rear derailleur
 

Going to replace the rear derailleur on our tandem. Was looking @ the Ultegra - either 6600 or 6700 GS. Not interested in light but durable, is there another derailleur I should consider? Road & Katy trail pleasure riding with a few centuries thrown in. Will be using Ergo shifters and shiftmate.

marc

If you're going the Shiftmate route already, consider going with a SRAM MTB rear derailleur, X7, X9 or X0 (subject to your budget or what you find on sale).

This is the information on the Shiftmate Straight:http://jtekengineering.com/shiftmate_straight.htm

I recently fitted a SRAM X.0 rear derailleur to our road tandem mated to our Campy Ergo 10 shifters via a Shiftmate Straight 5S + Shimano 11X32t 10 speed cassette and the shifting is very crisp and smooth, an improvement over our previous configurations using Campy RDs with and without a conventional, right-angle Shiftmate. More info here, with follow-on anecdotals in the 2nd two updates:

http://tandemgeek.wordpress.com/2011...mpy-ergo-sram/
http://tandemgeek.wordpress.com/2011...-5s-follow-up/
http://tandemgeek.wordpress.com/2011...2nd-follow-up/

I've got the DaVinci modified X9 with an as new Sram 990 11-32 cassette for sale. The X9 I have works directly with the Ergo shifters - no shiftmate needed. Worked great for the 6 or so months we used it but I switched to a full Campy 10 speed. It's like new - will sell both for $100 shipped.

xtr rd-m952. best ever, but ebay only.

I've recently switched our daVinci from 9 spd. to 10 spd. using a Deore RD with a right angle Shiftmate. While the 10 spd. 11-32 is a definite improvement over the 9 spd, I'm working a ghost shifting problem in the smaller cogs where when I shift down (smaller cog) I get a double-shift and need to shift up. Everything seems fine on the "bench". I'm replacing the cable housing tomorrow since I might have damaged the housing by attaching a bell to my handlebars (partially crushing the housing as it were)

If these changes don't get things working right I'll also switch to SRAM X.0 with a straight shiftmate. And, yes, I also have a modified SRAM RD, but I'm hanging onto it until I'm sure this new-fangled 10 speed stuff works.

Joe,

I'm using 8sp stuff will the X9 work with the 8sp Ergo shifters?

marc

I have used the appropriate shiftmate with XTR and Campy Centaur RDs both with Campy ergo shifters and 10 speed Shimano Cassettes. Both worked well once I found a way to deal with the cable from slipping through the shiftmate.

If the cable goes slack for any reason the cable slips on the pully and the flat portion of the ****mate moves from the 1 o'clock position and shifting suffers. The only solution I have found is to get it adjusted, then mark the pully so that it is qiuck and easy to return it to the correct position when I feel the need.

We need a way to secure the cable in the shiftmate.

I don't believe it will as the spacing is different. Time to upgrade! :)

Just a note on the 5S Shiftmate for anyone reading this thread: The parts are available as shown on the Jtek website (www.jtekengineering.com), but their website is undergoing an upgrade and these newer parts are not yet linked to their cart. If you need the 5S or any of the straight Shiftmates just give them a call.

On a related note I haven't completely given up on my Shimano/Shiftmate config, but I do think that the shape of the housing loop combined with the right angle shiftmate may create a bit of take-up in the cable as the cable tension increases. I've ordered a SRAM RD and 5S shiftmate and I don't doubt this will be the final configuration.

I second this - tho' I haven't tried the Srams mentioned by TandemGeek. Newer models of the xtr don't work as well for me and do not have barrel adjuster where cable enters.