to see it.
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Old 03-13-14, 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by bahula03
Which explains why eight other teams jumped ship since 2009...how?
I'd imagine that's down to sponsorship money.
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