Need new derailleurs! What parts do I need?

[Pulse]

Long Mynd went well yesterday... I managed to drop the bike, breaking both derailleurs and the chain.

I'm not entirely sure what parts I need... Here's my bike: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/tra...

Would the following fit?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-slx-m66...

and

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-m772...

(Do I want long cage or short cage?)

and

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-deore-h...

[gazza285]

Most of those will fit. You will want the long cage mech, as you are running a triple up front. You need a band on front mech though.

That is the good news.

The bad news is you might need a new cassette on the back, depending on how worn yours is, and there is a chance that your mech hanger will not be in line if you have managed to break the rear mech.

How the hell did you manage to break all three?

[Rich_W]

The Evans page says "34.9mm Clamp" for Front derailleur (aka front mech) So The Chain reaction SLX one is NOT going to fit. As it's a "bolt on"

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-m771...

This would be fine if you choose the right size clamp from the option on the right

Rear mech is fine. And you would want LONG CAGE. FYI the bigger the rear sprocket the logner the cage. As a general "rule" up to 28T on the back will be fine with a short cage. Anything bigger (and the Evans page says 34T) would recommend a Long cage. (as fitted to your bike already)

Chain looks fine as well. As you go to 10 or even 11 speed the chain gets narrower. SO for clarity just get the 9 speed Shimano and it should be fine.

[Pulse]

gazza285 said:

All those will fit. You will want the long cage mech, as you are running a triple up front.

That is the good news.

The bad news is you might need a new cassette on the back, depending on how worn yours is, and there is a chance that your mech hanger will not be in line if you have managed to break the rear mech.

How the hell did you manage to break all three?

I have absolutely no idea, given the bike should probably have fallen on the non-drive side, but I am pretty special. I think the chain was just unlucky, and figure for a tenner I'll just replace rather than get a power link.

I'll perhaps need to take a closer look. At least the mech hanger is replaceable on my bike. New cassette would suck, but guess it's now about 3 years old, so not the end of the world.

What sort of cassette would I need? 9 speed I guess, but... which one, and I believe I'll need a special tool to do that as well?

[Herman Toothrot]

May make more sense :-

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-1x10...

32T front & 11-36 cassette is all you need as long as not really unfit.

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Sunday 31st January 20:02

[Kermit power]

Herman Toothrot said:

May make more sense :-

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-1x10...

32T front & 11-36 cassette is all you need as long as not really unfit.

Or even got for the XT 1x11 groupset, which has dropped in price so it's not only about £50 more, and still under £200.

OP - Given how much you've managed to knacker, the above would seem to be the more sensible route. You're changing so much of the drivetrain, why not replace the whole lot with an upgrade for not much more money, and completely modernise your bike?

Be warned, though. Most of the people who say "32T front & 11-36 cassette is all you need as long as not really unfit" tend to either be ultra-fit and ultra-thin, or live in Norfolk! A range up to 40 or even 42 on the back would give you just that little bit more flexibility to get up the sort of long climbs which I get the feeling from looking at a map pepper the Shropshire Hills!

[richardxjr]

Absolutely go 1x. Ditch front mech, shifter, triple rings, get less things to go wrong or clog up, no chain slap so quieter and save half a kilo.

I'm a recent convert to oval rings. Feel so much more efficient. So a 32T oval narrow wide chainring from Absolute Black or Superstar or any others. See how you get on with 11-36 on the back and if you are genuinely struggling then add a 40T expander sprocket as mentioned above.

IF you are going 1x though, get a Shadow Plus mech, these have a clutch which together with the chainring tooth profile keeps the chain taught.

SLX cassette and chain, and SLX or ZEE FR mech will all work fine. Renew the gear cable while you're at it.


NOTE though your bike is presently 9 speed, all the above is 10 speed so you'll also need a 10 speed shifter.
Unless you go 11 speed as above. On MTBs 11 speed cassettes fit 8/9/10 speed freehubs, unlike on road bikes.


I'd also replace the mech hanger (they are supposed to be sacrificial, to save the mech) and carry a spare too. These are frame dependent.

Edited by richardxjr on Monday 1st February 08:32

[Justin S]

I'd still question everyone jumping on the 1 by 10 or 11 band camp. Not everyone has legs of steel. Following a weekend in Wales , with a mate running 1 x 10 and with an expander, he was way behind on all the climbs and has vowed to convert back to 2 x 10. I guess its where you ride but I have 2 bikes running 3 x 10 and don't see the need to convert and its sometimes nice on near vert climbs just to spin up them rather than walk.

[richardxjr]

Cos it's still 9 or 10 gears too many

[Kermit power]

Justin S said:

I'd still question everyone jumping on the 1 by 10 or 11 band camp. Not everyone has legs of steel. Following a weekend in Wales , with a mate running 1 x 10 and with an expander, he was way behind on all the climbs and has vowed to convert back to 2 x 10. I guess its where you ride but I have 2 bikes running 3 x 10 and don't see the need to convert and its sometimes nice on near vert climbs just to spin up them rather than walk.

If you're in hilly terrain, run 1x11 with 11-42 on the back and 30 teeth on the front. You'll not see much difference up hills compared to a standard 2x10 setup.

[Pulse]

1x10 sounds appealling, but that's a huge cost for a bike which is probably only worth about £200.

Unless there's a way to do it cheaper?

[Herman Toothrot]

I'm neither ultra fit or skinny, 5'10" and 73kg and can only manage a 26min 10mile TT. 32T & 11-36T on the hardtail is ample for me say on any Coed-y-Brenin, BPW, Cwmcarn, Quantocks trail where I'm usually at the front of the group. Full suspension 150mm travel weightier type bikes a bit lower does help I'll agree, my FS 160mm/150mm I run 34T 11-42T 10speed.

Do remember the gears road riders push, even a compact MAMIL target market bike would have a low of only 34T / 28T they see mountain bikers spinning silly low gears and going no where as quite a joke.

[Kermit power]

Herman Toothrot said:

I'm neither ultra fit or skinny, 5'10" and 73kg and can only manage a 26min 10mile TT. 32T & 11-36T on the hardtail is ample for me say on any Coed-y-Brenin, BPW, Cwmcarn, Quantocks trail where I'm usually at the front of the group. Full suspension 150mm travel weightier type bikes a bit lower does help I'll agree, my FS 160mm/150mm I run 34T 11-42T 10speed.

Do remember the gears road riders push, even a compact MAMIL target market bike would have a low of only 34T / 28T they see mountain bikers spinning silly low gears and going no where as quite a joke.

My road bike is about 40% lighter than my mountain bike, has about 95% less drag, makes me probably 30% more aerodynamic, and doesn't have to go over roots and the like when climbing. There is no comparison to be made.

Also, 73kg and 5'10" would, I'd say, make you lighter than at least 2/3 or the people I see riding.

[Justin S]

richardxjr said:

Cos it's still 9 or 10 gears too many

Pah...lol ......... you riding singlespeed on Sunday 21st ? I might run more than one gear to keep up.............

[Craikeybaby]

At the back end of last year I converted from 3x9 to 1x10 and am glad I did. It sounds like the only extra bit the OP would need to buy is the shifter for 10 speed.

[gazza285]

richardxjr said:

Cos it's still 9 or 10 gears too many

Correct.

[zed4]

Have a look at my thread on this page. I've just gone 1x 11 XT M8000

[With these feet]

Its a fair whack of cash compared to replacing the derailleurs - £40 against £200+?
Add to that you need to be able to change the bits over, have the right tools and the time. Not everybody has.

Id stick with the 9 speed, if it works then fine, but as you said, if its a £200 bike its not really cost effective to spend £200+ just to lose a few cogs.


Why not look on fleabay, looks like there are plenty of 9 speed stuff on there for sale for half the price of new.You might even get an XT set up for less than the price of a new derailleur

Its a pity that they didnt do shadow plus 9 speed as that would be a worthwhile upgrade.