Why are people so loyal to SRAM ?

[Hairy]

won't ever happen since Shimano tried to sue SRAM for patent infringement of the Grip shift back in the 90's, lost and had to pay SRAM a lot of money (which SRAM invested into acquiring Sachs and growing from there.....mortal enemies now. 

They really are ... now if Shimano could only purchase FOX (They should have snapped up Marz) then it would be two very interesting competing brand houses.

[DieselnDust]

They really are ... now if Shimano could only purchase FOX (They should have snapped up Marz) then it would be two very interesting competing brand houses.

 

 

Shimano are too proud. They had an opportunity to work with Showa on MTB suspension 15years ago. It didn't go very far because Shimano didn't want to handle the additional supply logistics. Remember they have a stake in Pearl Izumi, which is a big enough headache. Then fishing reels is actually their primary business. When they started making bicycle components they actuallu used a lot of Suntour tech and know how as making ratchets and freehubs was their main focus. Bicycle hubs were an easy offshoot. Back then Campagnolo was the road king and SUntour the respected Asian competitor. Shimano was nothing. Cheap knock off. Only in the 70s did they start to gain respect.

Shimano really has Lance Pharmstrong to thank for their popularity. He was the first non Campagnolo equipped rider to (not) win the Tour de France!!! Its rise in popularity in the pro peloton from then on is largely down to economics. Its just cheaper to have Shimano on the bike while investing the money into better riders and training science. Popularity is not an indication of true performance or quality. Its certainly good enough

[madmarc]

If only Campy would make MTB groupsets, I would be over it like a brak finding a boerewors. I am still running with my Campy Record 11 speed on my roady that I bought 2010. Still no issues whatsoever.

 

As for the MTB groupsets from both SRAM and Shimano. Meh.

 

 

should be just about worn in by now

[WIPEOUT 1000]

I recently spoke to a representative of a local bike brand, asking him about the new 12 Speed XT vs SRAM and he said that they basically fit SRAM as OEM simply because they get a significantly better deal from SRAM for the equivalent SRAM groupset.

 

I suspect most people stick with the OEM groupset their bikes came with, i.e. this is good way to get long term customer buy in and whatever SRAM loses on the initial sale, I'm sure they make up with the replacement parts.

[Danger Dassie]

Sachs Bicycle division was acquired by SRAM sometime in the late 90's. The SRAM Europe division, largely responsible for the drivetrains is the old Sachs-Huret outfit. Rebooted obviously.

Suntour now into suspension forks and rear shocks.

 

Shimano locked a lot of companys out of the drivetrain market with their quest to patent everything

Yep, covered all of that. Shimano also had a few stumbles over the years. SIS, biopace ... 

[piotter]

I have a (mostly) 11 year old Shimano Ultegra groupset on my road bike and a 6 month old GX Eagle on my MTB, both work lovely and when I decide to upgrade anything I'll decide what looks and feels the best at the time.

 

Only issues I've had: some trouble setting up the GX which got sorted quickly and has been flawless sicne, and having to wait 3 months till my LBS pulled off some magic and found replacement hoods for my Ultegra shifters - they had a good run.

[Hairy]

you all know the best, lightest, who needs shifting and most economical setup is a SS drive train hey!

[dev null]

The biggest issue with Shimano I have is their parts policies. Why the hell do I have to buy a whole new set of brakes (from the levers down to the calipers and hoses for front and back) if I break a lever? Or some other insignificant part in the chain fails?

[Grease_Monkey]

The biggest issue with Shimano I have is their parts policies. Why the hell do I have to buy a whole new set of brakes (from the levers down to the calipers and hoses for front and back) if I break a lever? Or some other insignificant part in the chain fails?

That's the useless SA distributors, not Shimano.

[fusion01]

Tune your own bike. Any drivetrain is easy when you know how. I love my 1x10 Shimano XT, 1x11 XT and SRAM Eagle GX/X01/XX1. They all never miss a beat. Which means you ride more and spend less time on forums. Yay!

[DieselnDust]

Yep, covered all of that. Shimano also had a few stumbles over the years. SIS, biopace ...

 

SIS or Shimano indexing system was hardly a stumble. It made down tube shifting palatable and was a significant jump up on campagnolo friction shifters. Then came the integrated shift brake levers STi or Shimano total integration. It took campagnolo a few seasons to catch up with ergo power shifters

[intern]

I was out doing an MTB ride with a mate the other day and said 'wasn't that long ago we were on triple chainsets and 9 speed blocks'. We can thank SRAM for driving innovation through competition; note how 10sp and greater came far faster to road than MTB? That's because until SRAM arrived on the scene, Shimano had a de facto monopoly on MTB drivetrains and had little impetus to change it.

All that said, I like me a mix of SRAM and Shimano. On the MTB, SRAM gripshift combined with their bombproof rear derailler is perfect for me - durable, fast accurate shifting, reliable. But I prefer Shimano brakes by a country mile and Shimano cranks have always been better than SRAM's ones, don't know about now in the single blade world (I have SRAM Eagle XX I think - the crank is unremarkable).

And I still have SRAM level ultimate brakes, thinking of swapping those out for some XTs.

[intern]

Tune your own bike. Any drivetrain is easy when you know how. I love my 1x10 Shimano XT, 1x11 XT and SRAM Eagle GX/X01/XX1. They all never miss a beat. Which means you ride more and spend less time on forums. Yay!

Hey for some (many?) of us forum time counts as training.

[Skubarra]

On the MTB, SRAM gripshift combined with their bombproof rear derailler is perfect for me - durable,

 

     Bombproof! Coffee on the keyboard    Funniest thing I have read on the interwebs all year!

[The Ouzo]

Shimano are too proud. They had an opportunity to work with Showa on MTB suspension 15years ago. It didn't go very far because Shimano didn't want to handle the additional supply logistics. Remember they have a stake in Pearl Izumi, which is a big enough headache. Then fishing reels is actually their primary business. When they started making bicycle components they actuallu used a lot of Suntour tech and know how as making ratchets and freehubs was their main focus. Bicycle hubs were an easy offshoot. Back then Campagnolo was the road king and SUntour the respected Asian competitor. Shimano was nothing. Cheap knock off. Only in the 70s did they start to gain respect.

Shimano really has Lance Pharmstrong to thank for their popularity. He was the first non Campagnolo equipped rider to (not) win the Tour de France!!! Its rise in popularity in the pro peloton from then on is largely down to economics. Its just cheaper to have Shimano on the bike while investing the money into better riders and training science. Popularity is not an indication of true performance or quality. Its certainly good enough

Actually when I got into cycling in the early 90's there were 2 popular choices, Campy if you had big bucks or Shimano. 

Lance boosted cyclings popularity which intern boosted Shimano, but Shimano was already the popular alternative before Lance.

 

B.T.W. My dad has an ooolllddd Summit bike sitting in his shed with Suntour components.

[Mohs]

You won't find many riders in Poland using SRAM...as the word literally means, to soil oneself...google it.