I'm converting from 7 to 10 speed on my Viking so am obviously having to buy new components.I'm looking for a half decent rear mech,thinking maybe 105,but have seen short drop,long drop cage mechs.......whats the difference and advantages between the 2 ? My bike currently has a medium drop cage.
Long/Short cage...whats the difference?
- Thread starter Chris-H
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black'n'yellow
Guest
A long drop derailleur allows use of a wider range of gears, as it can take up more slack in the chain, for example if you have a triple chainset or a wide range of sprockets on the cassette ie 11-30. Each derailleur will have a quoted maximum range of teeth it can cope with, although this can be a little conservative. Decide what gear ratios you want and then see which is the best derailleur to use. A disadvantage of using a long drop(aka long cage) derailleur is that changing gears is not as snappy as with a short drop (aka short cage), but it's marginal.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
Exactly so - a triple needs a long cage mech, a double doesn't.
Anything over about 30T on the cassette. and you'll need an MTB mech.
A long cage doesn't enable a road mech to cope with a MTB cassette.
Anything over about 30T on the cassette. and you'll need an MTB mech.
A long cage doesn't enable a road mech to cope with a MTB cassette.
Thats nice an clear now.....many thanks everyone.
Answers to a couple of questions,yep its one of the £199 bikes,i brought it last year when i was unemployed as i could'nt afford to pay more than that,m plan was to use it throughout the winter to get an idea of how the components faired and then upgrade gradually.
The components are pants but the frame is nice,the reason to upgrade to 10 speed is simple......i wanted sti shifters and accountant Pete was selling a pair at a good price which happened to be 10 speed doubles,if they was 8 or 9 speed then thats the route i would've chosen.I wanted new wheels anyway so was'nt an issue with what speed i went to.
I know that some of you will be thinking i might as well buy a better spec bike but i simply cant afford one outright,this way i get to build a bike to my spec,on a frame i like and spread the cost over a few months with the added bonus of doing an enjoyable rebuild.
Answers to a couple of questions,yep its one of the £199 bikes,i brought it last year when i was unemployed as i could'nt afford to pay more than that,m plan was to use it throughout the winter to get an idea of how the components faired and then upgrade gradually.
The components are pants but the frame is nice,the reason to upgrade to 10 speed is simple......i wanted sti shifters and accountant Pete was selling a pair at a good price which happened to be 10 speed doubles,if they was 8 or 9 speed then thats the route i would've chosen.I wanted new wheels anyway so was'nt an issue with what speed i went to.
I know that some of you will be thinking i might as well buy a better spec bike but i simply cant afford one outright,this way i get to build a bike to my spec,on a frame i like and spread the cost over a few months with the added bonus of doing an enjoyable rebuild.
PpPete
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chandler's Ford
Strictly speaking road mechs come in short cage (SS models in Shimano-ese) and medium cage (GS models in Shimano-ese)
only MTB mechs are truly "long cage".
Some of the latest generation of GS models are rated to 30T, but will cope with 32T quite nicely if adjustement is right and chain is right length.
Enjoy the upgrading process - you are right it's not overall cheapest way, but very satisfying when it all comes together.
only MTB mechs are truly "long cage".
Some of the latest generation of GS models are rated to 30T, but will cope with 32T quite nicely if adjustement is right and chain is right length.
Enjoy the upgrading process - you are right it's not overall cheapest way, but very satisfying when it all comes together.
