amey9k

I have booked the Element FRC 52 road bike which uses Ignite shifters with Shimano Sora RD. Is this a healthy combination? Anyone having any experience with Ignite shifters? How is the durability and ease of use. Let me clarify that this is my first road bike and I hv zero experience in road cycling. Since I was on a budget, had to buy the Element road bike.

Iride01 

If it's comes with that combination from the manufacturer, then I'm sure it's good enough for the price point that bike is in. Might be that 9 speed components for a road bike are just not what bigger manufacturers like Shimano, SRAM and other wish to keep making. So they might be happy to let lesser known component makers have that business.

jonathanf2

I'm currently using Sensah Team Pro 11 speed shifters which are also Shimano compatible (similar to the Ignite shifters) on a budget build bike and I'm not too fond of the shared brake/shift lever. I'm giving the shifters a few more tries to see if I can dial them in properly, if not I'm going to take them off. My impression of them is that they're more like friction shifters that do so-so indexing. Shimano shifters have true index shifting as they don't require major friction or force to shift into the next gear. I'm sure the Ignite shifters will work fine, but eventually you can upgrade them to Sora shifters if you want more precise shift performance.

amey9k

Thanks. I got the delivery of the bike. Took it out of the showroom by cycling home. The gears started shifting by themselves...!! Loose cable maybe?

jonathanf2

Definitely make sure the RD cable is secure. I literally had the same issue yesterday testing out the bike with the Sensah shifters. When I checked the bike at home, the RD cable bolt was loose. Like I said, Sensah shifters require a bit of force/friction to shift, so it probably puts more strain on the rear shift cable, just make sure not to over tighten to avoid fraying the cable.

kcjc

??? Only difference in the levers are there are no separate down shift lever. Both Sensah and Shimano utilize shared brake/lever system for upshifting. SRAM, Campy, and L-TWoo have separate systems but not Shimano. I been using Empire Pro for a few months and prefer it to my Ultegra 6800 and Dura Ace 9100 setups. The feedback on the indexing is more distinct than Shimano and can't imagine it's that different on Team except for the change in pull ratio. The throw does require more force but not something that different and I'm at home after a few shifts when I change between bikes and system. The Empire Pro's shifts are immediate unlike Shimano which occurs after the cable tension is released. The front shifting is night and day. For the same price of replacement Ultegra shifter pair (no longer able to access/remove bottom access panel screws due to rust), I got the complete drive train without the Shimano's $hitty front derailleur (6800 and 8000 but excluding my shadow 9100 which works ok). Time will tell but I'm not expecting to dig out shredded cable every 2-3k miles.

veganbikes

Healthy. not sure? But quality for the components on it they are probably a match to it. Sora is on the low end so it isn't anything great so don't expect much out of the Sensah. It is probably functional enough for the price but nothing to write home about. Ride the bike enjoy the bike and save up your money for a nicer bike when the time comes.

jonathanf2

Over the weekend I switched the Sensah Team Pro shifters to LTwoo GR9 11 speed shifters (Shimano compatible) on my 1x road build. The LTwoo shifting is much better in my opinion compared to the Team Pro shifters with very distinct mechanical shifts and more precise indexing. The LTwoo shifters have their own down shift lever and a campagnolo style upshift trigger. I don't think the Sensah shifters are bad and I easily adjusted using them. I do think LTwoo does better Shimano compatible shifters since that's what their road/grave line-up is based off, while Sensah uses the SRAM pull ratio for their line-up.

kcjc

I ride most on the hoods and worry it'll would get in the way although their new hydraulics (and paddle placement) is intriguing. You can mix match the brakes with potential undesirable performance but the shifting will not work for 10 speed onward. Sensah have separate line ups for Shimano and SRAM compatibility. Being founded by ex SRAM engineers when SRAM China closed it's factory, Sensah's shifter actuation is SRAM impired. L-TWoo was also founded by ex SRAM engineers also. Bad move on SRAM's part.

Ferguron

I have two older bikes (one steel / one aluminum) with Sensah drive trains. One ten speed, one eleven speed. I have about 4000 on the drive trains now and have nothing but good things to say about them. They can be a little clunkier than my best bike (11 speed mechanical Dura Ace) but they are fully functional, are holding up well and you can't beat the price.

I believe Sensah is a great way to breathe new life into an old bike, with very little investment.

himespau 

I'm a fan of Microshift levers. 2 separate levers (one for up the other for down) hanging out behind the brake lever. Works well, dead simple to set up.

kcjc

Recently I had to recycle my old Dura Ace 8900 front derailleur with my Sensah Empire Pro home trainer setup. (Tried to fit a chain catcher and didn't realize that it did not play well with the clamp adapter until I strip the thread on the derailleur. Luckly the replacement is only $17.50 on Alliexpress.) I'm pleasantly surprised the combination works and much better than Shimano shifters. No ideal if the rear will work or have the funny business with the brakes and hope I'll never have to.

gilmic

Thanks to all. Helpful advice critiques for those (including myself) exploring a Sensah purchase.

ls01

Check out Trace Velo on you tube. He does a bunch of reviews of these Chinese group sets. Even the new electronic 12 speed stuff.