Deore XT crankset to Ultegra rear

[Alan]

I'm buying new sport touring bikes for myself and wife. We want the low gears of our old half step
systems with the consistant shift pattern. Will this combination work? The shops disagree.

Ultegra STI Shifters Deore XT 22 34 44 crankset Ultegra cassette custom 11 13 14 15 16 17 21 24 27
Ultegra derailleurs

Thanks, Alan

 

[Sheldon Brown]

A shy person wrote:

> I'm buying new sport touring bikes for myself and wife. We want the low gears of our old half step
> systems with the consistant shift pattern. Will this combination work? The shops disagree.
>
> Ultegra STI Shifters Deore XT 22 34 44 crankset Ultegra cassette custom 11 13 14 15 16 17 21 24 27
> Ultegra derailleurs

The problem with this is the front derailer. The Ultegra front derailer is a poor fit for the 44
tooth big ring, so the rear end of the cage will be too far from the chainring teeth. This will
likely cause rubbing in the more extreme chain angles, making some gears unusable.

STI shifters have a very limited ability to fine tune or "trim" the front derailer's cage position
to compensate for this.

If you use a front derailer designed for a 44 big ring, such as an XT or other current "mountain"
unit, you'll run into a different problem, because Shimano front indexing uses a different amount of
cable travel per shift for their "road" vs "mountain" equipment, so it won't match up well with the
Ultegra shifter.

The only derailer that meets both of these requires is the discontinued 1997 RSX model. For this
reason, we stocked up on a bunch of these while they were still available, and we still have
some left.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/derailers.html#front

As to the rear, there's no problem, but I would prefer to go with an XT derailer, given the choice.
Same price, better sealed and with more gearing options in case you decide you want to get some
serious low gears by installing a larger cassette. The only downside is that it's a wee bit heavier.

Sheldon "Interchangeability" Brown +--------------------------------------------------+
| The less you bet, the more you lose if you win | --Alan Rudolph (_Trixie_) |
+--------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

alans-<< Will this combination work? The shops disagree.

Ultegra STI Shifters Deore XT 22 34 44 crankset Ultegra cassette custom 11 13 14 15 16 17 21 24 27
Ultegra derailleurs >><BR><BR>

The front der action may be poor, but may be ok-try it...

The shift from the 11t to the 13 may be a little finicky as well...but again, try it.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[Alan]

[email protected] (Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> alans-<< Will this combination work? The shops disagree.
>
> Ultegra STI Shifters Deore XT 22 34 44 crankset Ultegra cassette custom 11 13 14 15 16 17 21 24 27
> Ultegra derailleurs >><BR><BR>
>
> The front der action may be poor, but may be ok-try it...
>
> The shift from the 11t to the 13 may be a little finicky as well...but again, try it.
>
> Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
> (303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Turns out the shop was going to try a Deore XT front der, can't wait to see. The 11 -13 and 17 -21
seem close to what the mtn cassette does, here's hoping. Thanks, Alan

 

[Alan]

Sheldon Brown <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> A shy person wrote:
>
> > I'm buying new sport touring bikes for myself and wife. We want the low gears of our old half
> > step systems with the consistant shift pattern. Will this combination work? The shops disagree.
> >
> > Ultegra STI Shifters Deore XT 22 34 44 crankset Ultegra cassette custom 11 13 14 15 16 17 21 24
> > 27 Ultegra derailleurs
>
> The problem with this is the front derailer. The Ultegra front derailer is a poor fit for the 44
> tooth big ring, so the rear end of the cage will be too far from the chainring teeth. This will
> likely cause rubbing in the more extreme chain angles, making some gears unusable.
>
> STI shifters have a very limited ability to fine tune or "trim" the front derailer's cage position
> to compensate for this.
>
> If you use a front derailer designed for a 44 big ring, such as an XT or other current "mountain"
> unit, you'll run into a different problem, because Shimano front indexing uses a different amount
> of cable travel per shift for their "road" vs "mountain" equipment, so it won't match up well with
> the Ultegra shifter.
>
> The only derailer that meets both of these requires is the discontinued 1997 RSX model. For this
> reason, we stocked up on a bunch of these while they were still available, and we still have
> some left.
>
> See: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/derailers.html#front
>
> As to the rear, there's no problem, but I would prefer to go with an XT derailer, given the
> choice. Same price, better sealed and with more gearing options in case you decide you want to get
> some serious low gears by installing a larger cassette. The only downside is that it's a wee bit
> heavier.
>
> Sheldon "Interchangeability" Brown +--------------------------------------------------+
> | The less you bet, the more you lose if you win | --Alan Rudolph (_Trixie_) |
> +--------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Turns out the shop was going to try a Deore XT front der, can't wait to see. How do the Shimano bar
cons compare to my very old, perfect, Sun Tour 6-speed indexed ones? Thanks, Alan

 

[Paul Kopit]

On 21 Jun 2003 09:02:59 -0700, [email protected] (alan) wrote:

>I'm buying new sport touring bikes for myself and wife. We want the low gears of our old half step
>systems with the consistant shift pattern. Will this combination work? The shops disagree.
>
>Ultegra STI Shifters Deore XT 22 34 44 crankset

22 34 46
>Ultegra cassette custom 11 13 14 15 16 17 21 24 27

I don't know how you'd make an Ultegra cassette with those cogs that would shift smoothly.

11,12,13,14,16,18,21,24,28 (11/32 minus 32 plus 13) I think that Sheldon Brown sells this one. A
regular 12/27 would work as well if you have the 46t cog and you avoid an ugly 18-21 jump.

The capacity of the rear derailleur needs to be 39 so you'll likely make it with an Ultegra long
cage but you'd be better with an XT. The Ultegra front derailleur is not a good choice for any of
these setups and an XT would work better.

>Ultegra derailleurs

Not recommended

>
>Thanks, Alan