The evolution of SRAM
10-12-12, 12:29 PM
#26
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I live in an area where there is both hills and flats. I have a triple so I everything covered but a 11 speed compact with an 11-28 or a 12-29. Would work fine for me.
10-12-12, 12:48 PM
#27
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
+1
I find myself using the 15-16-17 rings of my 11-23 cassette while I spin a 170mm crank with a 34/50 chain ring at an average cadence of 90 rpm cruising (35 kmh/22 mph) on flats. The 6 to 7% gear ratio increases of the 15-16-17 are ideal for me. The 17 to 19 shift is an 11% shift is okay. But, on a 11-25 cassette, the 15 to 17 shift, a 13.3% shift, somehow feels too steep. I looked at Sheldon Brown's site and played with the gear calculator before deciding that I needed a cassette with a 15-16-17 ring.
I find myself using the 15-16-17 rings of my 11-23 cassette while I spin a 170mm crank with a 34/50 chain ring at an average cadence of 90 rpm cruising (35 kmh/22 mph) on flats. The 6 to 7% gear ratio increases of the 15-16-17 are ideal for me. The 17 to 19 shift is an 11% shift is okay. But, on a 11-25 cassette, the 15 to 17 shift, a 13.3% shift, somehow feels too steep. I looked at Sheldon Brown's site and played with the gear calculator before deciding that I needed a cassette with a 15-16-17 ring.
/tangent
10-12-12, 03:06 PM
#28
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I ride two of my 3 road bikes with SRAM Force and believe its the best group out there for the $. The quality of components down to the individual screws is the best, no short-cuts. The bang-click shifting is awesome, their brakes (Force) rivals Dura-Ace, which I think are the best brakes in the world.
I plan to buy another frame and build it with Force.
Some compare Force to Ultegra.........I have both and while no its not dura ace its above ultegra in quality alone.
I plan to buy another frame and build it with Force.
Some compare Force to Ultegra.........I have both and while no its not dura ace its above ultegra in quality alone.
10-12-12, 03:40 PM
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More ratios closer together is just one option; I find the laser-focus on one particular cog that some people have a bit difficult to comprehend. The alternative to squeezing another cog in the middle is to keep the same spacing but throw on another lower gear. For example, I have a 10-speed 12-25 cassette. With 11, I could add an 18 and tighten up the spacing a bit. But I'm happy with the spacing as it is, so I would much rather throw that extra cog on as a 27 or 28 and get a really nicely-spaced climbing cassette. As cog counts have grown, tighter spacing has become less less significant, after all you can't get smaller jumps than 1 tooth! What's amazing to me is that, with 10-speed cassettes, you can get a general-purpose gear range like 12-25 that's still closely-spaced enough to race flat criteriums with, which is good enough for me. Going to eleven takes it one step further, allowing most of us to really have one cassette that will do for absolutely everything. Anyway, YMMV and all that.
10-12-12, 03:45 PM
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i like my 2012 sram better than my 2012 shimano i had. I really don't care for electronic shifting or 11 speed for that matter.
Campy has the cool factor, but i find the thumb shifting is very dated, and is useless in the drops
Campy has the cool factor, but i find the thumb shifting is very dated, and is useless in the drops
10-12-12, 04:16 PM
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Unless, of course, you have freakishly short thumbs, in which case, I'm sorry. 
Last edited by tagaproject6; 10-12-12 at 04:19 PM.
10-12-12, 05:09 PM
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Incorrect. My 14 YO kid, with small-ish hands, uses Campagnolo and he never has trouble with thumb shifters while in the drops. That is an assumption usually made by one who has never actually ridden Campagnolo. Unless, of course, you have freakishly short thumbs, in which case, I'm sorry.
Unless, of course, you have freakishly short thumbs, in which case, I'm sorry. I can hook my thumb over the lever while sprinting in the drops. I squeeze for 1 gear, sprint a second until I'm at optimal cadence, squeeze again for the next gear, rinse/repeat all the way through the sprint and so can you.
10-12-12, 05:56 PM
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10-12-12, 07:21 PM
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10-12-12, 07:32 PM
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Cool, I think this is good news. I have never riden SRAM but I have played with in on a trainer. I didn't like the shifting on the front DR it seems to take a lot of force to move the chain from the small to the large chain ring but maybe SRAM is working on a fix.
10-12-12, 07:56 PM
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Incorrect. My 14 YO kid, with small-ish hands, uses Campagnolo and he never has trouble with thumb shifters while in the drops. That is an assumption usually made by one who has never actually ridden Campagnolo. Unless, of course, you have freakishly short thumbs, in which case, I'm sorry.
Unless, of course, you have freakishly short thumbs, in which case, I'm sorry.
10-12-12, 08:16 PM
#39
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Incorrect. My 14 YO kid, with small-ish hands, uses Campagnolo and he never has trouble with thumb shifters while in the drops. That is an assumption usually made by one who has never actually ridden Campagnolo. Unless, of course, you have freakishly short thumbs, in which case, I'm sorry.
Unless, of course, you have freakishly short thumbs, in which case, I'm sorry.
10-12-12, 11:02 PM
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10-12-12, 11:40 PM
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I haven't seen the 2014 Sram stuff. I may get more info mid-November at Taichung Bike Week but since we don't do groups or complete bikes (thank GOD!) I won't be attending their 2014 launch.
10-13-12, 09:43 AM
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It will be interesting to see how they handle it. The crank arms, brake calipers, and lever shape can obviously carry on but everything else will likely need tweaks. I guess they could always rebrand these parts to a lower level to help support their current 10spd customer base. Campy still develops their 10spd cassettes and produces top notch 10spd chains. It's nice for guys like me with several bikes with record 10. It works too well and is too light to justify replacing it. I'm sure many red customers would say the same about their groups.
10-14-12, 11:31 AM
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I find it puts my wrist in an uncomfortable position, but maybe if i rode campy more i guess it would become more comfortable. That assessment is only after riding a friends bike a few times to see if i liked campy. Sram i can be pretty much anywhere in the drops with any wrist position and shift easily.
Guess it's all just personal preference.
Guess it's all just personal preference.
10-14-12, 11:57 AM
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A razor with 6 blades, if they come with blades on the back so I can practice my backhand, I'm in.
I mentioned to a racer at work about wanting to get Sram in 2006 when I had a lot of money and was getting a good bike, but couldn't find it in the UK so got Campy Record instead. He said that was a good thing, because he'd gone from Campy to Sram last year and really regretted it.
I've never tried Sram but on balance more people seem to advocate Campy than Shimano or Sram.
I mentioned to a racer at work about wanting to get Sram in 2006 when I had a lot of money and was getting a good bike, but couldn't find it in the UK so got Campy Record instead. He said that was a good thing, because he'd gone from Campy to Sram last year and really regretted it.
I've never tried Sram but on balance more people seem to advocate Campy than Shimano or Sram.
10-14-12, 02:26 PM
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10-14-12, 09:07 PM
#48
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
10-14-12, 09:34 PM
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10-14-12, 10:22 PM
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2014???? Never seen a sram shifter inside but wonder why wait like year an a half to add an extra cog to their stuff???
At that point shimano and capagnolo will have even MTB groups with electronic and maybe both would have dropped 10 speed in all their low ends groups. I bet campy will discontinue 10 by mid 2012 and even veloce will be 11 by 2014.
Sram is getting behind unless as usual they show up stuff out of the blue.
Sure the next years too we will see a few DIY electronic groups moving around aswell...
At that point shimano and capagnolo will have even MTB groups with electronic and maybe both would have dropped 10 speed in all their low ends groups. I bet campy will discontinue 10 by mid 2012 and even veloce will be 11 by 2014.
Sram is getting behind unless as usual they show up stuff out of the blue.
Sure the next years too we will see a few DIY electronic groups moving around aswell...