hhk25

I know that the cassettes are interchangeable. Does this mean the shifters and RDs are as well? If the spacing on the cassette cogs are the same, logic would dictate that the pull ratios of the shifters are the same. True? Can I use a SRAM X-5 shifter with a Deore RD?

shelbyfv

No. Different cable pulls, shifter and derailleur in combo.

Crankycrank

+1 ^^^. Won't work. Here's a chart listing "pull ratio" for each and they are different. Bicycle Cassettes & Drivetrains - Google Sheets Also, scroll to the very bottom of the page and click the "compatibility" box for shifter pull ratio although in this case just knowing the derailleur data is all you need.

JanMM

9-speed SRAM rear shifters with a number designation (X9, X0, etc.) work with SRAM RDs while SRAM rear shifters with alphabet/word designation (Attack, Centera, etc.) work with Shimano RDs.

Kontact 

I wonder how often on car forums people ask if they can replace their Subaru transmission with a GM one. Its odd how often people assume universal compatibility, yet seem aware that it isn't true of computers, phones, appliances, etc.

No disrespect intended to the OP.

hhk25

I don't typically have a Subaru transmission hanging around the shop. But, I do have SRAM shifters kicking around and a bike with a Shimano RD that needs new shifters.

hhk25

Wow, who put that together? That's a valuable resource.

Crankycrank

Yes it's a great resource. I think I've posted it about 4 times this week alone. I have come across an error or two so double check the data.

brixxton

Friction shifters rule!!

alcjphil

My mountain bike has SRAM X-9 9 speed shifters, a SRAM X-7 rear derailleur and a Shimano front derailleur. It came equipped that way from the factory

hhk25

On my gravel bike, I installed Gevenalle shifters. Friction for the front. Indexed rear. Works great.

Camilo

Helped me a few days ago.

Canker

Just to be a prick. You can get adapters to mount a GM trans to a subaru engine. Drag racing people do all kinds of weird things.

Shiftmate Compatibility Charts and Choices - Jtek Engineering
I believe shiftmate 6 is what you are looking for? Is it worth the hassle and cost though when you can probably just ask for an old 9 speed shimano RD on facebook for free. I know I have a couple shimano and sram ones in my crap pile.

dedhed

https://www.google.com/search?q=foru...&ie=UTF-8there is

a whole industry to do things like that
​​​​​​https://www.advanceadapters.com/engine-to-transmission-adapters-bellhousings-2?orderby=0&pagesize=12&viewmode=grid&pagenumber=2

https://subarugears.com/product-category/adaptor/​​​​​​

jimc101

Shimano and SRAM in the past have been mixed from the factory in the past by many manufactures, so valid question; totally different from car manufactures who want to keep their parts in their own ecosystem, and even then, many car parts from different brands can be mix and matched if you know the MPN/SKU of the OEM part

Kontact 

Yes, I should have thought better than to use any analogy. People who have been into biking for awhile of course know that SRAM started as a company that made shifters for Shimano. I just don't think that people asking about the kind of swap in the OP are aware of that history. Or know about bolting Chevy engines in Landcruiser FJ40s.

And I wasn't so much being critical of the OPs assumption, but just the way seemingly everyone is surprised/frustrated that all the parts on a bike aren't mix and match. Why do we expect BBs and cranks to be universal? Maybe we got lucky for awhile there when near everything was English 68mm for 2-3 years in the '90s. Now we're back to the equivalent of English, French, Swiss and Italian with five different spindle tapers.

Just grumbling. Not important.

jimc101

? Pretty sure they have never made anything for each other, SRAM started out as/with Gripshift as their only product line, and then acquired Sachs, which gave them full groupsets, and where many of the names in current use came from for the road groupsets.

For many years there was 100% compatibility between SRAM and Shimano, but after Shimano when 10 speed with MTB (SRAM wasn't so big into road at that time) the compatibility split, with only cassettes (speed, not the fitting) now being the only real part in a groupset that is 100% interchangeable between SRAM and Shimano.

dedhed

Pretty sure you're right.

In 1990, the company sued Shimano for unfair business practices, noting that Shimano offered, in effect, a 10-percent discount to bicycle manufacturers specifying an all-Shimano drivetrain and that few companies in the highly competitive industry would be willing to forgo such a discount to specify Grip Shift components.

Kontact 

"For Shimano" meaning "For use with Shimano index systems".

cyccommute 

There have been some compatibility between SRAM and Shimano, especially on the low end components. Some grip shift and some of SRAM’s trigger shifters were made to work with Shimano and will still work with Shimano’s lower end lines. But SRAM was making shifters…both paddle and grip…that worked solely with SRAM derailers for a long time before Shimano 10 speed came along. SRAM introduced their ESP derailers and ESP grip shifters in 1995. They started making Grip Shift for road bike in 1988 and adapted them mountain bikes in 1991. Shimano screwed up their mountain bike components in 2006.

SRAM didn’t acquire Sachs until 1997. That acquisition may have given them some drivetrain components but they were making their own derailers at that point.

MudPie

Wow, that's truly an amazing resource! Thanks for posting the link.

Crankycrank

I believe a BF member created that awhile back but unfortunately, I don't remember who it was to give credit to but has saved myself and others hours of time trying to find this info.

Camilo

And again today to verify compatibility of Shimano 8/9/10 Road levers w/ 8 and 9 speed Microshift MTB RDs. I "assumed" they were compatible, since I've matched 9 and 10 Shimano road levers with 8 and 9 speed MTB RDs.... and Microshift was supposed to be compatible with Shimano (for the most part, not always). The cable pull and compatibility charts in the spreadsheet that Crankycrank has posted gave me reassurance.

Synopis: Microshift 8,9 and 10 road shifters have the same cable pull as the corresponding Shimano 8, 9 and 10 speed road shifters (2.8, 2.5 and 2.3 respectively). The Shimano 8,9 and 10 speed shifters are all compatible with Shimano MTB RDs with 1.7 cable pull which are 8 and 9 speed MTB RDs. The 8 and 9 speed Microshift MTB RDs have that 1.7 cable pull.

Of course I could have just used Shimano RDs, but I really want to try Microshift stuff and found some good prices on the MTB RDs.

Again, I "assumed" this was the case, but thanks to Crankycrank for giving me a resource to confirm!