Just put 451 wheels on my folder with a Shimano Capreo hub and 9-speed cassette. Matched these with a 105 rear derailleur, which mostly works okay but seems to not quite fit...when downshifting, one of the jockey wheels seems to tuck inside the body and sit on the smallest cog, keeping the chain from moving down.

Tweaking the b-screw didn't do anything, so I am wondering whether a Capreo rear derailleur might fix that.

Anyone had experience mixing and matching these?

Sheldon states that the Capreo rear derailleur isn't special, it's just branding (as are the crank and front shifter and brakes).

Thank you Feijai.

My understanding is that Capreo derailleurs provides more of a wrap around the cogs, which help with the smaller 9t cogs. I don't know for sure.

I have used a regular Campy Veloce with a Capreo, and it appeared to work fine. I did that for about 9 months. Then saw a good deal on a Capreo derailleur and switched it out.

I've never even seen a Capreo derailer.

I thought that it was designed with a single chainring in mind, a shorter tension pulley, and more clearance with the ground. Notice the low capacity. But see the aforementioned sentence before putting too much weight into the statement. I wouldn't put it past Shimano to simply label the capacity at the Capreo default rather than a true maximum.

My Capreo equipped 451 Pacific Reach Road comes stock with Tiagra short cage .. 53/39-9/26 .. also running Ultegra short cage on another ..

I swapped out my Capreo equipped 451 Pacific Reach Road Tiagra short cage to a X-9 Shimano short cage running a single 48 tooth front no problem.

I wanted to mention, for the benefit of anyone stumbling on this thread in the future, that my experience is that the Capreo derailleur *is* different. It's definitely got less capacity than a standard long cage, because as various posters have said it's designed for a single front ring. However, my bike shop tell me they've recently released a mid-cage version. I'm running 53-38 up front and the standard 9-26 at the back, and the (new slightly larger-capacity) Capreo shifter is (just) ok despite being over capacity. I had problems with skipping in the top gear which have lessened hugely now that I've got the right shifter (was using a Tiagra before).

My wifes Bike Friday uses a Capreo hub with a Deore rear deraileur. Works as good as any other bike we own or maybe slightly better. Roger

While researching the BD-1 it became apparent that the Capreo setup was extensively used on them. With an eye on future upgrades I began researching Capreo. What I found was that the derailleur, shifter, and hub are designed to work as a unit. While physically possible to swap in other bits, they may or may not play nice.

Did a bit more research. Seems any 9 speed derailleur will work, with a slight caveate. Utah Trikes Catalog - Trikes, Upgrades & Accessories

I still stand by this statement that the Capreo derailleur provides more of a wrap around the cogs. It may not matter that much in day to day riding, tho.

I've had problems using the Capreo long derailleur with a standard shifter. The extra wrap grinds the derailleur into the large cogs.

I've never seen one in person. I've never heard of a long Capreo derailer. Is it designed for doubles and triples in the front?

So I just googled it ...

Amazon has a rd 800-ss and a rd 800-gs. The pictures are the same but I suppose that there are two versions.

i installed the capreo freehub and cassette on my foldingbike.
the bike came with sora derailer.
i didn't replace the derailer, and it has been working fine for three years now

Besides the Capreo lockring and lockring tool, only the actual Capreo hub and the smallest 3 cogs on the Capreo cassette must be used in a Capreo system. Everything else is interchangeable with other Shimano components including the derailleur, shifter, and 6 largest cogs. I've used a Dura-Ace derailleur with Capreo hub and it shifted better than the stock Capreo derailleur (although I used an XTR shifter with the DA).

To back up SesameCrunch: the Capreo rear mech definitely wraps the chain further around the sprocket. When using a Capreo cassette/hub with a Tiagra rear mech, we had terrible problems with it skipping in the 9/10 tooth sprockets at the back. This was on a tandem with 20" wheels, though I could cause the skipping when riding it solo. The Capreo mech fixed the skipping as soon as they swapped it on.

We got the new (at the time) long cage version, and it's still specced as having 15 tooth capacity (the spec is identical to the short cage version, so clearly it's conservative and I suspect based on the 9-26 cassette). It still claims to be designed for a single front ring, though we're happily using it with 38/53 up front. I avoid the 38-9 combination, and the 53-26, though they both do work with a little noise from the transmission...

I think, though I wouldn't swear to it, even the Capreo with the slightly longer cage gives a bit more ground clearance than an equivalent "normal" derailleur - a significant plus on a small-wheeled bike!

Thank you for the long term review.

Certainly makes sense given the small sprocket and limited number of engaged teeth that in a high torque situation you'd get more slippage, all things equal. If the path of the jockey wheel is steeper and closer to the 9-tooth sprocket, one would get more clearance.

Now that I think about it more ... I wonder whether one could adjust the b-screw and release the jockey wheel up and forward.

sorry to interfere, but although an eye-pleasing and elegant design, there is little reason to use the capreo with as big as 451 wheels. already the 11-cog has high friction and a grinding sensation under load already after few hours of use, thereafter wears itself and the chain out in short time. 12 is ok, 13 lasts forever.

there are suppliers for chainwheels as big as you can possibly want. or planetary gears.

I think the alternatives -- tiny cogs, big chainrings, planetary gears -- all have pros and cons.

i agree! my point was that with 451 wheels you really dont need either of these three. a 55-60 chainwheel will do, and the rest standard componentry.

getting good and high gears on a 349 or therabouts is a different story

A standard 53T ring with 11T cog will take you to 100GI on a 451er.

sometimes the chainline will interfere with a larger fron ring, hence the 9 teeth will be the only possibility

As fast as I wear out 11 tooth cogs, I can't imagine how quick a 9 tooth would go away.

we are in the position to ask ts how well the capreo functioned, and how many work-hours it lasted. his was mounted in 2011...

Abu; even better is a 61/12...

Thor; what situation could that possibly be??

Rick; i seem to rather see the 11 as a toy doing its best to soon halt the speed of the bike making frequent change of drivetrain wear parts necessary. smaller cogs are however sold separately so by frequent change it is possible to keep up with its wear.

having this cog on a very high gear like 53/11 on a road bike it is not to be used almost at all. the better:-) 52/12 gets you there faster.

but as a low top gear on a small-wheeled bike or maybe mtb, an 11-cog is likely to be used a great deal more. and then show itself from its right side. it is funny how the negative difference in wear and speed between 12 and 11 is as great as it is. going from 13 to 12 is not nearly the same thing.

on my road bike i have had the opportunity go the full length to 61/13 as top gear.. it is super smooth with effortless resistance, and remains that way for years. what a delightful and actually usable joy.