[idrivefun]

I have a shot-to-hell X9 Long Cage on my DW Spot. Running only the small and middle chainrings on an XT crank. Are they any issues with going to a short cage? Looking at the X.O. Also, any guess at how many links in the chain, if any, I would need to remove when going from long to short cage? I think the short cage would last longer, in theory, as I should bang it less against stuff.

Oh, and the cassette is 11-34. I have read the sticky in the Drive Train forum, but wanted homer opinions and to see if anyone runs short cages...

Thanks for the help!

 

[Mtn. Biker123]

I have a shot-to-hell X9 Long Cage on my DW Spot. Running only the small and middle chainrings on an XT crank. Are they any issues with going to a short cage? Looking at the X.O. Also, any guess at how many links in the chain, if any, I would need to remove when going from long to short cage? I think the short cage would last longer, in theory, as I should bang it less against stuff.

Oh, and the cassette is 11-34

Thanks for the help!

Short cage D'ers don't play well with double chainrings:nono:

Go with a medium.

 

[Whafe]

Have to disagree Mtn.Biker123 - Short Cage D'ers play very well with dual ring setups....

Well mine has for over 2 years on this bike alone...........

 

[Mtn. Biker123]

You are putting a lot of tension on that setup and maybe pretty sloppy in the small ring? It's ok, but anything above a 34 up front and you will surely run into problems. Good on ya! Good setup too! The tensioner is a key component.

 

[Whafe]

Yep, it may seem quite a lot of tension, but it has never caused me an issue and this bike has been thrashed..... On all my bikes, if I am running a triple ring setup, I go Med Cage, if dual ring like this one I run Short Cage......

For sure monkeys whom change into gear combo's that shouldnt happen will have issues I guess, not this blonde kiwi git....

 

[Jayem]

DW spot is going to have more chain-growth than that Nicolai, combined with the 34t cassette, I wouldn't do it.

Just going over my linkage files, it seems pretty consistant that DW link bikes have about 3x the chain-growth, that's pretty significant.

 

[Whafe]

than that Nicolai,

Jayem, those words made me laugh.... :thumbsup:

 

[Mtn. Biker123]

Jayem, those words made me laugh.... :thumbsup:

I would trust Jayem over you any day

 

[Whafe]

I would trust him more with bike stuff than I would trust myself.......... MB123

 

[MK_]

I'm running a short cage on a double ring setup and 34T cassette on my 6point (7in travel) and no issues. Chain sizing is definitely very sensitive and you have to be good at not cross chaining, but if you already do that you'll notice no difference.

If you want a little room for error, go mid cage.

_MK

 

[Jayem]

Then I'll add: Be carefull with your chain sizing. A rear derailer has an additional purpose on most FS bikes, and that is to take up slack as the suspension cycles. On single-ring bikes you can pretty much use any cassette and even though there's chain growth, it's not really enough with one ring to add up to much. When you have two rings, things change, when you have chain-growth through the suspension, you should be carefull. Make sure you measure your chain and cycle the suspension (with shock or spring off). It's not even "cross-chaining" so much that is bad (riding in the 1st rear gear and middle front is always pretty x-chained, but not as much as being in the big ring in that combo obviously), you want to avoid the big-big combo because of how much chain it takes to wrap around the gears. Most people don't ride this combo, but if you found yourself there by mistake and you didn't have enough chain because you're using the short-cage, the results could be catastrophic on a drop or something (chain failure or rip the derailer off).

Going with a short-cage derailer always seems to be the hip thing to do, but many people never think about the above information/limitations. That doesn't mean it won't work, but be carefull.

 

[idrivefun]

Great feedback guys. Thanks for taking the time to toss your thoughts and experiance out here! Maybe I should just go single chainring up front... 32 tooth. I dont cross chain on purpose, but I would have to hit a decent drop and trash my new XO. Or go mid cage and be done....