MTB Rear Derailer/cassette on Road bike

"KD" <kmorton.at.dsl-only.net> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
| I'm new to the list, and fallry new to bicyling, although I've owned a
| bike most of my life. Usually something I picked up at a garage sale,
| and rode until it was toast. The most work I've usually done is change
| a tire, repair a tube or change a brake pad.
|
| I went out in Feburary and bought a Litespeed Arenburg ('01 frame I'm
| pretty sure; non-integrated headset). It has Ultegra ('03) tripple
| components. I live in Oregon, and we have some pretty good hills. I
| can climb them, but often my knees are hurting the next day. The bike
| has been fit to me. I'm going to be doing Cycle Oregon this fall, with
| the goal of doing the ride up to Crater Lake, and around the rim on
| day 6. I also ride motorcycles long distance (with many 1K+ mile days
| under my belt) and have found that my knees stiffen up a lot more now.
|
| I'd like to get lower gearing on the bike to help with the hills. I'm
| wanting to switch to a 11-32 or 11-34 SRAM PG-990 cassette and Deore
| XT M760 SGS rear derailer. My Ultegra crank is 52/42/30. From
| Shimano's website, the M760 will shift up to 45 t. 30-52 = 22, and
| 11-34= 23, and 22+23=45t, so I think this is an OK application.
|
| 1) Will this work? Will the Ultegra STI Shifters shift the Deore XT
| OK?
|
| 2) Opinions on the 11-32 -vs- 11-34? From the SRAM site, the ONLY
| difference is the big gear, all other gears are the same. My 'gut' is
| that shifting from the 28 to the 34 might be' harder' for the
| derailer, but I don't really know.
|
| 3) I ass-ume I will need a new chain (with ~ 1450 miles on mine, it's
| getting close to time to get a new one anyway). Any opinions on SRAM
| P99 -vs- Ultegra? Am I right that the SRAM has a removable master link
| so that the chain can be removed (easier) for cleaning?
|
| 4) Am I nuts?
|

No. I've put XT derailleurs on road bikes for the very reason you are
wanting to. The STI shifts the XT fine. Since you're getting a new
cassette, get a new chain since yours is not new. SRAM is easier to
take off since it has the link you describe. But you still need a chain
tool to take out whatever links you'll need to get the length of the
chain correct.

Also, make sure you understand the true reason for the knees. It may be
tough hills, but you also may have your seat either too high or too low,
or too far forward/ahead. Did you receive help in getting fit on the
bike.

Make sure you know. With a 30 x 34, you'll be spinning up the hills
like a sewing machine. Maybe it's not necessary.

KD said:

I'm new to the list, and fallry new to bicyling, although I've owned a
bike most of my life. Usually something I picked up at a garage sale,
and rode until it was toast. The most work I've usually done is change
a tire, repair a tube or change a brake pad.

I went out in Feburary and bought a Litespeed Arenburg ('01 frame I'm
pretty sure; non-integrated headset). It has Ultegra ('03) tripple
components. I live in Oregon, and we have some pretty good hills. I
can climb them, but often my knees are hurting the next day. The bike
has been fit to me. I'm going to be doing Cycle Oregon this fall, with
the goal of doing the ride up to Crater Lake, and around the rim on
day 6. I also ride motorcycles long distance (with many 1K+ mile days
under my belt) and have found that my knees stiffen up a lot more now.

I'd like to get lower gearing on the bike to help with the hills. I'm
wanting to switch to a 11-32 or 11-34 SRAM PG-990 cassette and Deore
XT M760 SGS rear derailer. My Ultegra crank is 52/42/30. From
Shimano's website, the M760 will shift up to 45 t. 30-52 = 22, and
11-34= 23, and 22+23=45t, so I think this is an OK application.

1) Will this work? Will the Ultegra STI Shifters shift the Deore XT
OK?

That will work just fine.

Quoted message said:

2) Opinions on the 11-32 -vs- 11-34? From the SRAM site, the ONLY
difference is the big gear, all other gears are the same. My 'gut' is
that shifting from the 28 to the 34 might be' harder' for the
derailer, but I don't really know.

That's true, but it will probably work ok.

However, you'll bbasically have a 7-speed cassette, because the 11 and
12 sprockets are basically useless with chainrings as large as yours.

You might want to consider something like our Cyclotouriste 13, 13-34,
which has a great range, and has substantially smaller jumps between gears.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/9

Quoted message said:

3) I ass-ume I will need a new chain (with ~ 1450 miles on mine, it's
getting close to time to get a new one anyway). Any opinions on SRAM
P99 -vs- Ultegra? Am I right that the SRAM has a removable master link
so that the chain can be removed (easier) for cleaning?

Sram chains are just dandy, that's just about all we sell.

Quoted message said:

4) Am I nuts?

Sure, it's a requirement to post on this NG!

Sheldon "I'm Mad, You're Mad, We're All Mad Here" Brown
+------------------------------------------------+
| Nobody who has anything to do with bicycles |
| has _all_ of their marbles, and some of us |
| are certifiable! |
| --Sheldon Brown |
+------------------------------------------------+
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

Sheldon Brown said:

Sheldon "I'm Mad, You're Mad, We're All Mad Here" Brown

Conformist. ;>

(ever notice that everybody that speaks English spells "anarchy" the
same way?)
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 16:17:51 -0400, "John Rees" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

<snippity do-dah>

Quoted message said:

No. I've put XT derailleurs on road bikes for the very reason you are
wanting to. The STI shifts the XT fine. Since you're getting a new
cassette, get a new chain since yours is not new. SRAM is easier to
take off since it has the link you describe. But you still need a chain
tool to take out whatever links you'll need to get the length of the
chain correct.

No problem, I have one. It's just a major PITA to break the chain when
I want to clean it. OK, I'm a neat freak, what can I say..

Quoted message said:

Also, make sure you understand the true reason for the knees. It may be
tough hills, but you also may have your seat either too high or too low,
or too far forward/ahead. Did you receive help in getting fit on the
bike.

Yes, I had the bike fit at the LBS where I bought it (River City in
Portland). However, I have changed seats since, so having it 'tuned'
might not be a bad idea.

Quoted message said:

Make sure you know. With a 30 x 34, you'll be spinning up the hills
like a sewing machine. Maybe it's not necessary.

I'm leaning towards the 11-32. Or maybe I should just try a 12-27
Ultegra cassette first. (It has a 12-25 on it now). I actually had a
12-23 DuraAce on this bike for awhile, which is when my knees started
hurting. And we were doing a lot of hills, since my SO was training
for a trip to France.

Thanks for the advice. Ken

KD said:

I'd like to get lower gearing on the bike to help with the hills. I'm
wanting to switch to a 11-32 or 11-34 SRAM PG-990 cassette and Deore
XT M760 SGS rear derailer. My Ultegra crank is 52/42/30. From
Shimano's website, the M760 will shift up to 45 t. 30-52 = 22, and
11-34= 23, and 22+23=45t, so I think this is an OK application.

ThaADVANCEks, Ken

Not sure what rear cassette you have now, but another option is to get Harris Cyclery's "Century Special" 13-30 (based on an Ultegra 12-27) since the Ultegra rear derailleur will handle the 30t ok and there's no need to swap the rear derailleur. After trying that if it's still not low enough, it would be fairly inexpensive to swap out the 30t inner chainring on the crank for a 26t which should be low enough for almost any hill.

As mentioned above 52x11 and 52x12 are really useless gear combinations for most riders, which is the problem with "mountain" cassettes - plus they will have much wider ratios.

On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 12:58:31 -0700, KD <kmorton.at.dsl-only.net>

Quoted message said:

1) Will this work? Will the Ultegra STI Shifters shift the Deore XT
OK?

Will work fine. You will need a longer chain and that chain will drag
the bottom of the front derailleur cage in something like a 34/24. A
12/34, XT750, is made and that is likely a better choice. I'd think
that if you bought a 13/30 cassette, you wouldn't have to change
anything in your system. Maybe one link of chain. I've had great
success with a 13/32. It is made the same way as the 13/30. Start
with a 12/27. Remove the 12 and replace with a 13t first cog. Then
you add either a 30 or 32t big cog. The 32t cogs are easier to find.
The 30s are in short supply. Sheldon Brown's "Century Special"
<http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/k7.html#9cassettes> with a 32 instead
of a 30 will work great and you can likely use your existing rear
derailleur.

Quoted message said:

2) Opinions on the 11-32 -vs- 11-34? From the SRAM site, the ONLY
difference is the big gear, all other gears are the same. My 'gut' is
that shifting from the 28 to the 34 might be' harder' for the
derailer, but I don't really know.

It will shift fine. I think you can get by with your existing rear
derailleur with a 32.

Quoted message said:

3) I ass-ume I will need a new chain (with ~ 1450 miles on mine, it's
getting close to time to get a new one anyway). Any opinions on SRAM
P99 -vs- Ultegra? Am I right that the SRAM has a removable master link
so that the chain can be removed (easier) for cleaning?

The Sram chain is a good choice. A Shimano HG 72 chain with the Sram
Powerlink II gold would shift the front rings better.

Sheldon Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Sheldon "I'm Mad, You're Mad, We're All Mad Here" Brown

I am not mad, just a Passionate Ultra Conservative. The Fact of The
Matter is ... I just love this phrase ... a precursor to the truth,
just 180 degrees off. Almost as good as: stop punching my fist with
your face.