Does running a shorter cage mech make much difference to chain slap?

I’ve just got a bike with 10spd XT setup.

I’m going either 1 or 2×10, and I hjate all the chain slap I get at the moment.

I was going to go short cage, but of course I can only use 10spd MTB, because shimano changed the ratio. The only shorter caged option I have is XTR!
Now it’s pricey, but I would pay just to get rid of all the slapping about (I normally ride SS, so I guess I’m overly sensitive), but I don’t want to spaff £120 on a rear mech if it’s going to be no better.

I know what you mean it is irritating so I find running my chain a little shorter helps stop it, there’s plenty of compliance in the derailleur so not really an issue.

That’s what I did on my old bike, but it didn’t really cure it. Annoying I can’t just use the brand new road 10spd rear mech I’ve got 🙁

I could probably go a lot shorter on the chain though once I go 2×10 – that will make a difference.

I’m running 2×9 new xtr cranks with medium cage older xtr mech on a cotic soul and no issues, I dont pay attention to it any more I’ll probably start noticing again now! 😉

Why can’t you use the road mech? What shimano suggest and what you try are 2 different things, I’d try it what’s the worst that can happen?

It’s nothing to do with what Shimano suggest. I know what you mean, and my cross bike currently has a mix of 8, 9 and 10spd kit, and I even had a bike mixing 7,8,9 and 10spd kit, but they’ve actually changed the cable pull dramatically for 10spd MTB (but not road).

It’s like trying to use a Shimano mech with SRAM shifters. It will just never work.

I went 10 speed and wanted a med cage mech but none available, in the end i just removed the cage plates from an old 9 speed SLX med cage rear mech and put them on the new 10 speed one and it works a treat – easy job, 10 minutes work.

I thought about that – you could do it on XTR and Dura-Ace in the past as the plates were attached with Allen-key bolts.

Is it the same on the new XT and SLX then?

Perhaps I can go nuts, and put my roadie super-short cage on (if it will work with the 11-36 spread!)

ditching the current 11-36 cassette fashion/must have will make more difference.. I still run 11-28 on 3 bikes for that reason (obviously no long cage mechs)

Not sure about road mechs but I went from a SLX 9 to a SLX 10 so the plates were pretty similar and yeah just standard allen key bolts, one at base of plates and one going into spring housing pillar.

hmmm, off to the shed to examine my mech.

The older ones were always pressed in (or something)

Yes it will but depending on frame choice either a lot it just slightly. Elevated stays will slap a lot less than normal diamond shaped frames.

TBH, going 2×10 will give you less chainslap anyway, as you’ll just spend more time in the big ring. So if you do hear it then just change up on the front!

You can of course do this on a 3×10, and not have to buy a thing…

no it doesn’t

for similar gearing (descending) big ring (3 ring) and mid cassette gives less chain slappage than middle (2 ring) and lower cassette (and only becomes worse with the long chain length you need for 36T rear sprocket.

pick up an old xtr medium cage rear mech for about £30 and then strip it down, replace seals and install some shiny pimpy kcnc jockey wheels… all in about £50 give or take and a little more left-field than the hoards of xt rear mechs out there.

i’m running a 34t front ring with 11-34 9-speed on the back and i can get up the knarliest climbs and blast down the other side… i just run a superstar xcr chain device on the front to keep things in check

have fun

campfreddie – the point is that for 10spd the cable pull is different, so I need a 10spd parallellogram bit.

le singe – I just had a look at a 9spd XT rear mech I’ve got, and once I’ve removed the inner plat and jockey wheels, the outer plate is attached where it pivots. There is a small grub screw on the p-knuckle. Is that it?

no it doesn’t

for similar gearing (descending) big ring (3 ring) and mid cassette gives less chain slappage than middle (2 ring) and lower cassette (and only becomes worse with the long chain length you need for 36T rear sprocket

We’re talking on cross purposes… I was talking about a big ringed 2x setup – 42/28, not a double and bash

found this
amazing description of putting a roadie shortcage onto a shadow rear mech

Most of the tricky looking stuff is because this post is about putting a non-shadow cage on a shadow rear mech. For my purposes, a cage from a medium cage shadow rear mech of yesteryear would do just fine (so I guess that’s SLX or XT).

Now I just need to find one, because if I spend £40 buying one, I may as well jsut buy an XTR rear mech, and have a bit of pimp appeal

Leon