please help the dumb!

[Bear-Chan]

hi all
just wondering if anyone could help clear up a couple of 8/9 speed questions that im struggling with!
in an ideal world, the set up id like is thumbies (original xt or pauls/dura ace - dont really mind which), gold-ti kmc chain, and for these to work with both my pauls long cage rear mech, and an xtr m952 rear mech for proper riding. The front mech is a m952 if that makes any difference, and the cranks are tunes with syncros rings...
soo.. what i wanted to know was:

1. will these dura-ace shifter work with these paul wotsits, and can you get an 8-speed version? or can anyone recommend / experienced a better shifter combo to use with the pauls?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=13648
http://www.paulcomp.com/thumbmtn.html

2. can i use my lovely rasta paul mech (thanks vitor!) with a 9 speed set up? will i have to change the jockey wheels?

3. can you get any gold 8 speed chains? (purely for tarty cosmetic value!) - ive seen the very nice looking kmc ti/gold ones but cant see an 8 speed version.

4. are there any other complications i should be aware of with cassettes or other stuff?

many thanks in advance and sorry for the rambling questions!
BC

 

[David Gibson]

shifting

Answers
#1: Dura Ace Bar Con shifters will work with Paul thumbies. You can find 8-speed Bar cons all the time on Ebay.
#2: You can use the Paul rear derailleurs with a nine-speed set up. Or so I've been told, I haven't done it myself.
#3: There hasn't been any gold 8 speed chains made for several years and I haven't seen any for sale in a while. Wippermann (german company) used to make them until about 3 years ago. You can peruse ebay for Sedis chains as they made gold 8-speed chains also. Rohloff made a special edition gold-plated chain a couple of years ago but they cost about $200 (100 pounds). If you have a rasta-colored derailleur I would suggest a red colored chain made by Wippermann. You can find them on German ebay. They are 8-speed. Type in 'Wippermann rot', (rot is german for red) Although I don't see any 8-speed today.
#4:Complications? Probably just minimal stuff like chainline and cable length.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

1. will these dura-ace shifter work with these paul wotsits, and can you get an 8-speed version?

They'll work, and will shift 9-speed indexed, or friction. If you want to index an 8-speed cassette you need the Ultegra 8 version:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=13649

2. can i use my lovely rasta paul mech (thanks vitor!) with a 9 speed set up? will i have to change the jockey wheels?

Yes. No.

3. can you get any gold 8 speed chains? (purely for tarty cosmetic value!) - ive seen the very nice looking kmc ti/gold ones but cant see an 8 speed version.

Rohloff?

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.p ... bq8f2bh3n1

9-speed chains generally work fine on 8-speed cassettes though.

 

[Bear-Chan]

hi guys
thanks a lot for the concise answers - much appreciated. ill get hunting for chains over the next couple of weeks. the rohloffs might be a little out of reach tho! :shock:
ta very much indeed!
BC

 

[gump]

Although a Pauls may in theory 'work' on a 9 speed, how practical is this going to be? Not the best for indexing on 7/8 speed...not going to get any easier :?

 

[cornholio's RC200]

I agree with one_eyed_jim. You can usually run 9 speed on an 8 speed. I have been for years on my C-16.

If you look here it says you can run 8 speed with it so go and find your best price!!

http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/.%2fProduc ... Chain.aspx

 

[Bear-Chan]

thats brilliant cornholio - ta very much!
as far as the pauls mech goes, to be honest its only going to be used on very rare occasions (so i can try and justify buying it to my GF!) so i'll probably just use it on friction mode - most of the time the bike will be wearing the m952 for its indexed daily riding.