[Grape Ape]

I went OTB today and right foot stayed attached to pedal. Pulling the bike over to that side hard hitting the derailleur. It is knocked out of whack. I don't have a stand to put it on to check it (hopefully buying one soon) I am going to take it in to the LBS.

Now for the question. I am seeing both good and bad about the Sram x-7 but most people say they would upgrade from the sram to Shimano. If it need replaced should I replace it with a Shimano or go back with the Sram? WillI have to change my shifters if I swap to Shimano? The current shifters on the bike are sram x5.

 

[WellnessCoachGreg]

I am new to this site. Sorry no one responded to you yet. The answer is; Yes, you would have to change your shifters over to Shimano as well. As far as upgrading from SRAM to shimano, I have to say that I personally wouldn't. My SRAM products have always out performed my Shimano products. Shimano used to have an advantage over SRAM because they offered whole drivetrain systems that were designed to work together, where SRAM didn't. That is not the case any more. Where bikes go wrong is where they mix match cranks, chain rings, cogsets, derailers, chains, and shifters. There are plenty of companys that make super light parts, but they don't work together. If you have SRAM derailers and shifters, make sure that your cogset, and chain rings are SRAM specific and you will do fine.

 

[Slawth]

I'd run the X7 till you break it then replace it with an X9 if you want to upgrade. I spun my derailleur (x9) 6hrs into a 24hr race and only had an x7 as a replacement. Easy to install, adjust and and it didn't miss a shift for the rest of the race. There is nothing wrong with an X7.

As far as the X9- I run XO's on both of my race bikes and can tell you there is no noticeable functional difference between a $100 X9 and its much more expensive older brother.

As far as Shimano vs SRAM... personal preference at the highest level but SRAM's mid level destroy's Shimano IMO (read- regular non sponsored guy on a budget)

 

[Industry_Hack]

When I had my tandem, I switched from a Shimano XT/XTR drivetrain 8 speed over to SRAM X9, and the difference was noticeable. I'm was convinced that nothing would ever be better than Shimano 8 for MTBs, (it certainly outperformed any of the 9 speed stuff I tried) but the SRAM stuff gave me better shifting performance under all conditions. Keep in mind that the cables on tandems have much longer runs than your single, and since mine was titanium, there was a fair amount of flexing under load.