sram apex gears

[meic]

I was just interested in why you won't use Camapag and what you have against the stuff...

Is it possible to get a decent low gear with Campagnolo equipment.

Decent being around 24" and this bike is built for 700C wheels not 20" wheels.

I recently built up my new bike and it has (due to a gift) a Dura-Ace front shifter fitted and I have learnt to hate the thing, everytime I get on my shopping bike I marvel at how excellent the cheap £10 Acera/Alivio who-knows-what shifters are in doing their job so effortlessly and perfectly. One lever for up, one button for down no feathering required.

[531colin]

........................Interim report.
On normal roads these gears are no prob once you have twigged their eccentricities and got used to them.
Anywhere demanding, such as one of my local rides involving lots of sharp corners and sudden very steep ups and downs, then they ain't so good. Changes can be too slow, and if you get it wrong in a hurry it can change the wrong way, or not at all, just when you need to drop into a much lower gear to avoid stopping dead. Not being able to change down through several gears, quickly and reliably, is a problem.
Thrown the chain twice, once got it tight jammed behind the block.
But it is a "road" bike after all so maybe I should just accept that and stick to my Dawes Galaxy for anywhere a bit difficult.
Maybe it'll improve with a bit more practice.

Sounds like you are getting the hang of it.
Changing down several gears should be the long sweep of the RH lever, or a maximum of 2 taps on the LH lever...?

[wearwell]

Cracked it at last.
Front:
Change from little to big sprocket is a single wide sweep and click, held in for a second or two or it will drop down again.
Then do one click in prep for change from big to little, which also aligns the cage a touch better.
Big to little is then one click - easy, no need to sweep, hold or anything. But if you have forgotten the preparatory one click it will take two. No problem. But if try two by mistake when you have done the prep one it will change down and straight back up to the big sprocket.
Get that? Complicated innit!
OK on the open road but just stay in low if things are difficult. Demanding swithbacky rides means stay on small sprocket. Any emergency changes can catch you out. Forget it. This is around Carsington reservoir, for those who know it.

Back
Basically no prob once you have the hang of it except if you try to change down (to bigger sprocket) when you are already on the biggest, then it will change up (to smaller) instead, which might just catch you out if you are at your limit.

So, they work, sometimes slowly, but you have to think or you will miss a change.
Non indexed bar shifters on my other bike are much faster and more reliable, but they aren't integral with the brake levers. But I prefer them.
I wouldn't chose the Sram system now I know how it works, but I'll live with it to get my monies worth. Though I might just go the whole hog and back to down-tube shifters, then I wouldn't need to replace or disturb anything.

[PW]

Meic asked if you can get a low gear from Campag, the answer is yes but you need a bit of craft
I did this on the 953 'cos I'm not in the best of health at the moment and wanted to go for a ride or three up in the hills.
2006 Chorus triple / long arm mechs and Ergos, Shimano hub, Shimano or SRAM 11-28 cassette (10 speed) Shiftmate, Stronglight Speedlight triple chainset, rings 48/38/24. That's 23"-118" ish
It changes beautifully. I also made a Schmidt SON 20 wheel and fitted an Edelux on the front fork. I'm not convinced it's any brighter than an IQ Cyo but that's good enough for 45mph off the moors coming home.

[MartinC]

PW, just interested why you shimergoed it (instead of using a Campag 13-29 cassette)? Was it 'cos you wanted a Shimano 135mm hub?

[PW]

Yes, I don't do overdished wheels. The Shimano option also gives a wider gear range because of that 11 sprocket.

[wearwell]

Progress report.

Cracked it at last.
Front:
Change from little to big sprocket is a single wide sweep and click, held in for a second or two or it will drop down again.
Then do one click in prep for change from big to little, which also aligns the cage a touch better.
Big to little is then one click - easy, no need to sweep, hold or anything. But if you have forgotten the preparatory one click it will take two. No problem. But if try two by mistake when you have done the prep one it will change down and straight back up to the big sprocket.
Get that? Complicated innit!
OK on the open road but just stay in low if things are difficult. Demanding swithbacky rides means stay on small sprocket. Any emergency changes can catch you out. Forget it. This is around Carsington reservoir, for those who know it.

Then another complication is that if you don't hold it in long enough to go from little to big it goes up and them comes down again back to little. But it now thinks its in top (big) so when you try to change again it stays where it is. So if you haven't worked this out you are quite likely to get it wrong again and get it to move from little to big and back, all in one easy movement. Groundhog day gears.

Back
Basically no prob once you have the hang of it except if you try to change down (to bigger sprocket) when you are already on the biggest, then it will change up (to smaller) instead, which might just catch you out if you are at your limit.

No change here - usually get it right but sometimes not.
Overall verdict. Worst gear changing I've ever had, since a worn out Sturmey Archer about 40 years ago. It's the levers, not the mechs.

[wearwell]

Not been on the bike for a week or so (been away) but just been out.
Changing from little to big front it went up and then back down. So tried again (not sure how many clicks to do as the bugger has a memory) and it did same again. Tried one click and the chain came off (inwards). Put it back on and two goes later it was in top! That's five missed changes (or was it six) and one thrown chain in 100 yards.
It missed a few more changes in the 75km I did. The back changer works perfectly going up the gears i.e. one click for each step down the sprockets. But going the other way there is an element of chance. Worst bit is if you try to change to bottom (biggest sprocket) from next to, but mistakenly try 3 clicks - it goes up then comes down again. Two clicks sometimes does two jumps and then slips back a sprocket. Or if you are already on the biggest sprocket it will change up (to smaller) instead of just refusing. Also if you try to change more than one it will go in a lower (bigger sprocket) gear and then drop down one.
In other words these gears are crap big time. It's not the derailer mechs themselves - it's the levers. They are not fit for purpose. They should be withdrawn.
I've tried fine tuning, running them on a stand etc. (though they behave differently on the road). The bike is excellent - it's just the rubbish gears, worst I've ever had in 60 years of cycling!

Possibly dangerous - I was very reluctant to attempt changes up on a fast downhills in case the chain comes off.

I've done enough mileage to be able to say with confidence - don't touch em with a barge pole - big mistake, they should be withdrawn.

PS just been reading the publicity stuff:

including DoubleTap (one lever two shifts), brake and shift lever reach adjustment (for custom lever fit), Exact Actuation (for consistent and precise shifts), and Zero-Loss shifting (for immediate shift engagement).

"reach adjustment" works, the rest is completely untrue

[Trigger]

Well presumably there are plenty of people out there that seem to manage it ok, otherwise they'd have been withdrawn or altered.

[CREPELLO]

It may be a possibility that the shifter(s) are faulty.

[wearwell]

Well presumably there are plenty of people out there that seem to manage it ok, otherwise they'd have been withdrawn or altered.

I don't think there are a lot of people out there using them, judging by this thread. The reviews are all old, not many other on-line comments, and they are on sale with big discounts in a few places.

It may be a possibility that the shifter(s) are faulty.

Yes definitely. A design fault.

[mattsccm]

Just wondering. Do this particular model work the same way as the other SRAM stuff ? That seems to get good reviews.

[wearwell]

Just wondering. Do this particular model work the same way as the other SRAM stuff ? That seems to get good reviews.

I don't know, but http://www.sram.com/sram/road/technologies/30 seems to suggest they all use "double tap", unless it's just an option.
It says DoubleTap® makes changing gears easier and faster, but all the reviews seem to say the opposite, so it's not just me!

[mattsccm]

Just wondering. i have always thought the reviews were really positive once you had got the hang of the stuff. Only know of one person with it and he hasn't used anything else so can't compare.

[iandriver]

Just reading a thread on another forum and people are saying they prefer Apex:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... 8#17174068

Maybe a post here on a more roady forum might be worth your while to try to see why you are struggling. I regularly read about SRAM systems taking some getting used to, but once you do, many seem to get on with it fine.