Both myself and my girlfriend have had full shimano drivetrains on all our bikes. The time is coming where hers will need replaced or a little upgrading. Currently all XT. So…..what would we gain or loose by changing to SRAM?

Is it likely to be easier set up? More relaiable in winter mud? More durable? Better shifting performance?

ooh this is going to be a good one 🙂

i think the difference is less than it used to be, I've got SRAM X7, X9 and X0 on various bikes and love it, seems to require exactly the same amount of maintenance as the XT and Saint the wife and I also have.

Personally i prefer the action of SRAM stuff but i've not used any newer shimano stuff

Makes no difference in the great scheme of things IME. Some things Shim do better, some things SRAM do better. Overall, they both pretty much work as advertised*

*which is how it should be really, with pretty established technology after all…

had shimano xt, went to sram x9 and was wowed by performance, crisp quick changing. Rear mechs were fragile tho, broke 3 in 9 weeks, one short cage shattered! Dodgy bottom jockey wheels were to blame, replaced with £3 shimano ones and they were fine.

Gone to SLX as a result of a whole school change to shimano form avid/sram (had matchmakers so made sense when i got rid of the juicys)

SLX is very slick shifting, not a clicky as sram – more smooooth imo. Before anyone says new cables etc – the sram had new cable before i swapped so i can directly compare the performance.

SLX for cheap smooth shifting imo (and rear mechs are nearly 50% cheaper)

I'm holding out for the superstar groupset.

😆

I've used both…sram is a bit clunky, not as smooth as my shimano xt shadow stuff. I prefer the feel of the shimano stuff and think it looks better. Both work as they should but i now prefer shimano. All personal opinion really.
With the price rises you can't go wrong with the slx kit. I was lucky enough to find a box set of xt shifters with shadow rear mech and cable set for £85 recently. Also picked up the newest xt chainset for £120 today from my local bike shop. I got lucky but places like merlins and crc are doing good deals on the slx kit.

The fact that half swear by Shimano and the other half swear just as committedly by SRAM must surely say that either way youll get good shifting and there's not much to choose between them in the grand scheme of things.

Ok seems just like a personal preference then. Had lots of phantom shifts lately and both bikes needing a bit more maintenance than I would like so might give SRAM a go just for a change.

pulling up my chair

my sram chain was like cheese

My LBS recon that Sram cassettes are slightly "softer" than Shimano and therefore wear quicker, same with chains. I've used both and can't tell the difference. Am on Sram shifters & Mechs at the mo and love them but am on Shimano on the old Giant (now used for shopping/pub) and they're good too.

I say buy whichever, they're probably as good as each other really.

blonde or brunette?

Sram stuff lasts about two seconds.

Shimano is the way forward if you ride your bikes lots.

blonde or brunette?

ah but with drivetrain the collars and cuffs have to match

shimano…SRAM IS PANTS everything will brake…but it looks better…

What's the difference in price?

They'll both work.

Had both X9 and XT and both are good. Really down to personal preference as the action and feel are different. Personally I slightly prefer the SRAM because it's got a slightly heavier meatier feel, but that would be a negative for others

see I have always had Brunette, and like the smooth shifting and reliability. The one to one actuation ratio of Blonde though is of interest, but if the drivetrain isn't robust then whats the point?

hmmm…i can find out if sram cassettes are softer than shimano if u like…i go back to uni in a few weeks and they have hardness testers…
but i have shattered SRAM cassettes so i rekon they r harder.

I like to mix and match, running 1×9. Sram attack shifter, xt mech, sram 980 cassette and a KMC chain 🙂 (Chainring is dmr)

michael, mebee I should get a helicopter blonde bike,thats full Blonde SRAM with blackbox forks.

yeah i do agree that the shifting on sram is abit nicer cos of the better ratio…but you have to buy more expensive shifters…i used an x-5 shifter recently and i cant tell when i have shifted gear…x-7 was better but not as clicky as even deore?

Ask LBS Mechanics- the majority of them on here prefer Shimano, myself included. Looking inside a Sram set up the quality and design of the internals and workings is just inferior to Shimano. We see Sram stuff coming back much more quickly and with more regularity. Shimano just goes and goes and goes.

i'll chip in for SRAM it works had a x9mech on x7 shifter on the back of my bike for 18 months 7 DH races more wet trail weekends than I can remember 6 months without maintenance in Oz and it's still working.

New Shimano shadow tech seems to work OK and I do keep pulling an xtr mech out of the spares box and it works fine. So in summary it all kinda works fine

some people break stuff and get all upset and claim it's all a heap of poo some stuff breaks because it is poo some because the rider didn't look after it and some stuff just breaks because you are miles from home on sweet trail and its raining

X0 is flippen expensive and due to the incompatibility between the two Shimano wins it for me! X9 looks a bit cheap too, almost as bad as the old Alivio stuff. I have X9 shifters on one bike and would change to XT if it weren't for my X0 rear mech!

Since you probably don't need to replace things like shifters, changing from one to the other will be more expensive and the practical difference will likely be zero. Same as if you were going from SRAM to Shimano.

Of course there's nothing wrong with wanting a change for it's own sake, but apart from the pleasure of shiny new bits I very much doubt you'll see any tangible gain.

Its all good. My old style XTR dual shifters have been going strong for 5yrs hard labour, rear mech still running well too, never had to really touch any of it. Built up a new bike with X9 just for a change (and I got a great deal), I really like it too. It probably is a bit more "clunky" but I like that you get a definate click as it it changes.

Cassettes and chains I used to swear by SRAM but new XT cassette is a thing of beauty and very light and can get for about £36 again I think in 11-34.