Why are people so loyal to SRAM ?

[100Tours]

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 what the hub is for

[NickGM]

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.

 

Subtle burns are always the best. 

[Hairy]

[dev null]

That's what the hub is for

 

Ever tried finding a right-hand brake lever? Even on Bike Hub? They are as rare as hen's teeth. Everybody mostly breaks their right hand lever since most people use it for rear brakes.

[Hairy]

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?

Wonder what the cost would be to get one of the local SA carbon fiber companies to mold a set of levers from your existing vs buying a whole new set of brakes?

[piotter]

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

Being Polish and fluent in the language I can confirm this is correct and must also say that I'm rather disappointed in myself for never realizing it.

 

Time to find a replacement for my GX Eagle 

[DieselnDust]

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.

Shimano exage and 105 was popular on budget bikes. Campagnolo athena was

600 was specced on midrange bikes but campagnolo athena was on serious established brands bikes. People who knew what they wanted were on Suntour superbe Pro, campy chorus, croce d aune (?), record or mavic

Shimano wasn't popular, it was common and that's not because it was considered great or oust worthy

[intern]

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

Yeh back in the day those XO RDs really were pretty tough. I haven't hit the Eagle stuff very hard as I've become a lot lazier in my dotage, but so far so good!

[intern]

Shimano exage and 105 was popular on budget bikes. Campagnolo athena was

600 was specced on midrange bikes but campagnolo athena was on serious established brands bikes. People who knew what they wanted were on Suntour superbe Pro, campy chorus, croce d aune (?), record or mavic

Shimano wasn't popular, it was common and that's not because it was considered great or oust worthy

To be fair when you saw Dura Ace in the early 90s, you definitely knew what you were looking at...

[Vishal72]

Went for an evening ride a few days ago and due to traffic and not paying attention arrived at the bottom of a very steep hill in the wrong gear.

I then proceeded to panic shift, dumping gears under full power whilst out of the saddle without breaking cadence, what followed were utterly seamless butter smooth shifts. No shunting or complaints from the drivetrain. 

I was blown away. 

It reminded me why I was so impressed by SLX 12 speed.

Edited January 16, 2020 by Vishal72

[dev null]

Being Polish and fluent in the language I can confirm this is correct and must also say that I'm rather disappointed in myself for never realizing it.

 

Time to find a replacement for my GX Eagle 

 

Reminds me of many years back when Spanish dude told me the reason why the Mitsubishi Pajero is called the Montero there.

 

(Central America) One who speaks nonsense. (El Salvador, informal) liar. (Latin America, colloquial, vulgar, derogatory) wanker, tosser (someone who wanks). idiot (a stupid, annoying or ineffectual person)

pajero - Wiktionary

[100Tours]

Ever tried finding a right-hand brake lever? Even on Bike Hub? They are as rare as hen's teeth. Everybody mostly breaks their right hand lever since most people use it for rear brakes.

 

Interestingly (for me) this was one of the big issues that separated Shimano from SRAM when doing a 1x build. You could buy a rear SRAM (MTB) shifter, but for Shimano you had to buy a pair. 

 

I've only had to look for replacements on road levers for a snapped SRAM shift lever - we found a shop with a set of 10s SRAM levers in the window display and very gratefully bought the pair. If you've broken the brake lever I assume that must be in a fall however? No ways should you be able to pull hard enough to snap it.

[Hairy]

Ever tried finding a right-hand brake lever? Even on Bike Hub? They are as rare as hen's teeth. Everybody mostly breaks their right hand lever since most people use it for rear brakes.

Serves you right for setting up your brakes the wrong way.

 

Now the RIGHT way to set up your brakes

RHS Brake Lever = Front Brake

LHS Brake Lever = Rear Brake

[intern]

 

Reminds me of many years back when Spanish dude told me the reason why the Mitsubishi Pajero is called the Montero there.

 

(Central America) One who speaks nonsense. (El Salvador, informal) liar. (Latin America, colloquial, vulgar, derogatory) wanker, tosser (someone who wanks). idiot (a stupid, annoying or ineffectual person)

pajero - Wiktionary

 

 

Still doesn't beat the Mitsubishi Starion.

 

The story may be apocryphal, but it's still bloody funny. Try saying 'Stallion' with the Japanese difficulty in pronouncing rhotic sounds and BAM!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Starion#Name

 

(Not entirely sure what this has to do with SRAM, but I have chucked a SRAM in there just so it fits the vibe of the thing).

[intern]

Serves you right for setting up your brakes the wrong way.

 

Now the RIGHT way to set up your brakes

RHS Brake Lever = Front Brake

LHS Brake Lever = Rear Brake

This is correct. On a motorcycle, you will always find the front brake on the right hand side.

My left handed boy has his brakes set up with RHS front. No probs.

Mind you, he uses a cricket bat right handed, too. But can't write with his right...

Oh, and BTW, SRAM.

[ians H2Sport]

This groupset thing is really interesting. So SRAM got way ahead when they went 1x12, I moved across and loved (still love) the GX1x12, paired with a SRAM carbon crank I have had minimal issues, nothing when considering the milage done. My kid races with full XX1 with zero issues. In Feb 2019 we were at the SA Cup XCO event in the Western Cape, where SRAM is one of the sponsors (really good stuff as sponsorship is critical for the survival of this format). A mate of ours had their young kids race bike parked off next to the SRAM marketing tent. There were loads of bikes around as this was near the finish area. The SRAM chap comes over and tells the father of the kid to move the bike away as it has Shimano parts.... That just didn't feel good. Just spec'd my kids new build with full XTR incl brakes. Going to make sure we hang around the SRAM chap if we see him this year. Competition is great for everyone, it drives innovation and we all benefit.