XTR/Dura-Ace compatibility

Mark said:

I need a 34 cassette for hill climbing (Mt. Washington, NH race) with
my road bike. I have used an old XT 9 spd derailleur with my Dura-Ace
STI shifters and it has worked great. I now neeed a new derailleur and
was considering a new XTR. But, it looks like the latest XTR (960)
uses a different spring mechanism. Will this work with road STI
shifters? Will the older style XTR (952) work? Thanks.

Any of these will work. The newer models are low-normal ("RapidRise" in
Shimano-speak) so they will shift in the opposite direction.

The newer style provides slightly more reliable downshifts, but will be
confusing to use. If you have other bikes with conventional derailers
and STI, look for one of the older, high-normal models to avoid confusion.

If you just have the one bike, no reason not to go to the low-normal
model, just expect it to take a while to get used to it.

Sheldon "My First Three Derailers Were Low-Normal" Brown
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mark-<< I have used an old XT 9 spd derailleur with my Dura-Ace
STI shifters and it has worked great. I now neeed a new derailleur and
was considering a new XTR. But, it looks like the latest XTR (960)
uses a different spring mechanism. Will this work with road STI
shifters? >><BR><BR>

Rising rate or 'backfireplus', works backward from the more common rear ders.
Big lever moves it to a smaller cog, not bigger. Compatible but confusing IMO.
I have put on a 7703 rear der with a 34t and double w/o problem.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"