Touring Cassette Question
 

I have a Shimano 105 5600 group with compact double ring crank and I want to put on a larger ranging cassette and I found the following on sheldonbrown.com and was wondering if anyone has tried this setup or has an opinion on it?

I am using a 11-27 right now.

Shimano 11-36 SLX HG81 10 speed cassette
"The Ultimate 10-Speed Touring Cassette!
Designed for Shimano's Shadow technology Mtn Bike components, This cassette can be used on a touring bike with a traditional Deore MTB rear derailleur by replacing the B tension screw with a 4mm x 20mm bolt.

Sprockets: 11 13 15 17 19 21 24 28 32 36 364g

It should work with the new 9-speed Deore MTB rear derailleur and you will need a new, longer 10-speed chain. I put a 11-32 ten speed cassette on an Ultegra system with a compact crank, It shifted perfectly.

Be careful when mixing ten speed mountain and road. I think that the cable pull is different. I don't think that the ten-speed Deore rear derailleur will work with the road shifter, but I do think that the 9-speed Deore rear derailleur will work.

You might see if you could use the Sram Apex derailleur and cassette with your 105. The Apex is 10 speed with up to 11-36.

If you use the older mountain bike RD, like the 9-speed XT RD, this will work with 10 speed brifters and 10 speed cassette. Do not use the dyna-sys 10 speed RD. These have a different pull ratio.

My LBS has told me that SRAM & Shimano derailleurs are not swappable (if that's a word) back and forth. Must use SRAM shifters with SRAM & Shimano w/ Shimano.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Shimano mountain & road derailleurs can be interchanged.

I believe you are right. J-Tek http://jtekengineering.com seems to have a product that addresses the issue though. I have used J-Tek for Campy-Shimano issues and it worked quite well.

Right now I have a 12-27 actually and use the bike for commuting with rear pannier loaded with work clothes and lunch, a few tools, pump and tubes.
I don't like riding big and big and feel pretty comfortable in the 19, 21 and 24 sprockets. I worry about being fully loaded (credit card tour) with front and rear panniers and handlebar bag and not having enough larger sprockets. I guess I could shift down to the 34 ring in the front if it gets too difficult. I was wondering if the 36 sprockets would be too big and maybe going a 32 or 34. Maybe I am over analyzing it!


This spring I am planning on a couple for short tours, around Lake Ontario and one around Lake Erie.

My road bike is a compact double with 11-28 cassette. My touring bike started as a road triple (52/39/30) and 12-27. My first tour was a credit card tour: 23lb bike, 22lbs of gear+luggage, and 5lbs of water in three bottles. That route involved a lot of climbing up steep (7+%) hills. After doing a few training rides with the full load, I decided to swap the crank for a 26/38/48 trekking crank and was very happy that I did so. I could probably have made it through with the stock gearing, but the trip was a whole lot more fun with the lower gears. If you're not going to be climbing (or facing big headwinds), then there's less need to worry about gearing...

Might need the kit, shifters, RD, and cassette, to all be SRAM..

I was talking to somebody not long ago who used that cassette with a 46-30 crankset. They love it, they don't use the "bailout" gear often, but said it's great to have.

Marc

So is the spacing of the shimano 10 spd cassette different or is it just the way the RD works that's different?

Ah yes, the Shift Mate. I forgot about those. I've never used one before, but have heard they work quite well.

It's the way the RD works that is different.

I just converted from 8 spd. to 9 spd. not too long ago. I don’t really feel the need for 10 spd. I am running a 12-36 9 spd. On my touring bike. It provides a nice bail out ultra low gear with a 20-32-42 setup.

If you wanted to only run the 9 lowest gears of your 10 speed 11-36 cassette (ie you know you'll never use the 11T cog) and have 9 speed shifters, can you use alternate cable routing and limit screw setting to get that to work, or does it only work the other way (a 10 speed shifter with 9 speed cassette)?

!0 speed cassette and chains are quite expensive,
brace yourself for the replacement parts cost
in the long term..

and if you are headed well off the beaten track
set up a mail drop to have someone post the spares on short notice..
since the latest kit won't penetrate to shops the heart of Africa
or rural South America for a Long ... Time ..