Just set up a 1 x 10 with oneup 40t expander sprocket also 16t sprocket to even out the spread, shimano zee rear mech with clutch raceface 30t narrow wide up front & bash guard. It’s absolutely mint & minutes to do well recommended.

What cage is the zee mech please?

I have all the bits to do mine, hoping for some quality shed time this weekend to get it all fitted. Slightly excited!!

Shimano Zee M640 it will only work with the 40t it won’t work with the 42t mate

Honestly Jef I don’t think you will be disappointed

John690 where did you buy from?

The 40t sprocket comes from oneup components it comes with a 16t sprocket as well & the instructions are simple It only took three days to come

I’ve trashed 2 zee mechs in 6 months with a hope expander,I’ve now maned up and gone 30-36

The Zee mech is not recommended at all with a 40T expander, the cage is too short to manage it effectively.

Go for an SLX or XT Medium cage instead, these cope far better.

I had a bollocks of a time getting mine to work well with a standard XT mid cage mech, ended up doing it on the turbo trainer! But adding a RAD cage made it really easy and gave the bike back a lot of margin for error, it was a wee bit finnicky with the standard cage.

mboy – Member

The Zee mech is not recommended at all with a 40T expander

Well except by OneUp 😉 But I agree, it’s not the smart choice

I may stand corrected but ive had a few rides & it seems perfect. I’ll reserve judgement but yea oneup say the zee mech will work with a 40t sprocket

It works but all depends on what frame

Chain growth on some FS can scupper it – I wasted 2 but luckily CRC replaced em under warranty. 2nd time round they sent me a medium cage XT instead.

It works but all depends on what frame

This

On a HT with optimal length chainstays (ie. chain is neither too long nor too short if you have to add or remove a link), yeah fine… On any kind of FS bike with a hint of chain growth, don’t even think about it!

You’ve got to bear in mind that anybody from Shimano would tell you that ANY 10spd rear mech of theirs will not work on anything above a 36T sprocket on the back. The limitations of the design are being pushed, how far you push them is up to you… Most modern turbo diesel engines can relatively safely be remapped to add 15-20% power across the range (though the manufacturer’s warranty will still be void), but decide you want to go much beyond this and you’ll have to spend a lot of money on a bunch of custom parts to make it work safely…

A Zee looks cool, but for £5 less and with the knowledge I know it works safely, a medium cage SLX wins out for me…

+1 Rad cage…Defo seems to ease the setting up if it was a bit finicky…

You can also get gs back plates and change sgs to gs so if you get the chance for a cheap xt or xtr that’s long cage it’s dead easy to rejig size.

NW rings are cool….

Some valid points but I’m not sure how often if ever you would go through all your travel in the 40t sprocket surely it’s just a bail out gear for steep climbs?

Steep climb with an unexpected drop off ….

I think the scenario is you climb then go straight into a quick descent and you don’t have time to twiddle gears then go over an unexpected step/drop and on the land rip the chain off under full compression or whatever gives first…could be a long walk home ….

Any climb that isn’t on smooth Tarmac or where you’re not sat perfectly still

Think how much you actually move when climbing – you might not use all the travel but some suspension designs work to provide an efficient platform to pedal against. This may involve the shock moving but the chain effectively ‘lengthening’ to ensure the bike feels stiff

(Especially if you’ve got a fancy DW link – speaking from experience here!)

And – to be fair – I’m not expecting that explanation above to ever make it onto any professional documentation on chain growth

Thanks very much for the posts boys . Regards John

2 weeks worth of riding even some downhill tracks at wharncliffe, I can honestly say no probs at all. So santa cruz heckler with zee drive train & oneup 40t expander sprocket is a definite winner