SRAM X.9 or Shimano Deore XT?

Opinions on and/or reports on experience with which group would be
better suited and/or a better value for road use on a flat-bar bicycle.
Shifters used would either be twist-grips or bar-ends with Paul's Thumbies.

Also, will the front derailers only work with MTB cranks? Gearing will
likely be 52/42/30 front and either 11-32 or 11-34 rear [1].

Have not yet decided on discs versus rim brakes, but I am leaning
towards rim brakes to save weight and allow the use of funky aero wheels.

[1] I like to spin up hills.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007

"Tom Sherman °_°" wrote in message
...

Opinions on and/or reports on experience with which group would be better
suited and/or a better value for road use on a flat-bar bicycle. Shifters
used would either be twist-grips or bar-ends with Paul's Thumbies.

Also, will the front derailers only work with MTB cranks? Gearing will
likely be 52/42/30 front and either 11-32 or 11-34 rear [1].

X.9 twist grips have many positions for the front mech, which is what sells
it for me - means you don't need to be perfect about your front setup, and
can probably use a road mech (not tried...)

On Jan 27, 10:21*pm, Tom Sherman °_°
wrote:
Opinions on and/or reports on experience with which group would be
better suited and/or a better value for road use on a flat-bar bicycle.
Shifters used would either be twist-grips or bar-ends with Paul's Thumbies.

The X.9 triggers feel really nice, IMHO. More clicky than shimano
pods. More cable pull, less sensitive to adjustment. For road use, I'd
probably use whatever's on closeout. Deore/LX is fine as well, if you
don't mind the lighter feel. If you're thinking about thumbies--for
that positive click, try the SRAM pods.


Also, will the front derailers only work with MTB cranks? Gearing will
likely be 52/42/30 front and either 11-32 or 11-34 rear [1].

most mtb/trekking mechs don't like anything larger than 48t front--
which should be plenty with an 11t rear, unless you're some sorta low
cadence weirdo.


Have not yet decided on discs versus rim brakes, but I am leaning
towards rim brakes to save weight and allow the use of funky aero wheels.

Max the landotter wrote:
On Jan 27, 10:21 pm, Tom Sherman °_°
wrote:
Opinions on and/or reports on experience with which group would be
better suited and/or a better value for road use on a flat-bar bicycle.
Shifters used would either be twist-grips or bar-ends with Paul's Thumbies.

The X.9 triggers feel really nice, IMHO. More clicky than shimano
pods. More cable pull, less sensitive to adjustment. For road use, I'd
probably use whatever's on closeout. Deore/LX is fine as well, if you
don't mind the lighter feel. If you're thinking about thumbies--for
that positive click, try the SRAM pods.

Do the X.9 triggers have multiple front detents for trimming?

Also, will the front derailers only work with MTB cranks? Gearing will
likely be 52/42/30 front and either 11-32 or 11-34 rear [1].

most mtb/trekking mechs don't like anything larger than 48t front--
which should be plenty with an 11t rear, unless you're some sorta low
cadence weirdo.

I was thinking of short cranks - maybe 150-mm, with a 48/38/24 crank, a
11-32 cassette and a 32-559 tires. With Sheldon's gain ratios, that
would be from 1.6 to 9.0, while a bike with 170-mm cranks, 23-622 tires,
a 52/42/30 crank and a 11-23 cassette would have gain ratios from 2.6 to
9.3. Looks workable for a 'bent oriented to fast road riding.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007

Op 28-1-2010 19:12, Tom Sherman °_° schreef:
Max the landotter wrote:
On Jan 27, 10:21 pm, Tom Sherman °_°
wrote:
Opinions on and/or reports on experience with which group would be
better suited and/or a better value for road use on a flat-bar bicycle.
Shifters used would either be twist-grips or bar-ends with Paul's
Thumbies.

The X.9 triggers feel really nice, IMHO. More clicky than shimano
pods. More cable pull, less sensitive to adjustment. For road use, I'd
probably use whatever's on closeout. Deore/LX is fine as well, if you
don't mind the lighter feel. If you're thinking about thumbies--for
that positive click, try the SRAM pods.

Do the X.9 triggers have multiple front detents for trimming?

No, only the gripshift. I realy like my X0 triggers, I realy disliked
the gripshift.

Lou

Hi,

Tom Sherman °_° wrote:
Opinions on and/or reports on experience with which group would be
better suited and/or a better value for road use on a flat-bar bicycle.
Shifters used would either be twist-grips or bar-ends with Paul's Thumbies.

Also, will the front derailers only work with MTB cranks? Gearing will
likely be 52/42/30 front and either 11-32 or 11-34 rear [1].

OK, here's my setup: SRAM X.7 Triggers and mech with a Shimano 48-36-22
front and 11-32 rear cassette. Getting the lone 22 front ring to fit the
Hollowtech 2 combo required some extra grinding, but was quickly done.

Overall, thanks to the Hollowtech 2 combo the crank feels "safe and
tight" (which wasn't the case with square tapered bottom bracket and
cranks - the bottom brackets I had went bad quickly and felt loose). As
for the shifting, I still want to add something to prevent the
occasional over-shifting in the front (the 36 to 22 jump is rather
steep, works mostly but sometimes drops the chain). But apart from that,
the shifting is very well, especially the rear mech profits a lot from
SRAM's 1:1 cable pull thing. It's easier to adjust and shifts quicker (I
guess they use stronger return springs which is good).

Before that I had a Shimano LX rear mech which is good, but personally I
like the SRAM rear mech better. The LX was more difficult to adjust and
didn't shift quite as quick, but it's quite good anyway.

Even before I had a Shimano A* (Acera/Altus,...) group which was fine
when new but deterioriated quite quickly. So I guess, the Shimano LX (or
better) or SRAM X.7 (or better) are probably advisable ;-)

As for Trigger shifters, I guess the SRAM ones are the best I've ever
used. After a few kilometers they start to "feel natural" and you only
need your thumb for shifting (allowing you to keep the rest of the
fingers on the brake). They feel exact and responsive (as long as your
cables are good), but there is no "micro-ratcheting" for the front mech.
Shimano triggers used to need the forefinger and thumb for shifting
(which felt uncomfortable in dense city traffic) and didn't feel quite
as exact to me. Actually I test-rode Shimano's MTB brake-grip shifters
and I personally didn't like them at all - I kept shifting when I pulled
the brake and I kept braking when trying to shift...

As for twist-grips, I tried them once but didn't get along with them, so
I guess you need to test-ride them yourself ;-) And I'm not sure whether
bar-ends are a good idea on flat handlebars - they might work on
swept-back handlebars, though. There's just too much tight traffic or
tight spaces to navigate to want anything like a bar-end shifter
sticking out sideways. I've had cars overtaking close enough to have
their side mirror touch my jacket :-(

The only thing I'd try, if I ever got to build up a new bike would be
SRAM's Road group Brifters - they look nice and seem to be quite a lot
of fun... They're quite expensive, though.

As a side-thought: get a cage to protect your rear mech from bumps, that
saved my day quite a number of times ;-) My wife got one, after she had
her rear mech bent and damaged in some over-crowded bike rack...

Have not yet decided on discs versus rim brakes, but I am leaning
towards rim brakes to save weight and allow the use of funky aero wheels.

As for disc versus rim brakes, I guess that's a matter of taste.
Personally I prefer rim brakes (one thing less to get damaged in an
over-full bike rack). But then I do have the Magura hydraulic rim brake,
which is quite good ;-) The only reason for disc brakes is (in my
oppinion) if you're riding in mud more than on flat roads. Or if you
have a speciality bike ;-)

[1] I like to spin up hills.

Me too, but having a 48-11 gear for downhill or wind-driven stretches
isn't bad, either ;-)

Have fun...

PS: my bike is four years old by now and has just short of 15.000 km.
Lots of small repairs (shifter cables, new chain, new bottom bracket)
but nothing big and it works very well.