Originally Posted by
fixedcycology
I will just add, that I have pretty much all but made up my mind that I will go with SRAM components mainly because I want to try something new after +70,000 km riding with the same components. Shimano has been great, I have no complaints but I want to see what else is out there and SRAM is actually the cheaper choice here. Right now cheaper does suit my budget better but really I just want something new to play around with and I can afford SRAM.
That's unfortunate, enjoy buying into a problem.
Cranksets, chainrings, bottom brackets, all no better than shimano at *best*. Typically worse. We sell mid to high end road bikes with full SRAM/Campy/Shimano (record/super record) + Di2 level. I've serviced more of those 3 systems then you'll ever see in your entire life unless you start wrenching now. Unless you're buying SRAM red, there really is no reason to mix groups and especially no reason to start mixing in sram at random locations on your drivetrain.
There is *no* advantage to buying into sram components unless you are replacing nearly the entire groupset. Trust me you'll be sorry. Or perhaps you're not enough of a discerning rider to notice any difference in shifting performance. Who knows.