Reasons why I love Shimano #1 « Singletrack Forum

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Reasons why I love Shimano #1

83 posts & 45 voices | Started 10 months ago by jimmy | Latest reply from Northwind

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jimmy - Member

I never had reason love Shimano - they're great at gears, brakes, shoes etc and for that I would always buy their stuff without hesitation.

Today, however, I had reason to love them.

For a while I've been meaning to take the gear indicator windows off my levers - I never use them so they just clutter my handlebar and make it look like a kids bike. It took so long because I didn't know how I'd cover up the mechanism to stop cack getting in. In hope of being able to gaffer tape it like I have in the past, I removed the windows. My heart sank a little bit as it exposed moving parts and possibly too much to cover with tape. So reluctantly I was about to screw the windows back on when, wait... whats that? A little disc clipped on the under side of the lever with SLX embossed on it. But why would that be there...?

Its the little things. Shimano, I love you.

Posted 10 months ago #
cullen-bay - Member

thought we all knew about those.... shimano stuff works well, for long periods of time (with care) whereas i manage to smash sram stuff up quickly and the mechs that SRAM make are shonk.

Posted 10 months ago #
doug_basqueMTB.com - Member

Amen.

Posted 10 months ago #
julianwilson - Member

I like how they have quietly realised sram really were onto something, and also gone to a 1:1 cable pull ratio for their 10 speed stuff.

I like how the creative use of plastic on the middle slx chainring gets you alloy weight and steel durability.

I like how the saint BB cups have a few more mm's of thread on them for durability. Or for people who have scuzzed up their bb shells, i suppose .

I like how you can still get older-style xt 6 bolt hubs with the cup and cone bits that stay put. And that you can get them in silver as well as black.

I like how their qr's stay shut.

I love how easy it is to bleed their brakes, with mineral oil which means it doesn't degrade and you can use LHM for bulk/cheapness.

If ony they would do spares (by that I mean smaller than lever/hose/caliper) and rebuild kits for their brakes then there would be no reason to buy any others.

(I'll save the other 'wtf are you doing shimano?' grumbles for another thread )

Posted 10 months ago #
stuartie_c - Member

Aw shite - I didn't check when I did mine and now my bars are despoiled by raggedy-arsed (but effective) gaffer tape.

Posted 10 months ago #
buzz-lightyear - Member

Amen. Except for their BB cups/bearings.

Posted 10 months ago #
crikey - Member

Amen indeed.
I started off using shimano stuff, had a brief fling with Suntour, then have used Shimano ever since. It just works, on and off road.

Posted 10 months ago #
TuckerUK - Member

Except for their BB cups/bearings.

Eh? There is no better wheel bearing system. The only reason 'boutique' hubs go with cartridge bearings is because they don't have the capability to produce cup and cone.

Posted 10 months ago #
buzz-lightyear - Member

BB stands for Bottom Bracket, not "wheel bearing system".

Posted 10 months ago #
Junkyard - Member

I was disappointed to find my SRAM shifters did not require adapting after purchase

Posted 10 months ago #
Tom83 - Member

I chopped up the lid off a frijj bottle for my xt shifters!

Posted 10 months ago #
jimmy - Member

I was disappointed to find my SRAM shifters did not require adapting after purchase

But my shimano ones did, and they provided a solution. And they'll now adorn my handlebar for many years to come.

But this isn't about SRAM; just feel the love, brothers and sisters.

Posted 10 months ago #
ruscle - Member

I hate shimano, apart from their fishing reels.

Posted 10 months ago #
robsoctane - Member

They produce Saint after all, holier than thou, no arguments...

Posted 10 months ago #
Bagstard - Member

I too am loving shimano, my new saint brakes and super short rear mech are fantastic. The new mech also allowing me to go back to my XT shifter with removable window. Can't say I'm keen on cup and cone though, they weren't designed for ham fists like myself!

Posted 10 months ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

TuckerUK - Member

Except for their BB cups/bearings.

Eh? There is no better wheel bearing system. The only reason 'boutique' hubs go with cartridge bearings is because they don't have the capability to produce cup and cone.

Bullshine - cup and cone is victorian engineering with no place on a modern machine. Once the bearing wears the hub is scrap - fantastic

Posted 10 months ago #
ivantate - Member

SLX double and bash. As good as a crank ever needs to be.

i think they also need a bit of praise for the breadth of kit they make. Good working kit at the very lowest price point and all the way through to XTR. All competitive on performance and price.

Posted 10 months ago #
Reluctant - Member

Fantastic company. Consistant quality manufacturing, inovative products with only the occasional turkey.
They've done more to make the modern bicycle what it is today than any other company and deserve their market position IMO.

Posted 10 months ago #
DanW - Member

It's very, very hard to go wrong with Shimano.

Jimmy- as cool as your discovery is... why not cover the hole with carbon fibre for a bit of bling? It cost me less than £3 to do and looks great! I'll get some pics up of this tonight

DanW

Posted 10 months ago #
WhatWouldJesusRide - Member

I am surprised that so few manufacturers offer enclosed cam skewers. The ones that do, charge a premium.

The Shimano XTR/XT's on my bike have never loosened.

I don't trust anything else.

Posted 10 months ago #
mrmo - Member

Bullshine - cup and cone is victorian engineering with no place on a modern machine. Once the bearing wears the hub is scrap - fantastic

Maybe you should learn to maintain your bike then. Cup and cone is a better more efficient solution, but tooling costs more hence only Campag and shimano still use it.

Posted 10 months ago #
trailertrash - Member

I was disappointed to find my SRAM shifters did not require adapting after purchase

Posted 10 months ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

all bearings wear. When a cup and cone wears the hub is scrap as (mostly) you cannot replace the cup. The only reason its more efficient is because it has poorer seals

Posted 10 months ago #
cheez0 - Member

If cup and cone is so bloody good, why aren't the cups readily available?

Utter crap. Who wants to re do their wheel bearings every week?

Posted 10 months ago #
cheez0 - Member

Whoa, stw member in agreeing with TJ shocker!

Posted 10 months ago #
cynic-al - Member

TandemJeremy - Member
all bearings wear. When a cup and cone wears the hub is scrap as (mostly) you cannot replace the cup. The only reason its more efficient is because it has poorer seals

Except that with only a little ingenuity...YOU CAN! and it's barely trickier than replacing cartridge bearings.

That applies to the NDS cup only - ALL of the other bearing parts in a shimano hub are available, and easy to replace.
How are the seals worse then?

TJ where does your anti-shimano bias come from?

Lord knows why you have to nail your colours that this particular mask, but you repeatedly decry their parts, including hydraulic brakes and centre lock rotors...which you admit you've never used.

...while enjoying the benefits of shimano's parts and innovations notably spds, hyperglide, indexed shifting...you also use a Alfine hub?...and making no mention of this?...but all you can do is bitch about the stuff you don't like (while tens of thousands use it daily without issue).

Kind of undermines your position.

Posted 10 months ago #
PJM1974 - Member

Things I love about Shimano:

SLX cranks
The lovely feel of my SLX shifters and XT mech
Their cranks are a doddle to install
The surprisingly good Deore brakes I tried out recently
Their kit seems well designed and just works

Things I hate about Shimano

Those SLX cranks were £89 rrp two and a half years ago
The cost of replacement chainrings
My SRAM shifters require less adjustment
Oh look, here comes another "standard"...

Posted 10 months ago #
Rickos - Member

julianwilson - cable pull for Shimano 10 speed is 1.5:1

I'm about to switch back to Shimano for gears. SRAM jockey wheels last about 2 minutes before they jam up and make you drop chains everywhere. Always used Shimano for brakes though.

Posted 10 months ago #
Nobby - Member

Shimano stuff just works.

Posted 10 months ago #
Klunk - Member

misterP's new riding glasses $-$

Posted 10 months ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

Usual drivel from cynic al. I knew you would have a pop at me based on your own ignorance and desire to attack me on sight. Why you feel this need is beyond me.

That applies to the NDS cup only - ALL of the other bearing parts in a shimano hub are available, and easy to replace.

so what I said was actually right then - some wearing parts are not replaceable meaning a worn hub is scrap

How are the seals worse then?
because they are - Have a look at the multipart seals in a quality cartridge bearing. Shimano roll better cos they have less drag cos the seals are less sophisticated

including hydraulic brakes and centre lock rotors...which you admit you've never used.
More imagined drivel - I have owned and used both.

My objection to shimano is the built in obsolescence and deliberate policy of making things unrepairable as well as a proliferation of standards. Yes much of what they do is very good - but much of what they do is also designed to have a short life and to be unrepairable - a manufacturing ethos I deplore.

*killfile back on*

Posted 10 months ago #
Pimpmaster Jazz - Member

+1 all of the above.

Posted 10 months ago #
D0NK - Member

So while we're all having a shimano love in can someone please tell me they haven't cast rapid rise rear mechs into the annals of history again* Not seen any new stuff with RR

*apparently most gears were originally rapid rise till that campagnolo dude decided that with non RR mechs you could double shift easier - bloody campag!

Posted 10 months ago #
ransos - Member

all bearings wear. When a cup and cone wears the hub is scrap as (mostly) you cannot replace the cup. The only reason its more efficient is because it has poorer seals

Back in the real world, most people are hapy with shimano hubs because they last for donkey's years with minimal maintenance.

Posted 10 months ago #
Mister P - Member

Stock up while you can DONK, rapid rise does not feature in any of the new groupsets.

Posted 10 months ago #