long cage derail question- MTB

triwannabe99 said:

hi-

anyone know why one would want a long-cage rear derail vs. the regular cage? I purchased an XTR long cage derail and it looks vry odd on my MTB. My rear cassette is a 11-34 and the shimano website says the only difference between the two is that the long cage has 43T "total capacity" vs. 33T for the regular cage. anyone know why one would want one over the other? want to return this one before I ride it if I really need a regular cage.

thanks!

TWB99

43T & 33T? That seems rather odd because XT cranks are 44/32/22.

I know on road bikes the long rear der cage is used to pull up the slack on the chain when using the granny on a tripple. Not really sure about your situation though. The only thing I can think of is that some MTBers use a bash guard instead of the 44T ring up front. If this is the case then taking a link or two out of the chain would accomplish the goal without having to lengthen the cage on the rear der.

😕

Doctor Morbius said:

43T & 33T? That seems rather odd because XT cranks are 44/32/22.

I know on road bikes the long rear der cage is used to pull up the slack on the chain when using the granny on a tripple. Not really sure about your situation though. The only thing I can think of is that some MTBers use a bash guard instead of the 44T ring up front. If this is the case then taking a link or two out of the chain would accomplish the goal without having to lengthen the cage on the rear der.

😕

capacity is the amount of slack chain it can take up

front:
44T - 22T = 22T

rear:
34T - 11T = 23T

total = 23T + 22T = 45T

mike

Doctor Morbius said:

43T & 33T? That seems rather odd because XT cranks are 44/32/22.

I know on road bikes the long rear der cage is used to pull up the slack on the chain when using the granny on a tripple. Not really sure about your situation though. The only thing I can think of is that some MTBers use a bash guard instead of the 44T ring up front. If this is the case then taking a link or two out of the chain would accomplish the goal without having to lengthen the cage on the rear der.

😕

You think MTB don't use triples and don't need to wrap chain when usning an 11/34? That's 45 teeth of wrap.If a lesser tooth spread is used a shorter cage will work.

boudreaux said:

You think MTB don't use triples and don't need to wrap chain when usning an 11/34? That's 45 teeth of wrap.If a lesser tooth spread is used a shorter cage will work.

Even if using a bash guard instead of the 44T ring, such as the Truvativ Holzfeller Crankset?

Doctor Morbius said:

Even if using a bash guard instead of the 44T ring, such as the Truvativ Holzfeller Crankset?

Then you don't need as much wrap.You don't need as much chain either.