I wanna run drop bars with proper disk brakes / STI / Rear D only / 11 speed.

any one tried Shimano RS685 Hydraulic STI / XT 11 speed M8000 rear derailleur combo ?

Better options ?

The cable pull is different- the arts cyclery ‘science behind magic’ blog had the details somewhere.

Problem solvers (I think) do an adaptor for what you want. Pretty sure there was a thread about this recently.

Lindarets road link on a med road mech? No clutch but I’ve done it on 10spd with a big cassette out back.

There is another thread here and someone tried with a 10-speed XT rear shadow plus rear mech (as cable pull is meant to be similar to road 11spd) but that didn’t work. I’m in the very same position, and will probably end up using a 105/ultegra GS rear mech to ensure it shifts properly. Won’t take a huge rear cog though as standard. Would be nice to have a clutch rear mech for sure (esp as i have one spare), but reckon it will be fairly quiet as a 1×11 with a N/W chainring…perhaps a simple chain device at some point?

Is it for road or something rougher?. I’m 1 x 11 on my gravel/roadie/commuter with just a n/w chainring and ultegra (di2) rear mech and haven’t dropped a chain yet. Had a couple of offroad excursions too.

There is a way to increase spring tension on Shimano rear mechs too if need be.

There is a way to increase spring tension on Shimano rear mechs too if need be.

How’s that done?

I’ve an old Fargo and have been looking at this as i have Shimano RS685 STI’s and disc brakes on road bike and braking is so much better than cable disc brakes.

Have you seen these? Enables you to use 11-40 MTB cassette with road STI’s and rear mech.

RoadLink

SRAM Force 1?

Road link works. Here’s mine with a 40t up front and back! 40c tyres and good fun for days in big Welsh hills. Whip it off , change cassette/ring/chain/tyres and good for racing.

Can’t put my hand on it right now but basically you dismantle the main knuckle/joint on the mech (where the cage attaches) The spring inside is usually set to an average tension. There are multiple holes to insert the spring into so you simply insert into a slightly different hole (which winds the spring up a little tighter) and reassemble and hey presto…. Sorry worst explanation ever… Google is much better at this kinda stuff than me 😐