dinkjs

So I have had my Nishiki road bike for awhile and last year sometime I tore the whole thing down to just the frame. it is going to be a project bike basically. And i am finally getting around to start purchasing parts for it. Just a little foreground I am limiting it to 8 speeds....its just a bike to have fun on nothing else really.

So my bike I ride exclusively is a Specialized Sirrus with Altus derailleurs and I am very happy with those. This bike is also an 8spd version. So is it an okay option to purchase these derailleurs for the road bike also?

CACycling

As long as you match the shifters to them (Shimano or SRAM versions with with the Shimano pull ratio) or go friction it will work fine.

bobotech

Altus is mountain bike or flat bar if you prefer. So just so long you don't want to use STI brake/shifter levers, you should be fine. Downtube shifters are friction on the front so they would be okay. Bar end shifters are also friction front too.

If you want indexed front shifting, you will need to use a flat bar or mountain bike shifter (they are the same) by Shimano or some SRAM.

You generally can't use Altus front derailleurs with STI road shifters due to the difference in cable pull.

TallRider

Do you mean ONLY 8 speeds - that is, a 1x8 configuration with one chainring and thus no need for front shifting?

You need to tell us more about how you intend to build up the Nishiki road bike. What kind of handlebars? 1x8, 2x8, or 3x8 gearing? How wide a range of rear gears on the bike? Until then, we don't have enough context to offer confident answers.

Bill Kapaun

An Altus will handle a 3X8, so it'll handle fewer rings up front.

LesterOfPuppets

I run one of the A-group rear derailers (not sure if Altus, Acera or Alivio - probably the same RD with all 3 that year) with RSX road shifters and it works great. Has been 7-speed, gonna change to 8-speed 105 tonight but I'm sure it'll be fine. I run olde Suntour front derailers, though.


Untitled by Wheel Deals Vancouver, WA, on Flickr

aljohn

Aagh! I should have read this post a few days ago. I thought that STI shifters worked with all Shimano rear mechs and bought a used Altus 8 speed. After spending an hour trying to get the chain to reach all 8 sprockets it slowly dawned on me that the cable pull wasn't enough.

I logged on to this forum to ask if I was right and saw this post. So what other rear mechs don't work with STI shifters? I'm off to bed now to have a sob.....

JiveTurkey

The Altus REAR derailer should work with STI or any indexed Shimano rear shifter of any speed (save for the usual warning about pre-8-speed Dura Ace and 10-speed Dyna-Sys).

It's designed for larger cogs, so I'd unscrew the b-tension screw (possibly all the way) to get the RD's upper pulley closer to the cogs.

It's the front where road and MTB/flat-bar lines have incompatible cable pull ratios, as well as a couple other issues.

LesterOfPuppets

+1 @JiveTurkey

Works great on my seven speed. Eight speed will surely work also.

bobotech

Interesting choice on using the Suntour front derailleur but I imagine that it is close enough considering you are only doing a double on the front. From what I remember, the Suntour front derailleurs have a cable attaching point roughly exactly in between the Shimano road and MTB derailleurs so with a bit of slack, I can see why it works fine.

I would not be surprised if it didn't work as well though if you went to a triple.
+1 to all that.

TallRider

I think it's just very recent Shimano 10-speed mtb rear derailers that have a different cable-pull ratio, right?

The OP didn't sound as if he'd purchased an Altus rear derailer yet. So if he's running 1x8 or 2x8 I would advise a short-cage road rear derailer, unless he wants a 12-32 cassette.

HillRider

Stop crying and do the set up properly. The Altus rd should work fine with any 7,8 ,9 or 10-speed STI road brifter except pre-9-speed Dura Ace. My guess is you didn't set the brifter in the fully "relaxed" position before connecting the cable. Go back, disconnect the cable at the derailleur, shift the inner lever a bunch of times to be certain it is in the smallest cog position and reattach the cable.

aljohn

Thanks for the advice. I think my problem was that I bolted the mech to the frame, set the limit screws by sight and set it up as normal. the mech would only run from the small cog to the fifth. I adjusted it but no joy, never had a problem before so I decided to mildly panic. Not reading this post correctly I thought the rear mech wouldn't work with STI, after JiveTurkeys reply I re-read the post. Went into garage and adjusted the gears in 5 minutes in a calm manner. So it was worth my looking an idiot to all in this forum to get it sorted so quickly....Cheers

LesterOfPuppets

Whew, glad you got it sorted. I was too busy to get my 8-speed hooked up last night. Levers are on and cassette is on but no cables have been strung.