hi,

i'm looking at similar priced x7 rear mechs on CRC to connect to some x7 shifters.

I'm building a miniDH/AM bike. Depending on the ride and event, i'll change between a single front ring (44t), and a double (32, 20something).

With that in mind, would a medium cage be suitable for use with that variable set up? Could i efficiently use a long cage mech with a single front ring?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm 90% sure that a medium cage would be fine, but that 10% is mighty irritating

Cheers,
Rich

btw, i've a 11-32 sram 970 cassette

Yep medium will be fine. You'll have to be careful with your chain length, if you set it up with your 'double' that it's not too short when you run a single ring and vice-versa.

Why the change though? Why not just run a bigger double/bash, or a triple?

Medium is what you want- long is just going to get in the way.

The key here is the difference between the two chainrings you might end up running. Mechs would normally say what the maximum difference they can handle is (its determined by how much extra chain the mech can absorb, which is done by the cage rotating forwards if that makes sense). I've had a quick look and strangely that information doesn't seem to be posted anywhere.

However, I have run a medium cage X.9 mech before on a 222/34 front ring combo so I know it works.

222 teeth!! that is a big ring

222, yeah, that's enormous! Thank you for the help guys. I'll have two different chains (seen as there'll be different chain rings), and another cassette too. Not ideal, but minimal fuss.

I'd like to keep a double throughout, but when i'm racing i'd rather not have the extra weight, and a less secure chain.