For my sons bike, he has a 30t front and a 11-36 rear cassette with a zee rear mech.
He could possibly do with a bit more at the lower end. I think we just need a sun race or Shimano 10 speed wide ratio, up to 46 tooth?
Will that require an 11 speed derailleur, and will that work ok with a 10 speed zee shifter?
Anyone spotted any good deals on such parts?
What's the capacity of the Zee? I don't think it will go to 46T (just checked, it's 28T so you'd possibly get to 40T) An SLX mech would be fine. You can get a Sunrace 11-46T cassette so no need to get a new shifter - unless of course you want to move to 11spd.
The SLX derailleur is available in 10 & 11spd as is the Sunrace cassette.
As above - 10 speed SLX rear mech (medium cage) will probably give you a bit more room and clearance over the Zee one, which I'd imagine will have a shorter cage.
Existing 10 speed shifter (assuming it's Shimano) will be grand, no need to change that.
Sunrace Cassette of your choosing - I went from a 36t Shimano one to 42t SunRace one on the hardtail and it's made a massive difference - and unless it's really new, a new chain never goes amiss when changing the cassette.
Final last bit you *might* find handy is a 10 speed GoatLink
https://www.18bikes.co.uk/wolftooth-wolftooth-lindarets-goatlink-10.html
Again, gives you that wee bit more clearance and removes a lot of chatter and grumble from the running gear.
At this point, I'll say that comparing that very 10 speed setup on my hardtail (32t Chainring / 11-42t Cassette) to the 11 speed 32t Chainring / 11-42t Cassette) on my full-suss, I can't notice any difference whatsoever.
Other than one less click to go from top to bottom cog at the back... Wide range 10 speed is brilliant, and a much more cost effective approach than 11 speed.
Would it be preferable to have an 11 speed derailleur on a big cassette rather than possible faffage with a goat link?
Shifter is a zee.
You can a buy a goat link copy from eBay for next to nothing on eBay.
Deore M6000 medium cage rear mech. It's designed to work with a 42 tooth cassette and so doesn't need bodging with a goat link ect. It will work with your current shifter and you may even find it in a bundle with the (fairly weighty) 42 tooth Deore cassette for a good price.
I didn't think 10 speed and 11 speed would mix, are they not different pull ratios?
Goatlink might not be needed, varies from frame to frame.
Can't speak for 11-46 but on my bike I run 11-42 with a sunrace cassette, zee mech and radr cage, also my daughter runs the deore M6000 mech and cassette. Both shift perfectly.
Other than the M6000, I've never managed to get a standard 10 speed shimano mech working happily with a 42t cassette so I'd recommend going down this route as radr cages appear to be like hens teeth at the moment.
I've had both a rad cage and a goat link (with extended b tension screw)
And while they do work
It was never a plesent solution.
Fitting an 11speed rear mech works perfectly compared to either of the bodges and resulted in much lighter shifting and more importantly even shifts. The goat link and the radcage on a zee resulted in one heavy shift in the middle of the cassette no matter what was done.
With the same shifter cassette and cable , mech hanger etc the 11speed xt mech was plug in and play and gave perfect shifting from the off...
Using a sunrace 11/42 and a zee shifter
I used to use a Zee much with a 40t expander with no issues.
My son has 30t front, new (M7000?) 10 speed SLX derailleur and a 10 speed Deore shifter, which all work together very well on a Shimano 11-42 10 speed cassette. I’m thinking about going to 46 out back (sunrace cassette) but think I’ll need a new derailleur as the b screw is all the way in for 42. Alternatively I’ve got an old slx triple chainset that I could mount a 26 or 28t ring on the granny tabs if the chainline works ok. Mulling it over now while the dog is freaked out by NYE fireworks.
OP I've got new expander cog not sure offhand if it's 40 or 42T but can check if you're interested?
Msg me if so.
FWIW My cross bike has a long cage XT mech with a goat link copy running very well on a 10spd 11-40 sunrace cassette. Its a better solution than just using the b screw to its limit which decreases the amount of chain wrap.
That said it sounds like you'll need to replace the cassette, the rear mech and chain so it's worth weighing up the costs of doing all that and retaining the 10spd shifter or replacing it all with 11spd.
Spend £156 with ze Germans and get SRAM 11sp 11-50t....
I just went for SLX 11sp in this situation. The shifter was £25. Cost me £120 for a complete drivetrain.
I went from goatlink to 11 speed m7000 slx rear mech on 10 speed shifter and 10 speed deore 11-42 cassette it works really well. The slx mech is £40 at crc at the moment so it is cheaper than the 10 speed options. There is still loads of room to cover 46 teeth if needed but 42 works for me.
The pull ratio comes from the shifter and for me it was an upgrade to clutch mech which got rid of all chain movement and also is much easier to remove the rear wheel than a goat link
The 10 speed cassette is £37 and a kmc chain is £11 you can then get £10 off for an order over £75
I use a Sunrace 10sp cassette, 10 speed Zee shifter, with a Xt 11 speed mech. Gives plenty of range and shifts perfectly.