Modern Road Cassette Compatibility

[Danone]

For road use i wish to upgrade my current MTB cassette to a road cassette (9 speed) in the near future. (I always ride within the high gears of an 11-34 ratio, i very rarely shift from the smallest sprocket).

I intend to continue using a long cage Shimano XTR M952 rear derailleur. My question is; would there be compatibility issues with a road cassette with higher ratio (e.g. 12-17?) :idea:

I think the spacing between the sprockets of a road cassette are much narrower than that of MTB cassette which may cause the chain to skip, is this correct?

 

[bm0p700f]

MTB and road cassette spacing is the same. Road cassettes are closer ratio than MTB cassettes, that the difference.

A 12-17T cassette would be a 6 speed that would not work as they were uniglide if they were available in those ratios.

 

[Danone]

I thought certain derailleurs were designed for specific ratios and/or limit.

...So an older MTB derailleur should have no difficulty engaging the cogs of a road cassette?

 

[hamster]

It will work fine. The problem is trying to get road mechs to work with big sprockets.