Mountain Bike Cassettes- Shimano or Sram?
Sram has been quite cut throat in its desire to win market share from Shimano. When it came out with first its mountain bike range, and then road range, it used the same chain spacing making its chains, cassettes, and hubs interchangeable with Shimano.
It meant that any mountain bike (and any Shimano road bike) could use Sram drive trains without having to change the rear wheel. Genius! They have quickly won major market share.
However when you look in the pro ranks, even Sram sponsored teams/riders have used Shimano cassettes and chains. Why? Sram cassettes and chains didn’t shift as well, and their top road cassettes were noisy and didn’t clear dirt as well (which has been fixed for 2012). But the Sram RED and 1099 and 1090 cassettes are works of art and weigh a lot less.
So what are the pros and cons of each? Where should you spend your money when it comes time to replace a cassette?
Shimano XTR M980 255grams $229
Sram 1099 (11-32)185g (11-36)206g $395
Sram 1090 (11-36)240g $292
Shimano XT M771 286grams $ 79
Sram 1070 302grams $107
Sram 1050 299grams $ 90
At the top end- if money is no issue and saving weight is your goal- the 1099 is a clear winner. Even when you consider that the Sram cassette will last longer the price premium is a bit extreme. The Sram cassette is almost entirely machined from one piece of steel and looks fantastic, with the 1099 cassettes having an Al largest sprocket and backing plate saving weight over the 1090. The XTR cassettes have the largest 5 sprockets made of Ti with AL carriers. Ti wears faster, with the mid range gears typically wearing fastest.
Verdict- Unless you are really worried about those last 50-60 grams the shifting quality and cost of the M980 makes it a better buy for a privateer. If you ride in nasty conditions and wear out cassettes faster maybe the 1090 might pay itself back if you get a good deal.
For the more value conscious, I can’t see anybody going past the Shimano XT cassette. Because so many people buy them the prices are typically very competitive really pushing the Sram offerings out of the way. The weight and shifting quality also beats Sram’s offerings.
Verdict- XT all the way!
So while Sram have taken a large chunk of the OEM market, they are still edged out by Shimano in the aftermarket for cassettes. Volume still acts in Shimano’s favour, and good prices, decent weight, and by still being the best shifting puts them at the forefront for replacement parts.
Tags: drivetrain
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