My rear mech is bent to buggery and needs replacing. The bike came with a deore lx.
What are the benefits of long/med cage mechs?

my gears are 11-32 22-44 I need the long cage do I?

Shadow slx for cheap on CRC, any issues changeing to shadow?

Ta all 🙂

Med cage mechs tension the chain slightly more and have better groud clearance than long cage, however they don’t have the capacity for a triple chainset. For the gears you have you need a long cage.
No issues changing to SLX shadow, other than the rear cable will need trimming as the cable routes directly into the mech rather than having the big baggy loop at the rear.

Brilliant, Ta.