8-9 speed rear derailleur compatibility

Richard said:

You will certainly gain my good wishes and regards if you can answer this
question.

I'm looking for a 9-speed long-cage Shimano rear derailleur. I just saw a
105 on Ebay, and the seller said it is a long-cage that works with 8 or 9
speeds, double or triples.

Is this possible? The reason I ask, is because I bought a 105 rear
derailleur off ebay that was supposedly 9 speed. It doesn't work. It
doesn't have the reach to get to the biggest sprocket. The "105" is printed
in black, and I think it's an 8-speed. The indexing is all off too.

Not sure why it didn't work, but it should have. I installed Ultegra
10s shifters, cogset and chain last night using a shimano 600, 6400, 8s
rear der that works fine and dandy, no problem getting to the biggest
cog. Remember that 8s and 9s cogs, and 10s cogsets are essentially the
same height, just cogs closer together.

All shimano rear ders, 8, 9 or 10s, are cross compatible with just
about any shifter, road and MTB.

Quoted message said:

I've basically taken the approach, that if it's a 105, then it had better
say "105" in yellow. I don't think there's a visible distinction in the
Ultegra line.

Thanks for any help you can throw my way.
Richard

A shy person said:

I'm looking for a 9-speed long-cage Shimano rear derailleur. I just saw a
105 on Ebay, and the seller said it is a long-cage that works with 8 or 9
speeds, double or triples.

Is this possible?

Yes. Rear derailers don't care how many speeds. They also don't care
how many chainrings you have, but it is customary to use long cage rear
derailers with triple cranks for the greater amount of chain take-up
they offer. This is not essential though, if you avoid running the
small chainring with the smaller rear sprockets, because the chain will
be liable to droop in those undesirable combinations.

Quoted message said:

The reason I ask, is because I bought a 105 rear
derailleur off ebay that was supposedly 9 speed. It doesn't work. It
doesn't have the reach to get to the biggest sprocket. The "105" is printed
in black, and I think it's an 8-speed.

The travel range is the same for 8- and 9-speed, because the cassettes
are equally wide.

The indexing is all off too.

Then there's clearly something wrong, but it's not the derailer choice,
because all Shimano indexable rear derailers index the same, except for
older (pre 9-speed) Dura-Ace.

105 and other so-called "road" derailers generally aren't happy with
anything bigger than a 30 tooth rear sprocket, whether they have a
medium cage or short cage. The actual long (SGS) cage is not available
in so-called "road" derailers. The medium (GS) cage is sometimes
inaccurately referred to as being a "long" cage.

You might want to consider a Deore or an LX for your application.

See: http://harriscyclery.com/derailers

Sheldon "Derailers Don't Care" Brown
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. |
| It is the poor jerk who is shy half a slug |
| who must tighten his belt. --Robert A. Heinlein |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
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 Campagnolo said:

All shimano rear ders, 8, 9 or 10s, are cross compatible with just
about any shifter, road and MTB.

Except those pesky SRAM units with the other movement ratio, of
course...
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 22:41:01 -0700, "Richard" <nc30atskyhighwaydotcom>

Quoted message said:

You will certainly gain my good wishes and regards if you can answer this
question.

I'm looking for a 9-speed long-cage Shimano rear derailleur. I just saw

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

105 on Ebay, and the seller said it is a long-cage that works with 8 or 9
speeds, double or triples.

Is this possible? The reason I ask, is because I bought a 105 rear
derailleur off ebay that was supposedly 9 speed. It doesn't work. It
doesn't have the reach to get to the biggest sprocket.

I assume you've readjusted the stops...

Quoted message said:

The "105" is printed
in black, and I think it's an 8-speed. The indexing is all off too.

The indexing is in the shifter, not the der. I assume you're using a
9-speed Shimano shifter; correct? There is no difference in the
movement ratio of the 7, 8 and 9-speed Shimano SIS-compatible ders;
that's what makes them compatible. It is possible that your frame's
dropout tab surface is just far enough from the frame centerline that
the der's reach is too small, but there's also a good chance that
there's another problem involved. I will note that cable routing
through the clamp is critical on most Shimano ders; many of them look
like the cable can be clamped on either side of the bolt, but if you
get it on the wrong side, both the indexing and the total amount of
throw available will be off.

Quoted message said:

I've basically taken the approach, that if it's a 105, then it had better
say "105" in yellow. I don't think there's a visible distinction in the
Ultegra line.

I have two 105 ders here that both have black lettering. One is on a
bike with 2x7 indexed shifting, the other came from a 2x8 setup. Both
are SIS-compatible, and while I haven't tried them with a 9s setup, I
don't doubt that they'd work given the correct shifter.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Hmmmm... Thank you all very very much for shedding light on that subject for
me.
I'll definitely have to go back and check everything.
It's a bit of a strange set up I have done, but everything is Shimano, and
nothing is way out of the ordinary.
The first bike I built part by part turned out fine, so this one has been
frustrating.
Thanks again, and happy riding!
Richard