short cage mech?

[antogoof]

hello everyone. can someone enlighten me please, i always wondered why some mtbers used short cage mech`s and some normal ones. what difference does it make, and why do some riders use road mech`s? what are the advantages and disadvantages, i have always wondered and never had anyone to ask!

 

[tintin40]

Long cage can take a wider cassette spread, short can't. But short look cool and weigh less
I used a roadie mech for a while.Just for a change, look different, lighter.

 

[Kneedowndean]

Yeah Shorts look cooler, but apparently cant cope with as large a difference between cassette and chainrings. But my girlfriend has been running a short cage XT mech with her 22 32 44 and 11-28 for ages without problems. I vaguely remember that they should give a quicker more positive shift because they are shorter.

 

[jonnyboy666]

shorter cage mechs were popular back in the day for lightness and they look cool and with the overall larger rings like 26/36/48 and 12-28 blocks we used to use they didn't suffer to badly with the chain being to loose in the granny ring, when everything went 9sp 11-32 and 22/32/44 became normal you had to make sure your chain was long enough to get the big\big combination, 44 front to 32 rear and if you could get that with a short cage mech gnerally it meant that the chain was way to long on the granny ring from about 4th down meaning you couldn't use certain gears.

it's generally better to run a standard long cage rear mech for triple set ups.

there has been a resurgence of shorter mechs though as a result of double chainsets like middlburn duo's etc, and people using 2 rings and a bashgaurd on freeride bikes etc, these have less overall max ratios meaning the rear mech doesn't have to stretch to the extreme ratios meaning they work fine.

does that help?

 

[hamster]

One other important plus point is that the cage is further off the ground so you are less likely to damage it.

Years ago I managed to swallow a heather stem into my mech which I didn't notice until the entire mech and hanger were bent upside down on the frame. Fortunately framebuilder Chas May sorted it all out and I didn't even need a new dropout!

...Plus short cage mechs look verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry cool.

Cool Wall vote perhaps?

 

[tintin40]

One other important plus point is that the cage is further off the ground so you are less likely to damage it.

Years ago I managed to swallow a heather stem into my mech which I didn't notice until the entire mech and hanger were bent upside down on the frame. Fortunately framebuilder Chas May sorted it all out and I didn't even need a new dropout!

...Plus short cage mechs look verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry cool.

Cool Wall vote perhaps?

So true 'Cool Wall' The Shadow mech are & X.0

 

[Andy R]

I think the answer is maybe to run a short or medium cage mech. with a shorter chain - in other words , don't expect to be able to run 44/34 for example, why would you do this anyway ?

I recently bought one of the "standard cage" XT Shadow mechs. and now wish that I'd followed my own advice and got a short cage one. That thing is so long it's ridiculous. Works fine, just looks wrong in my opinion.

 

[hamster]

I think the answer is maybe to run a short or medium cage mech. with a shorter chain - in other words , don't expect to be able to run 44/34 for example, why would you do this anyway ?

No, don't do this, really don't.

Usually it stuffs the mech through the rear spokes just for fun. The entire drivetrain jams up shredding cassette, mech and gear hanger, and also trashes the wheel. IF you a really trying hard you might also manage to wreck the back of the frame.

I know, you say you'll be careful, you'll remember. Then one day, you are riding along feeling shattered, you see something unexpected, click back and bang/crunch/splat.

If you insist on running mechs out of range, have the chain too long so it goes floppy on the small-small combo. You won't run this either but it's at least harmless. The difference is only about 3 or 4 links.

However, there is a lot of room for experimentation. The quoted capacities are quite conservative. I have run Shimano front mechs on 24T difference with no problems, and my Campag-equiped road bike happily runs a short cage with 12-23 cassette and 30/39/48 triple.

 

[jonnyboy666]

hamster is right, if you have to do it, leave the chain long, you're more likely to forget an do the big/big thing than do the small/small thing and usually if you are in the granny ring your likely (obviously) to be in 1st 2nd or 3rd coz you're going uphill meaning the chain won't be too loose and floppy! and we don't like loose things!

I have to be honest though, was thinking of running a dura ace on my new bike, but with long carbon cages fitted from that guy on ebay in japan, sick of xtr being dark colours, want everything shiney!! has to be long cos running standard 9sp set up on a 4 inch full suss.

p.s hamster, haven't got a tall mate called jeremy have you?