I saw this photo on Cyclingnews.com and I immediately noticed this was a three-horse race. All the players are present: Shimano, Campagnolo, and SRAM. There are many ways to look at this image and the representation of the different component groups. In the photo, Shimano leads, just like their production numbers or the number of bikes sold in the world equipped with Shimano. Just behind sits Campy, trailing Shimano in sale's numbers and company size. And the truly impressive aspect of this image is that in its first year of PRO sponsorship, SRAM is hot on the heels of the two giants. I remember a time not long ago when everyone in the industry doubted whether it was possible for a small company to challenge the Shimano. I guess there were a few dedicated individuals who felt differently.Photo courtesy: cyclingnews.com
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4 comments:
Nice assessment. How can you tell the difference in components from this photograph? I am quite impressed.
It's pretty clear if you know what to look for. Shimano's large and silver 10-speed levers are obvious.
More difficult to differentiate are the Campy and SRAM levers. They're both black (carbon). The most differentiable feature of the SRAM levers is how much they flare out to the side, towards the riders fingers.
You can also look at the teams and know who they're sponsored by.
I confess, I was aware the SD was sponsored by SRAM and that was how I could ID the SRAM so far out. Thank you for taking the time to read and Eric, you are correct, the DA levers are always easy to spot.
also easy to spot is the shimano cable routing vs the other two....just to throw it out there
and SD is the only protour team on SRAM, to my knowledge.
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