Easiest way to get an 11sp 36t cassette out back

Hi folks,

This is covering some ground I’ve asked about but last time was looking at ultegra 34t cassettes.

On a road bike with an 11speed wheel, is there a way I can get an 11speed 36t cassette out back using a set of 105 11 speed shifters up front?

Yes I know it’s not very manly but looking at the Fred Whitton in May and I’m generally a really high cadence rider. I want all the help to be able to keep my cadence as high as I can without having to fit a triple chainset.

Thanks in advance

Compatible mtb or long cage Road rear derailleur.

Ultegra long cage goes up to 34t officially, not sure if you can squeeze a 36t in.

If not, then you can just use on these to lower mech down and allow the extra space:

RoadLink

Thanks,

What about the actual block. Can I just use a shimano mtb 11-36t one with a spacer?

“Compatible mtb or long cage Road rear derailleur”

Least helpful post award goes to…

sram do a road 11-36 11sp cassette which I think is designed for their 1x derailleurs but I’m sure it’d work with a roadlink and a normal shimano rd
<p style=”margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;”><span style=”font-size: 12pt;”>https://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3508&g=414401&p=839789&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Road%20Cassettes&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8tHPlPuQ2QIVBqwYCh3j-gw_EAQYASABEgK0G_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds</span></p&gt;

Cheers.

Just been reading, apparently people have managed to get the GS Ultegra 8000 mechs to work with an 11-40.

If that’s the case, I’ll probably buy an ultegra mech (gs8000) and one of those 11-36t sram cassettes. Should work fine if people have had them on the 40t cassettes

You could go as spendy as a wolftooth or just go;

https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m4084.l1313&_nkw=Bicycle+Rear+Derailleur+Hanger+Extension+Extender+MTB+Cycling+Frame+Tail+Hook

Popped one on a mate’s bike to do exactly what you’re wanting to when we had a trip to Norway, and it worked a treat.

I’m using a 105 long cage and a Roadlink on an 11-40 with 105 shifters and it shifts fine. 50/34 upfront BTW.

You should try a long cage 105 derailleur (cheap) with the cassette first then add a Roadlink if needed.

Oh, and yes, XT cassette with a spacer.

The other thing you can do is change to lower chain rings at front, Absolute Black now doing 48/32 and 46/30?

https://absoluteblack.cc/oval-road-chainrings-30-46-and-32-48-for-110-4bcd/

That way you don’t have to worry about the big jumps you may have in 11-36 cassette for riding road, i’ve just ordered 46/30 to couple with 11-34 cassette for Torino-Nice to test it out

That’s awesome I may do both. 46/30 out front and 11-36t out back.

Should winch me up anything!

Thanks

The biggest % gear drop is from the cassette. That’s where you should start. If you can manage without a Roadlink, it’ll be £25 for the derailleur and £50 for the cassette. Bargain.

I have long cage 105 rear mech & 34/50 chainset working with the SRAM 11-36 no problem.

@Timothy good to know, cheers.

Can you get all gear combos inc big/big and little/little and is the chain properly tensioned in little/little?

I had to add the Roadlink to get that with an 11-40.

You could use a wolftooth tanpan with a MTB rear mech, but that’s a little spendy for one event.

I’ve also swapped in a mtb chainset with 40-28 if you’re prepared to finangle the front mech a bit

I’d love to know how people get on with those absolute black chain rings. They are £95 for the pair?

Hopefully by the time you report back the forum will have a way of me finding this thread again

Interesting to hear that 11-40 and the rear and 50 34 at the front works. I guess that its not great in the small ring and the small end of the block. But no big deal….

Think it is £95 for just the larger ring… I looked at that and sacked the idea off.

Interesting to hear that 11-40 and the rear and 50 34 at the front works. I guess that its not great in the small ring and the small end of the block. But no big deal….

With a Roadlink, it’s no different than an 11-28. I don’t leave the 11-40 on permanently though as I ride a lot of road that doesn’t need really low gearing. I do leave the Roadlink and a cage mech on all the time and it changes loverly and fully tensions the chain even at extreme combos.

Didn’t we go through this a couple of weeks ago ? General opinion seems to be that a Sunrace 11-40 cassette with a 9 speed Deore derailleur will crack 99% of issues, notwithstanding that you may or may not need a Wolftooth roadlink and a bit of tinkering with chain length etc. This holds true for 10 and 11 speed road bike set ups. I ride in a group where there are three bikes set up faultlessly this way in hilly ‘Gods Own County’, and another lad wanting the same doing to his bike. These are all 50/34 chainsets driving 11-40 cassettes, both 10 and 11 speed, ( some of the riders are old duffers with replacement hips and dodgy tickers, but not all) !!

PS, almost forgot, we have a lady who rides with us, Spesh Dolce Elite, her husband fitted a 11-36 cassette, (9 speed) with a Deore derailleur and a Roadlink, that set-up is driven by a triple chainset,using Tiagra levers, so it seems  owt is possible.

Some great stuff here, Thanks everyone

My bike is 10 speed with Tiagra 5700 and a medium cage mech’. So it looks like I just need the road link copy (cheers smell it), new chain and 11-40 cassette

As I understand it 11 speed road and Tiagra 5700 have the wrong pull ratio to use a 9 speed MTB mech. Shimano changed the pull ratio for 5700 Tiagra it is differnt to all other road 10 speed. This does means that 11 speed users who want a longer mech’ can now use a cheap Tiagra one, if they just want a cheap one event solution

+1 for it working . I have a ultegra long cage mech on a 11-36 with a 36 /50 on the front end. Works fine .

11-36 Sram cassette Ultegra Rmech 50/36 Rotor (ovals) here. Been on the Domane for 12 months now, shift flawlessly – got me and my poorly chest up’t Great Dun Fell last year!

Ampthill, not so, get yourself a basic 9 speed Deore derailleur (M591 SGS), available in black or silver from lots of suppliers for little dosh. It works a treat, lots of lateral motion available for adjustment, plenty of cage length for chain tension, B screw for cog clearance, no fancy gubbins like on the fashionable MTB derailleurs. just depends on your frame design as to whether you need a Roadlink to clear the top jockey wheel under the biggest cogs,good luck.  NB it’s because the 591 is so simple that it handles any ‘pull ratio’ bollox, like I said before ,we’ve got riders using 9,10 and 11 speed cassettes operated by Ultegra, 105 and Tiagra of all age groups, sorry to say not tried with any Campag or SRAM though.

It works a treat,

With 10spd it does. With 11spd it *really* doesn’t.

Sorry to hear that Simon, perhaps there is something wrong with your setup, ‘cos we’ve got two 11 speeders here running sweet enough, both 50/34 x11-40, one Ultegra based and the other I think is 105. Research the setup on youtube, lots of anecdotal stuff on there,best wishes

Obviously, if you’re not running a single ring on the front, then it’s not just about whether the mech covers the largest cog physically as it is about whether you have capacity for the system.

I could believe a GS mech being physically long enough for a 36t cassette but I’d be sceptical about it having the capacity I think.  I’d go for SGS.

Quick google shows capacity of GS at 33t and SGS at 45t.

So, if you’re going 46-30 up front that’s a 16t difference.  11-36 cassette is 25t.

16+25 = 41t.   Buy SGS.

Don’t really see that it would make any difference if the mech was Ultegra or not, buy 105 unless you want new flash bits!

Re: my 105 long cage, 34/50, SRAM 11-36.

Big big is very tight, but OK. You wouldn’t choose to use it, but it doesn’t rip the mech/hanger off. Little/little is fine. I think I could probably have added a link if necessary and all would still have been good – my chain was already reasonably long as I was using 11-32 Shimano.

It will probably depend a bit on your hanger and dropout, obviously mine was fine, but I guess YMMV and you might have to get a roadlink or similar.

Aha, have I misunderstood? It is true that you cannot sensibly crossmatch 10 speed levers with 11 speed cassettes,,although it is possible to use 11 speed levers on 10 speed cassettes  with care! But the 9 speed 591 derailleur works perfectly, slotted into either 9 10 or 11 speed setups.

I’m using an XTR 11-40 cassette and rear Mech with R685 shifters through a Wolftooth Tanpan.  This works just fine.