Dura Ace --) XTR Rear Derailleur. Does cage length make a difference?

I received some excellent advice a few months ago when soliciting advice about a cheaper way to get
more usable gears on my 12-27 Dura Ace set up: first try a cassette that extends to 30 teeth and if
that didn't quite do the trick, go to an MTB XT/XTR r. der, avoid the newest (rapid-fire) models,
get a new chain and a 34 tooth cassette.

a. I tried the 30 teeth cassette. It works OK for normal riding but I am at my limit in the
mountains, currently recovering from knee pains in the Davis Double and I am preparing to do even
steeper rides including the Death Ride.

b. Is there any difference in effectiveness of this hybrid road/MTB setup whether an XTR derailleur
is a long or short cage?

Thanks for your help.

Sheldon Rothenberg

 

On 23 May 2003 17:42:39 -0700, [email protected] (Shelley) wrote:

>I received some excellent advice a few months ago when soliciting advice about a cheaper way to get
>more usable gears on my 12-27 Dura Ace set up: first try a cassette that extends to 30 teeth and if
>that didn't quite do the trick, go to an MTB XT/XTR r. der, avoid the newest (rapid-fire) models,
>get a new chain and a 34 tooth cassette.
>
>a. I tried the 30 teeth cassette. It works OK for normal riding but I am at my limit in the
> mountains, currently recovering from knee pains in the Davis Double and I am preparing to do
> even steeper rides including the Death Ride.
>
>b. Is there any difference in effectiveness of this hybrid road/MTB setup whether an XTR derailleur
> is a long or short cage?

I could be totally wrong on this, but I *think* I remember reading that for a 34 tooth rear cog, you
HAVE to run a long cage. Perhaps someone can verify/correct?

ELi

 

> a. I tried the 30 teeth cassette. It works OK for normal riding but I am at my limit in the
> mountains, currently recovering from knee pains in the Davis Double and I am preparing to do
> even steeper rides including the Death Ride.

Sheldon: More likely your knee issues from the Davis Double are due to the distances involved, not
the grades. As for the Death Ride, the grades really aren't all that steep, with the exception of a
short pitch on Ebbetts. However, if you find that you're frequently riding in your lowest gear and
want something lower, then by all means lower your gearing!

I would definitely take a look at your cleat positioning, as it's fairly common to find an
aggressive cleat position (cleat moved fairly far forward on the shoe) can cause or aggravate
knee problems.

> b. Is there any difference in effectiveness of this hybrid road/MTB setup whether an XTR
> derailleur is a long or short cage?

Not at the shop right now so I'm not sure, but for some medium vs long-cage derailleurs, the upper
jockey wheel location is changed so that it's further away from the cogs on the long-cage version,
allowing for clearance for a bigger cassette.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Shelley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I received some excellent advice a few months ago when soliciting advice about a cheaper way to
> get more usable gears on my 12-27 Dura Ace set up: first try a cassette that extends to 30 teeth
> and if that didn't quite do the trick, go to an MTB XT/XTR r. der, avoid the newest (rapid-fire)
> models, get a new chain and a 34 tooth cassette.
>
> a. I tried the 30 teeth cassette. It works OK for normal riding but I am at my limit in the
> mountains, currently recovering from knee pains in the Davis Double and I am preparing to do
> even steeper rides including the Death Ride.
>
> b. Is there any difference in effectiveness of this hybrid road/MTB setup whether an XTR
> derailleur is a long or short cage?
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Sheldon Rothenberg

 

> I could be totally wrong on this, but I *think* I remember reading that for a 34 tooth rear cog,
> you HAVE to run a long cage. Perhaps someone can verify/correct?
>
> ELi

....................They both shift a 34 cog.The long cage wraps more chain if one needs that too.

 

I appreciate Mike's suggestions. I will look at cleat positioning. I may have also suffered from
some thing I neglected to mention: a crash at mile 50, falling on knee and shoulder. I was able to
complete the 200 after some bike adjustments and "walking it off" but the residual effect of the
injury may have been what I experienced. While I will not be confused with Lance, for the most part
I climbed pretty effectively with a 39 x 30; maybe I don't really need to move to XTR.

Sheldon

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > a. I tried the 30 teeth cassette. It works OK for normal riding but I am at my limit in the
> > mountains, currently recovering from knee pains in the Davis Double and I am preparing to do
> > even steeper rides including the Death Ride.
>
> Sheldon: More likely your knee issues from the Davis Double are due to the distances involved, not
> the grades. As for the Death Ride, the grades really aren't all that steep, with the exception of
> a short pitch on Ebbetts. However, if you find that you're frequently riding in your lowest gear
> and want something lower, then by all means lower your gearing!
>
> I would definitely take a look at your cleat positioning, as it's fairly common to find an
> aggressive cleat position (cleat moved fairly far forward on the shoe) can cause or aggravate knee
> problems.
>
> > b. Is there any difference in effectiveness of this hybrid road/MTB setup whether an XTR
> > derailleur is a long or short cage?
>
> Not at the shop right now so I'm not sure, but for some medium vs long-cage derailleurs, the upper
> jockey wheel location is changed so that it's further away from the cogs on the long-cage version,
> allowing for clearance for a bigger cassette.
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
>
>
> "Shelley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I received some excellent advice a few months ago when soliciting advice about a cheaper way to
> > get more usable gears on my 12-27 Dura Ace set up: first try a cassette that extends to 30 teeth
> > and if that didn't quite do the trick, go to an MTB XT/XTR r. der, avoid the newest (rapid-fire)
> > models, get a new chain and a 34 tooth cassette.
> >
> > a. I tried the 30 teeth cassette. It works OK for normal riding but I am at my limit in the
> > mountains, currently recovering from knee pains in the Davis Double and I am preparing to do
> > even steeper rides including the Death Ride.
> >
> > b. Is there any difference in effectiveness of this hybrid road/MTB setup whether an XTR
> > derailleur is a long or short cage?
> >
> > Thanks for your help.
> >
> > Sheldon Rothenberg

 

In article <[email protected]>, Shelley <[email protected]> wrote:
>I appreciate Mike's suggestions. I will look at cleat positioning. I may have also suffered from
>some thing I neglected to mention: a crash at mile 50, falling on knee and shoulder. I was able to
>complete the 200 after some bike adjustments and "walking it off" but the residual effect of the
>injury may have been what I experienced. While I will not be confused with Lance, for the most part
>I climbed pretty effectively with a 39 x 30;

That is the gearing Francesco Casagrande was just using in the Giro a few days ago.

> maybe I don't really need to move to XTR.

As you make the cluster a lot wider you obviously increase the jumps between gears a lot. The low
gear is nice in the hills but at all other times the cluster is less usable as you will often end up
"not quite" in the gear you want for keeping your effort constant. This is why a triple-chainring
crankset is a better fix for the gearing problem. Or a cassette with a "bailout gear" that has
closer jumps between the rest of the cogs.

--Paul