Very interesting article BD! Intriguing comment towards the end about Shimano potentially only making Dura Ace electronic shifters at some point......

Hermes I think you're exactly right on the SRAM-I know some riders that love it and others that just can't get used to the double tap shifting.

I've only ridden SRAM on my TT bike but after giving it an honest try I quickly changed the system out to Dura Ace. In fairness, the SRAM was a mix of Red and Rival--but it just didn't shift as smoothly and quietly as the Shimano I had more experience with. I suspect I was too biased from the start to be a completely fair assesor-and just didn't have the patience to see if it would work for the long haul. However after changing it over to the 10 speed DA I absolutely love it.

The Prince has Campy Super Record 11 and frankly I have been pretty disappointed with how it shifts. After tweaking and tweaking......and also using different very experienced mechanics with Campy equipment........ and waiting for it to "wear in" I've come to the conclusion the Super Record 11 is just going to be tempermental. It reminds me of a Mercedes Benz I used to own that was always needing something done to it .......that fortuntely for me my daughter put in the junkyard long before it died otherwise. I put some of the blame of the 11 speed on the narrower chain and tolerances but I just don't think I'd use it if I were racing and needing to really count on every shift. I continue to be plagued by the occassional dropped chain.....and always seem to have one cog where I really have to back off the chain tension more than normal to get it to slide over. I like the Campy ergo position on the shifters better than any I've used and overall I'm okay riding with it. However I am so glad I didn't pay full price for the system........but if I were doing it again I'd definitely go with Dura Ace even if I had to pay a little more.

The Shimano systems (105's to Dura Ace) I've used have been extremely reliable --from both a durability and a shifting perspective. The shifting is light and sure and almost always exact. I don't recall ever having to make any adjustments to the 9 speed Dura Ace once I got it set up. The 10 speed Dura Ace took a little more attention but still much less that what I would have expected.

I would have to agree that a lot of it is the system you're used to-or what you think the system should be like. It can be a personal choice. Hermes idea of test riding a SRAM system is probably a really good one just to get your own experience and feel for how it works for you.