105 rear derailer question

There are no SGS/long cage Shi road rds. Short cages are really short
(just search for 105 SS derailer to see), so if this looks to you like
it might be considered long cage, it's probably a GS/medium cage.

That 27 max cog number can be pushed quite a bit usually, but I haven't
done this up to the 32t point so don't really know. It probably won't
work.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ca-g.html#capacity

G.T. said:

I received a 105 rear derailer with some parts I bought on Ebay but I'm
not sure whether it's a med cage or not. It was a freebie, I was going
to use an XT derailer that I already have but if this a long cage I want
to use it if it will work. I'll be running an 11-32 cassette.

So, there are no markings other than RD-5501, no GS or SS, how do I tell
if it's a med cage or not? If it is a med cage, I see that the largest
cog it will accept is a 27. Should I just stick with the XT?

Greg

Put it on and try it. They say '27t' because that's the largest road
cogset they make.

27t is the largest for the short cage as well. BUT the XT will give you
more flexibility. I always opt for a longer rather than shorter cage if
I have the choice. Like a medium or long for Campag.

It would be a bad idea to use a road derailer if you want to use a wide
range cassette on your MTB. The slant angle is different between
Shimano Road and MTB RDs. This angle is set to keep the guide pulley as
close as possible throughout the range for the typical style of
cassette that will be used the the RD. MTB derailers are optimized for
wide range cassettes (high slant angle) and road derailers are
optimized for corn-cobs (low slant angle). You can get mismatched
components to work but the shifting will not be crisp for the section
of the cassette where the guide pulley is further away from the cogs.

Nate Knutson said:

There are no SGS/long cage Shi road rds. Short cages are really short
(just search for 105 SS derailer to see), so if this looks to you like
it might be considered long cage, it's probably a GS/medium cage.

That 27 max cog number can be pushed quite a bit usually, but I haven't
done this up to the 32t point so don't really know. It probably won't
work.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ca-g.html#capacity

Yeah, I looked at Sheldon's site but neglected to look at his glossary.
I looked at an article on cassettes where he had some derailer info.

Thanks, I'm going to sell the 105 because I'm pretty sure I'll always
have a wide range cassette.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 23:34:44 -0800, "G.T." <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

So, there are no markings other than RD-5501

I'd guess that if it was a long cage model it would have a model# of
5503.