Originally Posted by
brokenp87
It will work even if the shifters are for a 10sp?!?
I ask this because in an italian forum they tell me that is impossible and I'm losing time...so I would like to know why is possible to understand better...
What I read is that the cable pull ratio is the same...but my doubts are about the fact that the shifters have 10 position right?! how they can manage to work with a 9 position rear derailleur...I would like to understand why this is possible...
It will work, believe me. The indents in the shifter are what allows the shifting to index. The derailleur simply moves the chain a certain distance for each click of the shifter; there's no indexing in the derailleur. The XT RD and ten speed road shifters you mention both use the same cable pull ratio, so it doesn't matter a bit if the rear derailleur is designated "nine speed", it's the cable pull ratio that's important. The RD will move the correct distance per click to properly shift the chain on your ten speed cassette.
Here's a pic of one of my bikes; the cassette is a Shimano-compatible (SRAM) ten speed 12 x 32, the RD is a "nine speed" LX. The shifters I use on this bike are ten speed Shimano 105. I've set up many bikes similarly, and the shifting is great.
