Praxis/Sram Red/Black front shifting

[Dromen]

I didn't know i had 20 gears until i changed out my SRAM Red/Black 50/34 rings and chain for Praxis rings and recommended KMC chain.

Since 6/11 the following warranty parts/work on 2011 Red/Black Groupo:
*Crank changed out for run out.
*Ti FD changed out for Red steel FD.
*50 ring and chain changed out for excessive wear due missed shifts after 1000mi.
*Multiple trips to SRAM approved LBS with recommended adjustments.
*Bike delivered to SRAM "in house" mechanic for final wrenching

Solution after no improvement:
SRAM offered two solutions.
1. "Put me in" Praxis rings/chain at their expense.
2. Put me in following 2012 red components at N/C - left ****er, FD, compact crank, chain and cassette. I would need to pay full retail for right shifter, brakes and RD + cables and installation if i wanted a matching groupo(??????).

I will keep the summary short......
I have totaled 400 road and 200 trainer miles on the Praxis setup. I just finished a 200km ride with 90 climbs totaling 11000' with not a missed front shift. I can only estimate what would have occurred with SRAM rings on this ride but based on previous experience here is my guess, a minimum of 24 miss shifts and 6 chain drops and even worse, I would have been avoiding a front shift at every ascent/desent.

No, i have zip, zero and nadda to do with the Praxis' business. Yes, I can lead the army of those SRAM groupo owners dissatisfied with their front shifting to the Praxis watering hole, now drink!

I thank Praxis for 10 more gears and fearless front shifting.

PS. To date, SRAM has refused to reimburse for Praxis rings/KMC chain + install labor.

[fatallightning]

What frame?

[Dromen]

Ottrott SE 2011

[false_Aest]

Brah,

How you manage to climb 11k in BigShoulders? That's like going back over the Kennedy, Edens and BishopFord at every possible chance. :P


I love them there Praxes (yeah that's plural) but sometimes I wonder about what happens with Sram.

Not calling you crazy or a liar. There's more than a few people who gripe about Sram Red. But I also know a bunch o dudes who rock that ***** hard. (Includes me with 8000 in 2010, 6000 in 2011 and at about 3000 YTD--with 15k climbing last week)

It's almost like Sram has 2 molds... one built by Giant and the other by the Hubble engineers.

Or maybe all the crappy ones were made on Friday afternoons.

Glad you got your shi7 figured out though.

[Dromen]

All told, i had 2 different cranks and 3 different sets of rings. Poor luck i guess.

Horrible Hilly Hundreds, Blue Mound, WI. 11k' is managable but soo much more difficult with 90 bumps and short, or almost no recovery than long sustained mountain climbs(even at high altitude).

[Louis]

It's almost like Sram has 2 molds... one built by Giant and the other by the Hubble engineers.

Which one is the good mold, and which one the bad? ;)

[esldude]

Have one of the cantankerous SRAM FD's. I mean really, the FD is one of the simpler things in a drivetrain. How could it be so hard to get working right.

Spent lots of time adjusting, moving etc. etc. Couldn't get it to work. Did one more attempt at it. Measured and moved things literally measuring with a micrometer. Just started from what was just a bit too much for sure one way. Started in the other direction by tiny increments. Took half an afternoon.

Believe it or not, it now has worked so well for several weeks and I forgot about it until now. How such a simple thing can be so picky I still haven't figured out. Despite my disagreeing with others who like them fine, they were right. It is possible to make them work just fine.

[Dromen]

SRAM mechanic and a well regarded Chicago mechanic could ever get mine to work.

IMO, if you have a steel FD(not the rubber band Ti version), the FD has very little to do with it. Just check out the ramping, teeth and pins on the Praxis or Shimano and tell me there isn't a vast difference in the design and manufacturing technology(cold forging) vs what SRAM red puts into theirs.

Just wish they would offer a "SRAM" fix then their front shifting would match the mechanical excellence of the rest of the group.

[AngryScientist]

excellent. i too have nothing to do with Praxis, but have heard from multiple sources that their chainrings are nothing short of awesome. i believe i was the one who chimed in on your other thread and recommended them, glad to hear they solved your shifting issues.

they keep saying they are making rings for campy drillings, i'll probably pick up a set when they do.

[oldpotatoe]

SRAM mechanic and a well regarded Chicago mechanic could ever get mine to work.

IMO, if you have a steel FD(not the rubber band Ti version), the FD has very little to do with it. Just check out the ramping, teeth and pins on the Praxis or Shimano and tell me there isn't a vast difference in the design and manufacturing technology(cold forging) vs what SRAM red puts into theirs.

Just wish they would offer a "SRAM" fix then their front shifting would match the mechanical excellence of the rest of the group.

Biting my tongue, I will not pile on, I won't.......

[Dromen]

Yeah, i catch myself not praising praxis as ripping sram. I feel a little cheated tho on their dealing with my specifice situation while playing ball all year then they pulled their financial assistance when initially offered. Did they really need to fix the big problem with the poor shifting with a whole new 2500 buck groupo(in know, brakes are improved)...com'on.

I neglected to give a shout out to all you forum gents for your feed back on previous threads. Someone offered this review that sealed the deal for me. http://pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=10151

I'm done piling on also. Happy shifting.

[stusf]

I run a Dura-Ace 7800 FD with my SRAM red setup, works better than Red and lighter too once you add Ti bolts. I've never had a problem with the Red chainrings though.
There's lots of negative feedback on the FD out there, but this is the first time I've heard of anyone having issues with the chainrings. Did you try just swapping the chain and FD first?

[Dromen]

I am not complaining necessarily about the SRAM rings, i am just stating the massive variance in performance when changing the one variable - rings.

[Germany_chris]

And we don't ride campy why?

Front shifting is always precise, rear shifting unmatched..

Ohh wait I know grams, that's why campy weighs what 200 grams more?

[Dromen]

Amazing, 14 posts b4 a campy comment:D