What I was told is that Shimano wasn't listening to athletes - or product staff outside of Japan apparently - until late into the product development cycle until quite recently. SRAM development doesn't happen in a vacuum in the same way from what I understand. There are many staff, and presumably athletes (although I don't have specific info about this), involved and it seems to be very much a collaborative effort. Whether athletes are the difference, I couldn't say.
June 25, 2018, 12:59 p.m. - Cam McRae
What I was told is that Shimano wasn't listening to athletes - or product staff outside of Japan apparently - until late into the product development cycle until quite recently. SRAM development doesn't happen in a vacuum in the same way from what I understand. There are many staff, and presumably athletes (although I don't have specific info about this), involved and it seems to be very much a collaborative effort. Whether athletes are the difference, I couldn't say.