cs1

Can you use SRAM derailluers with Shimano STI or barcon shifters? I am looking for somthing other than Shimano just to be different.


Tim

juicemouse

In general, no. That is, unless you happen to find one of these bad boys:



This is actually a Sachs design, but Sram continued to make them for a few years after they bought Sachs. It's a composite/aluminum/stainless derailleur that was the first to feature Sram's now trademark D.i.R.T. cable routing, which eliminates the normal loop of cable housing at the entrance to the derailleur. It also has a few other novel design features that have been incorporated into all modern Sram derailleurs, such as the elimination of the b-tension screw and a floating top pulley. But the real kicker is that the geometry is such that they're fully Shimano compatible. From the reviews I've read, they were real performers. Unfortunately, they haven't been made since about the turn of the century, and are now pretty damn near impossible to get. I stocked up on a few of them, but haven't had a chance to put them to use yet. All currently manufactured Sram derailleurs (except a real bottom-of-the-barrel one) are based on a different geometry that Sram calls ESP which uses more cable-pull-per-shift than Shimano or Campy derailleurs, making them incompatible with anything but Sram ESP shifters. If you find out how to make one work with anything else, I'd be real interested in knowing how.

sydney

Actually, sram markets the non compativbe esp and the shimano compatible mrx RD. Go back few yers and there was the DIRT line which can probably still be found.

juicemouse

The MRX is the bottom-of-the-barrel derailleur that I was referring to. I judged that the OP wouldn't be interested in it, as it is somewhat of a step down from most any other modern derailleur from any manufacturer. It doesn't feature D.i.R.T. cable routing, or any other noteworthy features. It is a cheap functional derailleur, however, if that's what you're after. The picture I posted and the description I gave were of the D.i.R.T. line. The models that were available under that line were the Plasma (orange, top of the line and really lightweight), the Quarz (green, almost identical to the Plasma but seems to have had better reliability and is generally the most desirable), the Neos (blue, some stamped steel parts but still seems very good overall), and the Centera (red, more steel and somewhat inferior construction). Someone may still have a Centera for sale online somewhere. As for the other models, they very occasionally pop up on eBay. Someone has a Sachs Plasma up for sale right now that they'd like to sell for $110. Someone else has the Neos for $22.