SRAM, whats the general consensus?

so basically im a lucky bastard and have come into a bit of money. im going to build a nice geared road bike, the question is which group set.

when i first started riding geared i immediately liked the campagnolo shifters, however after riding an ultegra gorup for a while i discovered that i much preferred it over the campag. Ive ridden a few dura ace setups and i really like it compared to equivalent campag offerings, which was good but not as nice.

so really its only dura ace and sram in the equation.

i don't have much experience of sram components, and obviously im going to go and ride some diffrent bikes to get a feel for it, but what are your opinions/experiences based on extended use outside of simply "having a go" on one?

What level Campag were you riding?

all the s-ram equipped bikes i've had have been shit! this might have been because they were low end components, but i've not felt the same about shimano low-end stuff.

the only thing I have to go on is some nasty gripshits and plastic derailleurs from a mid-low level MTB

i dont know what their modern high end road stuff is like, if i was gonna spunk my money on a groupset i'd go campag probably

whatever lever feels comfortable.
i can't get on with the thumbshifter of campag as i have to roll my hand off the hood to thumb it because i have large hands, they work great in the drops though.

dura-ace feel comfortable and i like the smooth lever feel. the new ultegra/dura-ace with both cables under the tape look very good but the lever shape has changed a bit.

dunno much about sram.
sram are part of the avid/rockshox/truvative group and all their products have improved massively in the last few years since money has been available for r&d

Hillbilly swears by SRAM, Red if you afford. Rival if not.

I personally can't stand the feel of Shimano's levers but then I'm a campagnolo man, so my opinion isn't worth shit to you.

I admire the history and so forth of Campag, but like MrSmyth I just don't get on with the location of the shifter mechanism.

I test rode bikes with Chorus, Red and Dura-ace and decided on the Shimano offering because I could change gear without moving my hands with equal utility with both Shimano and SRAM, but Shimano was usefully cheaper at the time.

If the bike I bought had been available with Red/Rival I'd have bought that, but it wasn't so I went for Ultegra.

Both of my girlfriends bikes have Chorus, which she gets on with well.

SRAM cassettes work on Shimano freehubs which is useful to know- I will upgrade to Red if I feel the need to spend some money on the road bike.

SRAM Red is great value for money, but it's mainly down to what kind of shifters you get on with best. All 3 have different methods of shifting and I guess it's best to take one out for a test spin to see which you prefer.

I prefer the clicky shifting and hood shape of campag ergo over Shimano STI but I have yet to try SRAM. TBH I don't really care as I don't have the money to switch if I ever wanted to anyway :D ...

YouTube- Competitive Cyclist Reviews SRAM Red Components

I have SRAM Rival on me geared bike. I feel that they are head and shoulders above Shimano 105s, which I had previously. They hardly ever need adjusting and are very precise under duress changing. I trust them.

If I buy a new geared bike again, I would want SRAM. Red would be great, but Force would be much more than my abilities deserve. I would consider Shimano, but I'd give them another release to sort out the internal cabling.

For a proper testament, check out how popular SRAM are becoming with the tour riders.

For a proper testament, check out how popular SRAM are becoming with the tour riders.

They ride what they're told to...

search 'groupset'... there was a thread a while ago that i started, which had some good advice in it.

They ride what they're told to...

Even Uncle Lance?

search 'groupset'... there was a thread a while ago that i started, which had some good advice in it.

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread15100.html

Even Uncle Lance?

He's from Texas. He wears black socks too...

Oh cripes...so do I. Is that a bad thing????

Oh cripes...so do I. Is that a bad thing????

Unforgiveable, IMO...

http://www.londonfgss.com/post63583-3.html

Excellent rules and they contain the final answer to the OP

1. Gearing is restricted to a titanium Campy Record 11-23 cassette with a ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of 42-53 up front. One shall never be seen pedaling at a cadence over 90 in case it detracts from your calm/smooth factor. The use of 25t cog is acceptable in special training circumstances.
   

Even Uncle Lance?

He part owns SRAM so he rides what he's paid for already.

Ultegra 6700 is half or 2/3 the price of Dura Ace but has most of the tech like hollow chainrings and just less Ti.
Or get DA 7800 for peanuts from US. They are knocking out cassettes for £50 or less on Ebay.

SRAM Rival brakes seem fine, I have them on my fgss - but overall prefer 105 slightly, as the centre adjust works really well and braking is about the same

I have never owned campag, as prefer DA - a superb groupset and the current design looks nice, but expensive

I love my SRAM Force. Was a Campy devotee for years, and still am for vintage bits, but I could not be happier with SRAM on my road bike.

doubletap is poo

super record FTW

prefer DA - a superb groupset and the current design looks nice, but expensive

Aha, the Rapha approach, eh?

Personally, I got on really well with the Shimano way - push one part of the lever to change down and the other part to change up. Unfortunately after getting blatted by a car I now have cheap Sora shifters which use a thumb "click" to change down. I definately prefer the two-levers-one-direction method of higher end Shimano than the thumb-and-finger of the lower end (similar to Campag?).
Can't speak for SRAM though, never used it.