Rear Derailleur Question

Buddy2004 said:

Hi,

I am looking to replace my crapped out rear derailleur on my MTB (7spd).......there seems to be a lack of 7spd derailleurs on the market!, can I fit an 8 or 9sp unit and adjust the stop screws so that will act as a 7spd?

Yes. If you have Shimano, don't use sram ESP, and if You have Suntour you are out of luck unless you can troll ebay for a proper vintage replacement. Sometimes a Shimano will work with a suntour system,sometimes not.

boudreaux said:

Yes. If you have Shimano, don't use sram ESP, and if You have Suntour you are out of luck unless you can troll ebay for a proper vintage replacement. Sometimes a Shimano will work with a suntour system,sometimes not.

A derailleur is a derailleur is a derailleur. Shimano derailleurs are all 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-speed compatible. In indexed mode, shifters decide how many gears you operate. In non-indexed mode, who cares!

mgagnonlv said:

A derailleur is a derailleur is a derailleur. Shimano derailleurs are all 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-speed compatible. In indexed mode, shifters decide how many gears you operate. In non-indexed mode, who cares!

BS...!! Actually they aren't. Pre 9 speed DA have a different non compatible throw ratio. You typiclly cannot mix different index brands (Shimano/Sram compatible excepted),because of different throw ratios.