Short , Medium or Long cage ?

ramstein-dh

Retro Guru
Right i know nothing of the difference in the cage length's
and what the point in it is.

So i'm wondering what would be best for say a downhill bike.

Reason i ask is the XT Shadow mech is £55.00 in short or long only
and the saint comes in Short but almost double the price.

So basically i could get the XT mech and shifter cheaper than the price of
the saint only mech.

As i already have an XT cassette and chain

Would the difference really be noticed on a bike ridden by an amature?
 
If you can get the xt mech in short - got for that for dh.

I believe the longer the cage dictates the longer the chain.

So someone who uses a big ring on a triple chainset would run a fairly long chain but when in the smaller cogs the chain 'slack needs to go somewhere/be taken up by something - the cage on the mech.
 
cyfa2809":3uhved3b said:
If you can get the xt mech in short - got for that for dh.

I believe the longer the cage dictates the longer the chain.

So someone who uses a big ring on a triple chainset would run a fairly long chain but when in the smaller cogs the chain 'slack needs to go somewhere/be taken up by something - the cage on the mech.

You can only get the XT in medium and long buddy , also my bike takes 1 and a half chains.
 
You got an extra pulley or something?

Go for mid then. I do fine with mid x9 on my dh bike.
 
cyfa2809":uywgenkc said:
You got an extra pulley or something?

Go for mid then. I do fine with mid x9 on my dh bike.

yeah buddy on my scarab

scarab.jpg


so short would be pretty pointless then buddy?
 
Actually !

Short or medium will be fine. Short flops around less. You just have to have the right amount of chain (as with any mech).

Short is also less likely to catch something but may not be compatible with larger cassettes. Think some short cages go up to 28t.
 
Its going to depend on two factors. One is difference in gear inches- smallest cog to largest cog, and as said, short cage usually has a max cog size of 26 or 28 (although I'm using a 32t with a short cage on my Cotic without problems, just took some setting up).
But most importantly on that bike is chain growth. You need to wrap a chain around your biggest cog and remove the shock. Then cycle your suspension all the way through its travel. Make sure that with a short cage its still going to have enough movement.
I've seen people with chains too short on DH bikes and as soon as they have hit a big drop its ripped the chain apart and pulled the rear mech and hanger clean off the bike!

A shortcage mech is the better choice if you can get away with it, but its often the case that you can't. With a close ratio DH cassette, say 12/26 you'd be OK, but my Banshee currently runs a 12/34 10 speed and although a saint short cage works on the 34t cog, the chain growth through the full travel is too great.
 
.

Not much too add, but i've had issues using 34 tooth cassettes with short cage mechs in the past.
All have worked fine with a 32 tooth item though ;)

Ps. Beast of a bike by the way :shock: :shock: :cool:
 
Re: .

Grannygrinder":183nsas2 said:
Not much too add, but i've had issues using 34 tooth cassettes with short cage mechs in the past.
All have worked fine with a 32 tooth item though ;)

Ps. Beast of a bike by the way :shock: :shock: :cool:

That's an old pic buddy , it now had a fox DHX 4.O , Hope mono 6 TI with floating rotors and MRP bones cranks , and soon my new gearing.
may be worth getting a smaller cassette if i decide on the saint stuff.

Thanks for the advice all. :D
 
ramstein-dh":2266ediy said:
Right i know nothing of the difference in the cage length's
and what the point in it is.

So i'm wondering what would be best for say a downhill bike.

Reason i ask is the XT Shadow mech is £55.00 in short or long only
and the saint comes in Short but almost double the price.

So basically i could get the XT mech and shifter cheaper than the price of
the saint only mech.

As i already have an XT cassette and chain

Would the difference really be noticed on a bike ridden by an amature?

the Saint does have more tension on the springs and will work better on bumpy descends......and yep, you'll notice the difference
 
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