You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I ride my cross bike a lot on the hills, though rarely ever race cross.
I can hit some pretty big hills that go on for a long time so have tried to get lower gears, and I live in South Wales.
It's all SRAM Rival so far
It came with a 39-46 crankset which I swapped to a 34-46, then I changed my casette to a 27-12, so my lowest gear now is 34-27, which is a 1.25 ratio, but I wanted to get closer to 1:1 ratio. I didn't think the short cage derailleur could cope with a 28 casette as it would be too close the the casette, and the difference of 1 tooth would be minimal
So if I want to go lower still what are my options without too much expense
I had wondered about the Lindarets roadlink or a similar gizmo but it says it wont work with short cage derailleurs. Has anyone tried this?
I could just go for a medium cage derailleur, but that can cost anything from £30 to £150 depending on the model, are there any reasons this might not work and how big a casette can I go for?
Can I then just put an MTB casette on and will a road derailleur work with MTB casette?
Is there any option of just buying a single large ring to go inside my current casette and binning a small one or is this just daft?
SRAM do something called a WiFi or Climbers Kit or something like that. Think it's a long cage rear mech and 32 cassette at Apex level. Worth a look.
I personally wouldn't bother though, if you can get up the hills now without getting off, then just crack on. The problem with wide range cassettes is you end up missing cogs in the middle that're good for on the flat. 27/12 is the perfect cassette ratio I reckon.
I also think you'd just be able to stick a 32T cassette on with your current mech, only problem is the chain would need to be pretty long and the mech wouldn't be able to hack it, so the smaller cogs with the small front ring wouldn't work
Thanks, the WiFli looks quite good, presumably you then have to put an MTB 1 speed casette on, and I assume the spacing is the same as a road casette.
Is it impossible to put an MTB derailleur on? Are the cable pull ratios different to road derailleurs?
Yeh, a 10 speed MTB cassette will work. And I think SRAM use a 1:1 "actuation ratio" or whatever it's called, across the board. So an MTB mech will probably work. Get the Rival WiFli since it's black though!
So I could either go for a SRAM 10speed MTB derailleur with 11-36 casette or a WiFli derailleur with 11-32 and both should work with the SRAM Rival STI shifters?
That's gonna be new chain, new casette, new derailleur, could be done for £75, but probaby closer to £100
Please anyone point out any flaws in my current thinking
I can confirm 10 speed SRAM road / mtb stuff is interchangeable, I have a type 2 mtb mech & 11-36 cassette on my cross bike. I also added an inline cable adjuster otherwise there is no easy way to fine tune, Token TK684 is the best one I've found.
You won't need an inline cable adjuster, since there's a barrel adjuster on the rear mech! Inline adjusters are ok for front mechs, although I wouldn't use one unless I absolutely had to.
I'd just buy the 32t cassette first off and give it a go with your current set up. Nothing to lose. The B tension screws on SRAM mechs are decent, so you should get the clearance. If you find yourself in the small ring and the smaller sprockets alot, and the chain catches on the mech, then it's time for the WiFli rear mech.
Of course, you could shorten the hell outta the chain, but it'd limit which of the larger sprockets you could use with the big ring; the fact you're only running a 46T means you may be able to get away with it. Go on; give it a go.
Plus, long cage rear mechs look naff.
Also, don't go 11/32, unless you currently find yourself spinning out the 46/12. Bodge the cassettes together and make a 12/32; then you'll get that all important 16 or 17T cog (whichever it is) in the middle!
This is not a troll BTW.
Thanks, the WiFli looks quite good, presumably you then have to put an MTB 1 speed casette on, and I assume the spacing is the same as a road casette.
I think SRAM will call a 36 tooth casette a road cassette. You only need a SRAM medium cage road rear mech for a 36 tooth
IS your current bike SRAM or shimano. Is it 10 or 11 speed
Shifters and derailleurs are SRAM Rival 10 speed, the cassette and crankset are Shimano 10 speed
So if you have a medium cage mech you can just put on 36 tooth rear block
If its a short cage then you'll need a knew rear mech. If it was shimano then you'd need a 9 speed MTB mech'
Or the other route is to fit MTB cranks and and MTB front derailleur. SRAM can do this shimano can't.