Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
  • 2×10 on the cheap – my musings
  • clubber
    Free Member

    OK, I know that 2×9 isn’t a new idea at all and technically 2×10 isn’t that different but the extra sprocket does mean that running a double up front rather than triple doesn’t mean having to lose a significant amount of gear range/having big jumps between gears and means less shifting at the front and more useable gears than a triple.

    XX looks great and has had a lot of work go into it but it’s going to be silly money. I quite like the idea of 2×10 (having seen plenty of cross bikes do just fine with 10 speed in some horrible conditions without trouble) and I was wondering how easy it’d be to set up a 2×10 for mtbing without spending XX money or waiting for it to trickle down.

    The obvious problem is a 10 speed shifter but quietly, Shimano already do this so that you can use road components with a flat bar for hybrids – there are Ultegra and Dura Ace level versions with the Ultegra one (R770) costing about £40 for a RH one alone.

    The chain isn’t an issue as road ones are basically the same as mtb ones.

    Then the ratios.

    XX is due to have a 11-36 cassette to give a similar gear range to a triple with a more racy 11-32 option also available but the range

    They also suggest having front rings in the ration 1:1.5 as this gives the most shifting windows (basically every second tooth on the smaller ring matches the third tooth on the bigger ring). It’s hard to say if this has a significant benefit but it seems logical and I’ll be interested to try. Ratios they’re going to do are 26/39, 28/42, 30/45

    So, I’ve been thinking of 24/36 for chainrings (a bit smaller than XX for reasons of the cassette as discussed below but easy enough to get hold of and I reckon a steel 24 will last fine).

    For the cassette, it’s a bit more of a faff. Though you can buy 11-32 10 speed cassettes (IRD do one), they’re really expensive. There aren’t currently any cassettes with a 36 out there though I believe that next year, there will be one designed for 29ers though it’s only 9 speed.

    A much cheaper solution is to buy a 11-28 10 speed road cassette (£40ish), split it, remove one sprocket (the 12) and then add in the top 32 tooth sprocket from a 9 speed mtb cassette (plenty of people have these in good condition on a worn cassette). Job done.

    So, for comparison, the ranges of various setups:

    standard 22/32/44 triple with 11-32 cassette: 0.69 to 4.00
    XX 26/39 with 11-34 cassette: 0.72 to 3.55 (losing the very top gear from a std setup)

    My setup above – 24/36 with 11-32 cassette: 0.75 to 3.27 (losing approx the top two gears from a std setup)

    Just my musings and I can’t really decide if it’s worth it though if I did have a bike with a knackered drivetrain I’d be very tempted to try.

    Stoner
    Free Member

    will your 10spd road chain fit on the 32T mtb 9spd sprocket?

    KINGTUT
    Free Member

    Clubber, you think too much.

    HTH.

    😉

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    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    My setup above – 24/36 with 11-32 cassette: 0.75 to 3.27

    Or run a 22/36 and an 11/34 cassette and get 0.65 – 3.27, like I currently am…

    🙂

    clubber
    Free Member

    10 speed chain will fit fine on a 9 speed sprocket (I’ve used a 10 speed chain on my mtb for a couple of rides in an emergency (well, that sounds dramatic – I was just waiting for a 9 speed one to arrive in the post and didn’t want to miss rides…)

    PP – you’re right just with bigger jumps – I quite like the idea of having the closer ratios of 10 speed though.

    clubber
    Free Member

    PS kingT – you don’t think enough 😉

    flange
    Free Member

    Why not go campag? 10 speed will be much cheaper then (although I saw some dura ace triggers at lunch and they’re lovely!). The only issue is then getting a shifter that’ll fit/work. I quite fancy getting some of those ‘return to centre’ style shifters that armstrong had on his tt bike and making thumb shifters out of them.

    http://www.rbaction.net/imagefly.aspx?w=471&h=550&p=contentimages%2FR2C_pic_1.jpg</img&gt;

    clubber
    Free Member

    Well since I use Campag on the road, I did think that but there are loads of problems – shifters (I like rapidfire), compatible hubs (though you can get Campag spaced cassettes for Shimano cassettes but they’re expensive). The flick shifters you’re talking about are SRAM…

    flange
    Free Member

    Yeah – i did mean to put SRAM but then they obviously wouldn’t work with the rear mech (when I say obvious, I mean ‘obvious to anyone bar me). And then there’s the hub issue which I hadn’t thought about at all. So you can completely disregard my previous post to be honest.

    Glad I could help….

    njee20
    Free Member

    You’d also need to buy a new 12t sprocket, the lockring won’t ‘bite’ against the second smallest sprocket, and using a 32t sprocket off a 9 speed cassette probably wouldn’t work too well either, with spacing issues and what not.

    So…

    Possible: maybe
    Worthwhile: no

    anotherdeadhero
    Free Member

    I’d rather wait a couple of years for someone to do a cheaper 10speed setup, considering there is nothing ‘wrong’ with the current 9spd setups.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Clubber – some 10sp cassettes cab be taken apart, so you could shuffle round the ratios that way without losing the lowermost sprocket for the lockring to bite onto.

    I rather like your thinking – I love 10 sp on the road – but I’m not sure there’s going to be that much benefit with an MTB sprocket because, whatever you do, there will always be sizeable jumps between ratios, especially at the lower end of the gearing.

    And, one of the great advantages on the road is a short mech, which you just can’t do with large range MTB cassettes (unless a 36 “big” ring permits). For me, the only real advantage is the replacement of the outer ring of a triple with a bash guard. Otherwise, nothing really changes that much.

    clubber
    Free Member

    You’d also need to buy a new 12t sprocket, the lockring won’t ‘bite’ against the second smallest sprocket, and using a 32t sprocket off a 9 speed cassette probably wouldn’t work too well either, with spacing issues and what not.

    Not quite right. First I wasn’t actually suggesting getting rid of the smallest sprocket but rather the one that’s usually one up from that (eg the 12 on most cassettes with an 11 as the smallest). Second, if the second smallest sprocket is a 12, it’s usually the same as the 12 tooth sprocket on a cassette which has a 12 as the smallest sprocket and as such will take a lockring.

    As for spacing, you can easily get hold of a 10 speed spacer or just gently sand down a 9 speed one. A 9 speed sprocket does actually work with a 10 speed chain as I mentioned above.

    Anyway, just an idea really. Not sure if I’d actually go with it. May even try PP’s idea with 9 speed.

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