Can i use shimano with sram

Shimano and SRAM are the two dominant component manufacturers in the cycling industry, and the vast majority of modern bikes are going to come with one of their drivetrains.

Some riders are loyal to one brand over the other based on personal experiences. Others have specific ergonomic preferences. For ultra-picky riders, choosing between bikes built with Shimano or SRAM can be a major factor in their purchasing decisions. Instead, This comparison aims to shed light on the similarities and differences between the two brands and their products. However, more mountain bikes are outfitted with SRAM components. It's Di2 shifting technology is primarily wired , although the latest Dura-Ace and Ultegra groups are partially wireless.

Note: Campagnolo is a third option for bicycle components. However, it makes up a very small percentage of total new component sales. Plus, it only produces road and gravel components.

The Shimano story begins in , years ago, in Sakai, Osaka, Japan. Shozaburo Shimano Photo Courtesy Shimano. At the time, freewheels were the component that took the most technology to produce. Shimano, however, was so confident in the reliability of his freewheels that he backed them with a bold guarantee — any defective freewheel would be replaced by two. The original Shimano freewheel Photo Courtesy Shimano. Shozaburo Shimano led his company and developed bicycle components until his death in His son, Shozo Shimano, took over as the next president.

With high quality and reliable products, Shimano has established itself as a benchmark component brand in the industry. Their stated mission is to promote health and happiness with outdoor products that help people enjoy nature and the world around us. Philanthropy: Shimano is one of the founding members of the EcoMobility Alliance , an international partnership of people and companies that work to improve EcoMobility.

Scott King was the company's attorney. Stan R. SRAM was founded in Chicago in The company began with a single product — the Grip Shift.

The Grip Shift was an indexed gear shifter that wrapped around the ends of drop handlebars. Traditionally, riders had shift levers mounted to the frame, but Grip Shift allowed riders to change gears without removing their hands from the handlebars. This growth has led it to become the second-largest component manufacturer in the world with an expansive catalog of bike parts.

One of SRAM's key goals is to be the most exciting component manufacturer in the industry. It has worked toward this goal with innovative products that have produced notable shifts in the industry. Philanthropy: World Bicycle Relief WBR is a non-profit that specializes in large-scale, comprehensive bicycle distribution programs to aid poverty relief in developing countries.

Much of the bike technology we take for granted today is the result of Shimano's and SRAM's innovations. Here are a few key products they've developed that have helped shape modern cycling. Gear changes became more precise and faster as riders could select the gear without having to fiddle with the position of a friction shifter.

Indexed shifting is the basis for how modern mechanical shifters work. STI is a shifting system that allows cyclists to shift gears, operate the brakes, and steer without removing their hands from the handlebars.

STI integrated shift levers into the brake hoods, creating the blueprint for modern road, cyclocross, and gravel bike shifters as we know it.

Rapid Fire was a flat-bar version of STI, using a pod with trigger style levers clamped to the bar. Trigger-style shifters are now the most common type of shifter used on mountain bikes. Many brands now produce pedals compatible with Shimano SPD style cleats. It is one of the most ubiquitous clipless pedal systems. Di2 made electronic shifting the new standard for top-of-the-line group.

The Grip Shift design still sees use today on some mountain bikes, commuters, and other flat-bar bicycles. Like previous attempts at single-chainring drivetrains, XX1 simplified shifting by removing the front derailleur.

This configuration is now the standard for most mountain bikes and is popular on cyclocross and gravel bikes as well. AXS introduced a new speed road bike group and the first wireless electronic mountain bike group.

Shimano and SRAM have been competing for the last 30 years. Competition has bred many fantastic cycling components. This section covers some of the key tech and design differences in certain Shimano and SRAM components.

Shimano's STI shifters separate the control of up and downshifts into two different shift levers. Instead of two separate levers, SRAM's DoubleTap uses a single paddle-shaped lever behind the brake lever which is fixed to handles both up and downshifts. Pushing this lever one click inward shifts the drivetrain in one direction. Pushing the lever further in, past the first click, causes the drivetrain to shift in the opposite direction.

Both shifter designs are intuitive once a rider has learned how to use them. Both designs also have the capability to downshift multiple gears in a single lever stroke. It comes down to rider preference and ergonomics. Some riders are picky about the shape of the shifter hoods the rubber area on top of the shifter where the rider places their hands.

Shimano and SRAM both offer a variety of hood shapes and finding the ideal one may require some experimentation. A Shimano XTR trigger shifter — the upshift lever bottom can be activated in either direction. Two shift levers are housed in a pod attached to the underside of the handlebar. This is the most popular shifter style for modern mountain bikes. The main difference in function is that Shimano's Rapid Fire trigger shifter features "2way-release," which allows the upshift lever to move in both directions.

This means upshifts can be performed both by pushing the lever with the thumb or pulling it with an index finger. Again, it comes down to rider preference whether this feature is valuable.

Riders used to pushing with their thumbs for both up and downshifts will be able to transition between Shimano and SRAM shifters without much thought. Shimano is known for its Hollowtech crankarms. Hollowtech refers to a hollow, aluminum crankarm, generally made from two halves joined together.

It maintains the stiffness of a solid crankarm while significantly decreasing the weight. For its higher-end crank offerings, SRAM uses carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is made from carbon sheets and fibers bonded in resin. It has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel.

Both materials and crank designs perform well. Carbon is more common for high-end cranks. You probably have a 10 or speed cassette. This needs to be matched with the same speed chain, irrelative of the manufacturer. A speed chain is significantly wider than an speed chain. So if you try to use a speed chain on an speed cassette, it may just about work, but there will be a lot of noise, irrelative of what brands are involved.

You can, however, get away with using an speed chain on a speed cassette. The mechanical advantage of a tool is measured by dividing the input displacement by the output displacement. The more leverage a brake has, the more its lever moves per 1mm of brake arm movement. To compensate, brakes with more leverage pull more cable. Otherwise, the lever may complete its travel before the brake has fully grabbed the rim.

The result is poor modulation control over the braking force. Rear derailieurs are different. Sram's 'X-' ranges of mechs use actuation and need a Sram 'X-' shifter albeit a trigger of grip shifter. Shimano use a actuation on all their mechs so need shifter which oddly enough their shifters are. Sram also do a range of actuation shifters but they are not the 'X-' range. The current Sram items are, IMO, very good.