Drivetrain alternatives - Sunrace components

[LeeLau]

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/sunrace...ents/#comments

worked flawlessly even when i inadvertently hit Utah deathgoo



XTR/XT level derailleurs and cassettes tested - price is about 70% of XTR/XT level.

[mntlion]

so if you where buying the parts at retail, for your own bike, what would you buy?

is the cable to shift pull rates the same as shimano or sram? (IE if something snaps, and you can only find parts from the 2 big guys, what works?)

any other compatibility issues with sunrace vs shimano vs sram?

[LeeLau]

If I wanted to try something different I would buy Sunrace - if only because its rebuildable and i hate the disposability of Shimano; I know XO can be rebuilt but thats 2x the cost of the highest end Sunrace . Picking between Shimano and SRAM I would buy Sram though because its rebuildable.

It's 1:1 so works with Shimano shifters and not with SRAM x or esp series. But of course the Sunrace stuff works on shimano and sram cassettes.

[marshalolson]

i sram is 1:1 shimano is 2:1

[LeeLau]

i sram is 1:1 shimano is 2:1

Whoops. You're right. The Sunrace is 2:1 - I had it correct in the bullet points in the linked article. Thx for correction

[keipow]

Lee: I read your mtbr comment in june saying it is still working great.

After a whole summer, is your answer still the same?

[LeeLau]

still working! Was on my Demo 7 and my RM element all year

[willmtbike4food]

I clicked this thread expecting it to be SunRace's road grouppo. And planned on commenting "misleading title - it's not so much an alternative as it is another poor option." I've spent some hands-on time with their new road stuff. Gross. I haven't gotten the chance to see their new mountain stuff. Don't plan on ever putting it on any of my bikes though.

Good to see it can be interchanged with Shimano though, so those that are using it can find replacements if they run into issues.


What were you riding previously - and what shifters did you pair them with? Standard bulk Jagwire cables and lined housing? Was there any perceptible change in shift quickness/quality? I can tell a pretty big difference between my XO and X9 equipped bikes, as well as a bike with XO shifter and X9 der. Just wondering what one might expect when switching from a previous setup to this?

[LeeLau]

Standard jagwire and shimano housing. Long cage run on split housing with cable stops. Short cage run on full housing. Standard BC dirt so not too clay like - even our mud isn't bad.

Long cage on a RM Element. Previous setup was XT. Short cage on Specialized Demo 7. Previous was XT.

Long cage has some stickiness on knuckle of derailleur following Utah mudbath as depicted in story and review but hit it with spray on lube and worked the knuckle and back to good performance.

No slop in pivots.

No perceptible difference in shift quality.

Totally agree about slop in XO vs X9. But no slop in the Sunrace as yet. Perhaps 50 - 60 rides each bike with each setup so that's pretty decent.

[willmtbike4food]

Thanks Lee - huge help to know what you're coming from as well as more about the test conditions. A coworker loves being a bit of a guinea pig as far as new drivetrain bits go - I'll have to mention these to him to see what he thinks & get a shot to see them in person. They were previously so far off my radar it wasn't even funny.