[Closed] Rear derailers

I think (and I will probably be corrected) that a long cage mech can deal with a larger range of gear ratios than a short cage mech, as the mech needs to take up the slack in the chain.

The spec of a certain mech will tell you it's designed range.

Technical bit:

Capacity = (Biggest front ring - smallest front ring) + (biggest rear cog - smallest rear cog)

So assuming a standard 11 - 32 cassette yours is:

(36-22) + (32-11) = 35T capacity.

Shimano XT rear mechs (for example):

SGS (long cage) 45T capacity.
GS (medium cage) 33T capacity.

BUT off-hand the rule of thumb is that you need a long cage with a tripe front ring setup but can probably get away with short/medium cage on double or single front ring setup's.

Thanks folks for clearing that up