Sunrace components – derailleurs and cassette alternatives

Review by Lee Lau

I saw an ad for Sunrace components in some magazine in the newstand.   What initially caught my eye was the reference to Sturmey-Archer (the 100 year old company) which I found also distributed Sunrace components. In my mind, anyone associated with that lineage of history of quality could do anything but make high quality bike parts. I contacted Dave P at Sunrace’s US offices and in short order I had some Sunrace derailleurs and cassettes on hand to test.

The long-cage Sunrace derailleur

Design and Construction: Derailleurs

I had the long cage RDMZ and the mid cage RDMX. According to Sunrace they are XTR and XT-equivalent respectively. You can get the specs from the website links provided but here are some highlights

• All 7075 aluminium construction
• 9 speeds
• 2:1 actuation ratio (ie Shimano compatible)
• Carbon cage for the higher end RDMZ
• Weight savings between the RDMZ (223g) and RDMX (236g) aren’t dramatic. Weights for long caged versions are cited
• Both have the capacity to handle up to 34t sprockets
• Adjustment hardware is all aluminium. No pesky plastic bits to strip
• Both have sealed bearings at the pulleys

The long-cage Sunrace derailleur