08-06-2011, 12:13 AM
I have a Jamis Allegro 1 with a double chainring crank (50 & 34 teeth) and a Shimano Sora short cage rear derailleur. The rear gearing is an 8 speed (12-26 teeth) cassette. I am frequently finding that in order to keep the chain from extreme angles, I have to shift from my big chainring to the small one, resulting in going from just a bit too high a gear to way too low a gear, which then requires up-shifting a couple of gears in the rear. This has become bothersome.
I went to a bicycle store for a suggestion thinking they'd suggest switching to a triple crank & new front derailleur/shifter. They suggested I should get a different cassette (11-32) and a different rear derailleur so I could keep my shifters. They suggested a Sora GS or Tiagra GS. I have done some research and found that neither can handle the 32 tooth cog (they both max out at 27 teeth for biggest cog). I don't particularly like the MTB rear derailleurs Shimano currently offers - they're designed for triple cranks.
I did some digging around and found that the SRAM Apex medium cage is designed to work with a 11-32 cassette and a double crank, which sounds perfect except for one thing - it's a 10 speed derailleur and SRAM's website says something about exact actuation ratio shifters.
So, the question: will a SRAM Apex 10 speed rear derailleur work with an 8 speed cassette and an 8 speed Shimano shifter? I suspect it will, but I don't want to spend the money on this derailleur unless I am sure it'll work.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have experience with the SRAM Apex. Thanks!
I went to a bicycle store for a suggestion thinking they'd suggest switching to a triple crank & new front derailleur/shifter. They suggested I should get a different cassette (11-32) and a different rear derailleur so I could keep my shifters. They suggested a Sora GS or Tiagra GS. I have done some research and found that neither can handle the 32 tooth cog (they both max out at 27 teeth for biggest cog). I don't particularly like the MTB rear derailleurs Shimano currently offers - they're designed for triple cranks.
I did some digging around and found that the SRAM Apex medium cage is designed to work with a 11-32 cassette and a double crank, which sounds perfect except for one thing - it's a 10 speed derailleur and SRAM's website says something about exact actuation ratio shifters.
So, the question: will a SRAM Apex 10 speed rear derailleur work with an 8 speed cassette and an 8 speed Shimano shifter? I suspect it will, but I don't want to spend the money on this derailleur unless I am sure it'll work.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have experience with the SRAM Apex. Thanks!