Shimano GRX vs SRAM Rival - Which Is Better?

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#cycling #bikes #bicycle

[davidjohnstone]

Another consideration for me is bleeding the brakes -- Shimano being mineral oil based is simple to deal with in bleeding my own brakes at home. It is a simple and safe job compared to dealing with SRAM which uses a much more hazardous fluid. Plus, I don't like the feel of SRAM.

[MGRSD]

Agreed. You don’t need it, but when you consider cycling in below freezing weather, eTap AXS has sold me. So much better for shifting with cold hands.

[DaveCM]

I would absolutely go with the SRAM mullet on a gravel bike. I went from mechanical to SRAM mullet. It is vastly superior. The thing about gravel riding, is that it can be hillier than you think if you've never done it. Gravel tends to have steeper punches than paved roads. Plus, the electronic is just so much more effective on gravel. It is so much better on quickly changing terrain.

[teunluijbregts]

Just a thought - imo especially for a novice, the price of replacement parts should be considered as much as or even more than purchase price.
You’re gonna make mistakes. Break a derailleur tripping over a branch, wear out the drivetrain prematurely, change a headset and hub bearings cause you used a high pressure hose… that kind of stuff.
Just my 2 cents 😉

[tinatpasselepoivre]

In the end I did a custom build with Gevenale, XT 2x11 customised with 44-28 + 11-42
Perfect and cheap with patience for second hand parts

[shewhrn]

A bit of a different perspective, perhaps from someone who is a little older and has accumulated a number of injuries over the years: I went on a gravel vacation in August. We did 236 miles of almost pure gravel in a week. I was riding a bike with mechanical GRX 820 shifting. I ended up getting a repetitive stress injury from the effort required to shift the rear derailleur (basically the cycling equivalent of tennis elbow). It's been 2.5 months and it hasn't healed yet. I've only hopped on the gravel bike once since then and it was immediately obvious that shifting was the cause. My road bike has Di2. No problems there. So, I'm in the process of switching from GRX on my gravel bike to a SRAM mullet setup. I know from experience with my roadbike that my hands are just less fatigued after a big ride (80+ miles). I really thought electronic shifting was gimmicky at first, but I have to say, I absolutely love it. Another note, Shimano has a problem with their rear mechanical brifters. The acute angle that the cable turns at causes premature wear. After around 3000 miles, the cable will start fraying inside the brifter. This will first manifest as difficulty shifting into your biggest gear until, eventually, the cable snaps. One thing I don't miss with Di2... replacing derailleur cables and fine-tuning the derailleur as the cable housing wears down. So, although I absolutely love Shimano, I'd lean toward the SRAM in this case.

[twowheelsintokyo]

I’ve run electronic and mechanical shifting, my road and mountain bikes are electronic, my gravel “adventure” bike is mechanical. I have had issues with electronic shifting. It’s no fun losing your shifting on a long ride, and the farther are from home, the worse it is. On my gravel bike I run a GRX 1x12 driveline with a 10~51 cassette. This gives you the same gear range as SRAM electronic systems, but is still less expensive. I’ve put thousands of miles now on my GRX driveline, and not had a single issue.

[stemac]

I’ve been on GRX 800 1X for two years now and three months ago changed the 11-42 to an 11-46 which is great.

[sebastianm]

+1 on the brakes. IME the bleed process is pretty much the same for Sram. BUT the Dot fluid will need to be replaced in shorter intervals and your brakes will feel spongy quicker, simply because DOT fluid is hydroscopic and will get contaminated with water quicker until your brakes feel shit. I don't like that sort of fuzz as I feel it's just completely unnecessary. I dunno whether Sram did it for patent reasons. But I found that mineral oil brakes just keep on working almost indefinitely once they're set up properly. I do replace the mineral oil eventually. But rarely do I feel that I have to.

[petersouthernboy]

Once you ride on electronic shifting, it’s hard to go back to mechanical cables.

[tombladon]

The key difference for me is the brakes, the Shimano brakes are really good and I’ve found them to be easier to service, bleed and find affordable parts for. Sram brake pads can be pricey.

[g.fortin]

I actully like the GRX 2X option.. on gravel you get good low range and on smoother you get the higher ring and closer cassette spacing. guess it depends on one's needs mostly and the right answer would be user-specific maybe.

[karlboulter]

I wouldn't say "wider gear range" is a benefit of SRAM. GRX can get up to 10-51. It all depends on what particular options are available on the bike you are buying. Don't let the cassette options hold you back, you can always swap later!

[Epiqe]

2x always… 1x and higher range of casette means more wear of crankset. 2x is more universal and works like charm even on my GRX600 crankset

[SoManyMiles]

Mechanical shifting with GRX was not as smooth as with SRAM until they released the new GRX 820 1By this year, imo. The older GRX versions were not shifting and overall working as crispy as SRAM‘s mech groups. I am very happy with the regular SRAM Rival without all the electronics.

[neilk]

Wireless shifting is quite addictive-if you're used to it, no doubt GRX would not be an option

[lookinforanick]

I don't know if I agree with the statement that mechanical is inherently more durable than electronic - the shifting mechanism at the lever is pretty complex with lots of small components that can break. I suffer from recency bias tho, my right (rear) 810 lever broke a few weeks ago - and whilst on a bikepacking trip of all times and places! I have been thinking whether to stick to mechanical or switch to Di2 since. I still skew for the former just because Di2, on my current bike, would prevent me from using seatposts such as Ergon's spring leaf or the Redshift.

[mustardlightning]

Have a GRX 812 1x on my bike, fitted with an 11-46 SLX (I think) cassette. Been working like a charm for some 1000+ kilometers now. As much as I would like to try electronic just to have one cable less, I am somehow hesitant towards riding a bike with parts that I need to register online and update the firmware for 😂

BTW, been seeing a few people putting a Deore 5100 series 11-51 tooth 11 speed cassette on their bikes, having zero problems with GRX 812 managing it on shorter chainstays. So that is what I intend to try next. Down to 38t chainring upfront, with 51t in the back. If it works, it is a serious range on a relative cheap, and with good ol’ Shimano quality (and quirks).

[davelloyd]

Got to disagree with mechanical being more durable than electronic off road... Add mud into a mechanical shifter and cables and they'll clog eventually. Electronic won't. Saying that, I've seen problems with SRAM axs so I don't think I'd go down that route (but grx di2 is fantastic).

[co]

Isn't Rival also available in a mechanical version? But only as one-by?