Shimano to SRAM

[Rogan]

Like the crank! How must does the bike weigh now Sylve?

[Sylv]

Is showed 7.2kg on my bathroom scales but this often varies by +/- 200gm. Look frame is not particularly light by today's standards. I did weigh all the new bits but not the old Shimano ones yet.

Some notes I wrote


Installing - always a pleasure mounting brand new parts. With the addition of a new wheelset it feels just like the whole bike is new (frame is some 5-6 years old). But the derailleurs and especially the yaw front are quite finicky to adjust, and proper setup is crucial in order to have a silent 20 gears - when it's done it is even less noisy than Shimano. For this the youtube videos are essential. Front comes with an inline adjuster to ease tension adjustment, but have found out after mounting it that it is stuck and doesn't work (can't see how to make it work so might have to get a new one). Brakes are also not quite as easy as Shimano to adjust for centering (needs a 13mm spanner + allen keys on the sides), I guess that's why they are lighter. Crank mount is easy just tighten it and it's adjusted.

Riding - after a few adjustments on the go the gears work flawlessly at the back. Front still needed a bit of tension tweaking, not easy without the barrel adjuster. But action is pretty light. Brakes super powerful and smooth. BB (took ceramic option) super smooth and spins freely from the off. Shifting - well 8-odd years of Shimano STI will not go away as quickly as this, but getting there - in the 2.5h race I only mis-shifted (down rather than up) once. Downshift (I mean to a smaller cog) is mostly similar, but upshift is a whole new thing - especially shifting while sprinting or hammering uphill. You can upshift several gears on the fly but it's hard to guess how to shift either 2 or 3 gears. Because you don't need to move the brake lever anymore I think I tended not to wrap my index finger around the brake lever when on the hoods, which has always been very comfy on Shimano. Was shifting with index finger but think it might be better with middle finger as you don't have to change hand position at all this way. Hood shape very good, comfy. Had to adjust brake lever reach (and consequently shift paddle also, done in seconds) as realised I could not reach the brake levers while on the drops. Fine now.

[img]https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/581310_10151403350141822_979437764_n.jpg[/img]

Top of Grand Colombier, climb which includes almost 2 miles at average 14% with sections at 22%. I usually run a 28t cassette but left the new 11-25 on, wished I hadn't! What a climb (some say hardest in France)