Just interested on those running it or those who have had experience with it? Any long term problems?

Pros and cons basically?

I’m aware the weight is the main criticism, but I’ve worked out that once I lose the cabling, shifter and front mech of my current set-up, the AM version is only 140grams or so heavier so this isnt an issue.

Thanks

One of the lads I know by sight has them on two bikes and swears that we are all missing out. From what I can gather he’s not had any problems with them and he seems to ride as much as anybody else.

I understand they’re noticeably heavy but there’s loads of ground clearance and you can shift – instantly – whenever you want to on the front

Some people say they can upset the suspension characteristics of some FS bikes because you are effectively in the granny ring all the time.

Hmmm interesting on the Granny ring point, I never even considered that. I’ll have a search to see if anybody else experiences the issue as it would definitely be worth knowing.

I guess it would be more noticeable on a single pivot bike 😕

A few things I’ve posted before about mine.

HammerSchmidt is great after nearly two years of abuse and it now looks pretty beaten up… still on the original bottom bracket which is a novelty for me. I’ve cleaned it inside a few times and I use oil instead of grease as I do with Hope hubs to keep it freewheeling easy; very important in winter up here. I love it, no more front mechs for me on the bikes I ride hard.

The best thing is the instant shifting up and down, so much so that it’s a revelation and hence for any little doonhall bits I find myself using the HS rather than trawling through gears at the back. Going from an HS bike back to a front mech is a disaster… so I ditched the front mech on the hardtail and went 1×9, which is ace on a 25/27lb hardtail… but not so on a 33lb AM bike.
I need my super low “winching” gears for the big mountains where I live so run the 22 with an 11-34 9sp rear. This gives me the same spread as 22/36 front 11-34 rear – which I find perfect.
The one flaw (other than weight) with the HS is the drag in the overdrive… but there is a simple solution to this which is don’t use the overdrive unless you have to. If you look at the gear spread there are only three/four? gears which the overdrive gives you which you don’t already have. So you very rarely “need” to use the overdrive, especially for when your putting effort into the cranks, and it’s only under effort which you notice the “drag”. Getting out of the saddle and “honking” when in the overdrive feels odd and is daft, just use the gears at the back so your not feeling the drag. With the HammerSchmidt I’m spending much more time down in the little sprockets at the back which are gears you usually avoid with a tripple up front due to slack chain and risk of chainsuck/fall-off… but because of the HS this is not an issue as the chain can’t fall off at the front, and the chain is much tighter as you can run a short chain (and a dinky Saint rear mech like me). Because of this change in how I use my gears I find I’m wearing the gears differently, I usually wear out the big three at the back because those are the gears I use most in granny and middle to keep the chain tight.
So… a little change in how you use your gears is required to make the best of the HammerSchmidt. Don’t use the Hammer and use the spread at the back, then come the doonhall… drop the Hammer and give it the beans as usual, but if you stall or hit a techy manouver a quick stab with the left thumb and your in the granny and through, then drop the hammer again and back up to speed… awesome!
Maintenance – I clean mine quite often as I find it does get some crap in it. In the winter I’ve found it best to run it with oil rather than grease due to the grease freezing (I’m up north, and I do the same with my Hope Pro2 hubs which also makes them freewheel better… a good loose spinning freehub is also a good idea with the HS as it limits your chain slapping about). The cable needs to be good and clean as this can cause problems as the spring tension is not huge.
The plastic chainguard thing can be snapped off and it makes no difference – mine is long gone and the chain still won’t fall off. Without the chainguide it’s much easier to clean out the mud which gathers in this area and gets compacted by the chain… just pop the chain over the cranks… mud is never an issue when riding but it does build up in this area.
Still on the original bottom bracket which feels great after two years with me (and my HS was second hand).
So… in summary… if you like your riding techy and fun, and your bike is too heavy or/and where you live too hilly for 1×9 (1×10) then a HammerSchmidt is ace (I hate front mechs for the biking I enjoy).

I guess this all sounds very positive? On the downsides it really is a bit heavy. On a light bike or if you lived somewhere flat I don’t think it would be clever as you would be spending more time in the overdrive which would become an irritation. For me and where I ride I love it.

I’m liking the look of the new XX1 but I really like how I can jump four gears with the Hammerschmidt when I drop the hammer, or single clicking into winch mode… it’s a shame SRAM haven’t continued working with the concept but I guess the weight and cost puts a lot of people off… but compared to a normal set up and a full chain device the weight difference isn’t actually that much, and on the right type of bike it’s a very useful piece of kit.

I have been running one on my Covert for more than a year.

Pros
– instant shifting really makes a difference in all sorts of situations.
– great ground clearance.
– built in bash guard.
– built in chain retainer.

Cons
– you have to maintain it in the mud / winter.
– its not cheap.

You wont notice the slight weight difference, well you might if your in to XC racing, but thats not what they are for.

Make sure your bike’s geometery is set up as the front ring is 22T, so if your bike bobs in granny, it will bob with a HammerS. My Covert was bob free with it. Of course a lot of that depends on your shock. Mine was fine with a Fox RP23 and CCDB.

However, make sure whoever fits it knows what they are doing. SRAM tech center should do it for you. Most LBS dont have a clue. If its not fitted square on you will end up wearing out the main bearing and stressing the mounting tab. The LBS that fitted mine originally got it wrong (couldnt read the instructions) this resulted in main bearing wear and stressing the mounting tab which broke off !

They were complete ****ts who have now gone bust, so I had no chance of recompense.

If you want more info / details PM me.

I also have the service tool for sale if your interested. You will need to open it up a couple of times a year in the winter and keep it clean. In the summer your fine.

I would also agree with everything messiah says.

Wow thank you both for the in depth comments. It’s going on a coil Tracer 2 if I end up purchasing so weight wouldnt bother me that much.

The whole not sure if 1 x 10 is enough is my exact thought on this purchase being better.

I’m going to have another read through both comments after work and have a good think about my bank balance 🙂

Thanks again.

The whole not sure if 1 x 10 is enough is my exact thought on this purchase being better.

I keep thinking about trying 1×9 on that there Nic up there ^^^, but what puts me off is the weight of it. One very dry day last summer I managed to ride the whole of a local techy hilly loop without using the lowest gears… so it would be possible, but that was a very dry day, I was very on form, and it was a struggle. If I swap out the CCDB and coil forks for my Fox Float option and run my 2.2 tyres from my hardtail instead of the 2.4’s I could get the weight down to 30lb which might make it more do-able(able)… but the whole point of taking that bike is to really be able enjoy the doonhalls for which the big tyres and the coil shocks feel better(ererer).

I have the bits for 1×9 so will maybe try it later this summer, although for the munro bagging rides I’ll still want the Hammerschmidt so perhaps I’ll never get round to it. If you have the parts to try 1×10 first I’d be tempted to give it a bash. I didn’t plan to get a Hammerschmidt but my frame was ordered wrongly so has no front mech cable stop so it’s this or 1×9(10)[11?] 👿 but it’s all good in the end