Any reason that a 9 sp Alivio rear derailleur wouldn't work on 7 sp MTB drivetrain?
08-12-15, 06:30 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 33
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Any reason that a 9 sp Alivio rear derailleur wouldn't work on 7 sp MTB drivetrain?
Title says it all. I've got a used 9 speed Alivio rear derailleur and an old MTB with a 7 speed drivetrain and a smashed Altus derailleur.
08-12-15, 07:25 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 1,883
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 263 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 9 Times
in
8 Posts
Assuming a Shimano or compatible shifter then yes it should work fine. You should probably check your derailleur hanger alignment if you smashed your old derailleur.
08-13-15, 04:25 AM
#3
Senior Member
If it's what you have in mind, your existing 7 speed shifters won't work with a 9 speed cassette because the cog spacing is (likely to be) different to your 'indexing'.
Might not be your question, but for some, the common misconception is that the mech has some sort of innate indexing... it doesn't... it's just a spring-loaded device and will 'index' according to what your shifters ask of it. The real question in that case is, will my shifters work with my cassette, because the 'indexing' of the shifters needs to be matched to the number of cogs / spacing of the cassette.
The only other considerations are:
- is the cage of the rear mech the right size for your biggest rear tooth and the overall tooth capacity
- will the rear mech travel sufficiently to cover the entire cassette... usually they will cover more than the entire cassette, which is why the mech has limiter screws to stop it traveling too far either way.
Hope that doesn't teach you to suck eggs, but (judging by previous posts) there will be some reading this for whom all of this mixing, matching and upgrading is a bit confusing.
Might not be your question, but for some, the common misconception is that the mech has some sort of innate indexing... it doesn't... it's just a spring-loaded device and will 'index' according to what your shifters ask of it. The real question in that case is, will my shifters work with my cassette, because the 'indexing' of the shifters needs to be matched to the number of cogs / spacing of the cassette.
The only other considerations are:
- is the cage of the rear mech the right size for your biggest rear tooth and the overall tooth capacity
- will the rear mech travel sufficiently to cover the entire cassette... usually they will cover more than the entire cassette, which is why the mech has limiter screws to stop it traveling too far either way.
Hope that doesn't teach you to suck eggs, but (judging by previous posts) there will be some reading this for whom all of this mixing, matching and upgrading is a bit confusing.
Last edited by Monkey Face; 08-13-15 at 04:30 AM.
08-14-15, 04:42 AM
#5
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 33
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
If it's what you have in mind, your existing 7 speed shifters won't work with a 9 speed cassette because the cog spacing is (likely to be) different to your 'indexing'.
Might not be your question, but for some, the common misconception is that the mech has some sort of innate indexing... it doesn't... it's just a spring-loaded device and will 'index' according to what your shifters ask of it. The real question in that case is, will my shifters work with my cassette, because the 'indexing' of the shifters needs to be matched to the number of cogs / spacing of the cassette.
The only other considerations are:
- is the cage of the rear mech the right size for your biggest rear tooth and the overall tooth capacity
- will the rear mech travel sufficiently to cover the entire cassette... usually they will cover more than the entire cassette, which is why the mech has limiter screws to stop it traveling too far either way.
Hope that doesn't teach you to suck eggs, but (judging by previous posts) there will be some reading this for whom all of this mixing, matching and upgrading is a bit confusing.
Might not be your question, but for some, the common misconception is that the mech has some sort of innate indexing... it doesn't... it's just a spring-loaded device and will 'index' according to what your shifters ask of it. The real question in that case is, will my shifters work with my cassette, because the 'indexing' of the shifters needs to be matched to the number of cogs / spacing of the cassette.
The only other considerations are:
- is the cage of the rear mech the right size for your biggest rear tooth and the overall tooth capacity
- will the rear mech travel sufficiently to cover the entire cassette... usually they will cover more than the entire cassette, which is why the mech has limiter screws to stop it traveling too far either way.
Hope that doesn't teach you to suck eggs, but (judging by previous posts) there will be some reading this for whom all of this mixing, matching and upgrading is a bit confusing.
The long-cage Alivio RD should clear the 32T large sprocket without a problem as well and since a 9-speed cassette is wider than a 7-speed it should have more than enough travel.
I was more concerned about chain/cage compatibility being 9 sp component are narrower than 7 sp. I wanted to know if I was risking damaging the new (used) derailleur or having the chain jam by running a 7 sp chain through a RD designed for 9.
08-14-15, 05:25 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Siberia West .. aka Central Wisconsin... USA
Posts: 308
Bikes: 2000 Litespeed Appalachian, 1998 Litespeed BlueRidge.. 1977? Schwinn LeTour 12.2 'Rain Daze'
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 64 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 17 Times
in
14 Posts
Cage length... same? Long/er vs short... goes to chain wrap. Otherwise your go to go... if the width does not extend into the spoke field.
08-14-15, 08:10 AM
#7
Senior Member
Not sure what I'm missing, if anything, but since you have the components can't you just run the chain through the mech and see if it runs free?
08-14-15, 08:27 AM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Mission Viejo
Posts: 5,806
Bikes: 1986 Cannondale SR400 (Flat bar commuter), 1988 Cannondale Criterium XTR, 1992 Serotta T-Max, 1995 Trek 970
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1944 Post(s)
Liked 2,164 Times
in
1,323 Posts
There are no issues running a 7/8 speed chain through a 9 speed derailleur.
My favorite MTB setup is running an XT760 or XTR960 rapid rise with a 7 speed setup. I run a KMC X8.93 chain.
To be more specific, my 7 speed setup runs with a re-spaced cassette and 8 speed trigger shifters.
John
My favorite MTB setup is running an XT760 or XTR960 rapid rise with a 7 speed setup. I run a KMC X8.93 chain.
To be more specific, my 7 speed setup runs with a re-spaced cassette and 8 speed trigger shifters.
John
08-14-15, 10:51 AM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Rural Minnesota
Posts: 1,604
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 75 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
RD should be fine, just run it through all the gear combinations cranking slowly by hand to make sure. 9sp FD on 7sp triple crankset might cause problems getting it adjusted to shift into both the high and low ring smoothly or with cage rattle when shifting across the entire cassette.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jetter
Bicycle Mechanics
12
10-24-13 12:29 PM
Virginian
Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg)
2
07-19-10 11:15 PM
