Recommendations on rear derailleur

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
So towards the end of last night's ride on the final downhill I decided to do a Superman over the handlebar and my rear derailleur took the brunt of the crash. It has a SRAM GX 11-speed Type 2.1 (whatever that means). Naturally the hanger is messed up too. I had to pull the derailleur cage out of the spokes so I can coast down the hills and then do the walk of shame. At that point I can't tell if it was just the hanger that was bent or it messed up the derailleur also but if the crash didn't mess up derailleur cage I'm sure my grabbing and pulling on it to get it out of the spokes did. So I'm thinking I could either just replace it with the exact same derailleur or take this opportunity to make some changes. I have no problems with the GX 11-speed drive train but I miss the Shimano shifter's ability to up shift by either pulling or pushing on the lever. The cassette is the XG 11-speed (10-42) and I think I can keep that on even with the Shimano derailleur so if I do go with Shimano I'll have to swap out the shifter as well as the derailleur. So my question is if I decide to keep the SRAM derailleur so I need to keep the Type 2.1? I know there's also a Type 3. What are the differences between the two and can I use either one?

If I decide to go with the Shimano drive what size derailleur would I need for 10-42 cassette? Short, Med, Long? BTW, it's 1x11 setup, not 2x11 if that makes a difference.

Thanks.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Some of the specs are confusion. I recently went back and forth from shimano XT to sram. Here are the specs for Shimano Xt 11 speed:
  • Maximum Sprocket: Low sprocket: 40/42T** Top sprocket: 11T **46T for 1x11 only
  • Minimum Sprocket: Low sprocket: 40T Top sprocket: 11T
  • Front Difference: Maximum 10T (GS), Maximum 18T (SGS)
  • Total Capacity: 39T (GS), 47T (SGS)
  • Compatibility: GS - Shimano 2x11 and 1x11 speed drivetrains, SGS - 3x11 drivetrain
So basically, GS unless you are running 3X11 drivetrain

I am alittle confused on the sram Type 2.1 and the X-Horizon (which is for 1x drievtrains). When you search online, the same stuff comes up for each search.
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
Yeah, this is why I need help with this. The easiest thing to do is to just replace it with the exact same derailleur that I busted but what fun would that be?
 

02camaro

Well-Known Member
I run a medium cage (GS) XTR derailler with 11-46 32t oval chain ring works fine seems to stay out of the way of rocks well.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
I run a medium cage (GS) XTR derailler with 11-46 32t oval chain ring works fine seems to stay out of the way of rocks well.
I recall OneUp recommending to go with a short or medium cage. Not sure why so many 1x bikes come with a long cage. I've been told long only for a triple crank. Has that changed with the new stuff?
 

02camaro

Well-Known Member
I recall OneUp recommending to go with a short or medium cage. Not sure why so many 1x bikes come with a long cage. I've been told long only for a triple crank. Has that changed with the new stuff?
when i purchased mine, shimano only offered a GS medium or SGS long cage in xtr, may be different for other. i couldnt imagine why someone would want a longer cage when they can get by with the shorter on 1x setup. i would think the only people buying a long cage is the 3x people, i think there may be 4 left.
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
Update: I got a chance to check out the damage to my bike and despite a pretty nasty scrape at the point of impact the derailleur still functions just fine. I used the rear derailleur hanger alignment tool (wow, that's a long name) to straighten out the hanger and with some minor tweaks it's shifting fine again. I was trying to be gentile with straightening out the hanger as not to stress it too much but we'll see if that holds up. At least I know the derailleur itself still works and I carry a spare hanger in my hydration pack in case the old one decides to give out I won't have to do that walk of shame again.
 
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