# Road derailleur with mountain shifters????



## edwardwaite (Jul 28, 2008)

Hello everyone. my question is can one use a road derailer with a mountain shifter.

Example at the moment i have a 105 derailleur on my DH bike. i broke my x9. no surprise there!
So it doesnt work with the x9 trigger as i belive the ratio is wrong?? 1:1 as oposed to 2:1??

So i was thinking of getting a saint or xt rapid fire shifter. will that be compatible with shimano roar derailers?? like my 105??

Any advice or thought would be apreciated.
Thanks
Ed

www.edwardwaite.com


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## Rover Nick (Jul 13, 2006)

Yes, road derailluers work very well with shimano shifters. But unfortunatley, sram and shimano don't mix.


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## edwardwaite (Jul 28, 2008)

Thanks for that Nick. was just cheking before i went and bought a shifter that didnt work!


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## MikeyOrange (Feb 25, 2005)

Rover Nick said:


> Yes, road derailluers work very well with shimano shifters. But unfortunatley, sram and shimano don't mix.


Actually, I've seen DH bikes with sram shifters (x.& and x.9, older model) working with 105 derailleurs. It can be done but is difficult to adjust and get working properly and you need a road type cassette... But when working, they apparently shift pretty well. At least that's what I've heard from the riders, I never tried it.

Anyways, it's possible to mix but it's probably a big headache to get set up.


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## edwardwaite (Jul 28, 2008)

Indeed it does work. i was running exactly this! but it doesnt run all 9 gears. you only get 7 for some reason runs smooth though. but it jumps 2 at a time on the largers rings of the cassette.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

edwardwaite said:


> Indeed it does work. i was running exactly this! but it doesnt run all 9 gears. you only get 7 for some reason runs smooth though. but it jumps 2 at a time on the largers rings of the cassette.


This is because the pull ratio is different... So... no, it really doesn't work the way it should.

A road cassette has the exact same spacing between gears as a mountain cassette. It wouldn't matter.

You probably saw them running SRAM Rocket shifters. They look just like x9.


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## steiny (Jul 8, 2004)

I run an Ultegra SS (short cage, 9 spd) with an XT 11-34 cassette. I've been running it for about 2 years with no issues. I had to screw the B-tension all the way in, but the upper pulley doesn't ride on the gears in any gear.


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## chooofoojoo (Feb 22, 2007)

I'm running Sram RED road shifting on my DH bike for next year.. about 2/3 the weight of a full X.o. set up.. pretty slick!


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## jdude (Apr 19, 2004)

I kept throwing my long cage der. into my back wheel on big hits on my fr rig. Switched to a 105 and haven't looked back since! Of course, I have Shimano shifters.

do it!


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

steiny said:


> I run an Ultegra SS (short cage, 9 spd) with an XT 11-34 cassette. I've been running it for about 2 years with no issues. I had to screw the B-tension all the way in, but the upper pulley doesn't ride on the gears in any gear.


Thats interesting, I thought rear road dérailleurs couldn't clear the big cog(s) on 11-34 sized cassettes...  I might have to try that if/when my X9 medium cage bites it.


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## HTFR (Jan 11, 2007)

Shitmano has 10 speed trigers now. You would have to run a 10 speed chain and idk how that will work with some chain guides. 

Sumpin different


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## steiny (Jul 8, 2004)

essenmeinstuff said:


> Thats interesting, I thought rear road dérailleurs couldn't clear the big cog(s) on 11-34 sized cassettes...  I might have to try that if/when my X9 medium cage bites it.


You'll need to run 2:1 shifters (Shimano or Sram 2:1) - I believe the X9 stuff is all 1:1. Also, you'll need to run a single chainring up front. The SS cage at all levels (Dura Ace, Ultegra, 105) are 27 tooth capacity max (chain wrap capacity). 11-34 is 23 teeth difference right there so you only have 4 teeth left for changing gears in the front - not going to happen.


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## Rover Nick (Jul 13, 2006)

Choo, you joking about the Red? If not, I'd like to see some pics and a report when you get it set up


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Rover Nick said:


> Choo, you joking about the Red? If not, I'd like to see some pics and a report when you get it set up


There's been some discussion about this in the Weight Weenies forum.

The pull ratio between their mountain and road derailleurs are slightly different though. I think you have to run the Double-Tap shifters for flat bar road bikes.


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## Prettym1k3 (Oct 11, 2005)

SRAM Attack shifters are standard Shimano ratio. They are black, and cheap... they look like the older X-7 stuff.

They'll work just fine with a 105, Ultegra, or DuraAce 9spd. derailleur.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Prettym1k3 said:


> SRAM Attack shifters are standard Shimano ratio. They are black, and cheap... they look like the older X-7 stuff.
> 
> They'll work just fine with a 105, Ultegra, or DuraAce 9spd. derailleur.


They'll also work for a "8 speed" or "10 speed" derailleur. The derailleur doesn't know how many speeds it is. It just moves however much the indexing in the shifter is. I believe the Attack shifter is also available in 8 speed.


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