short cage or long?

MTBTyler

Well-Known Member
Whats the difference between a short cage and a long cage RD? Is the short cage just lighter or is there a big difference?
 

CycleBoy

Sussex Bike and Sport
Shop Keep
short cage ders are usually used on dh bikes and lots of time on double ring bikes. Some dh guys take a step further and use short cage road ders. Typically on a triple ring setup, a short cage doesn't usually work well.
 

Fogerson

Former Resident Nerd
Longer cage derailleurs can take up more slack in a chain than a short or medium derailleur. The more gear range you have the more chain slack your derailleur needs to take up on the smaller rings/gears. Most 3x9 drive trains have long cages, most 2x9 have mediums, etc...

Here is a thread on mtbr that explains the whole thing....

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=284688
 

mwlikesbikes

Well-Known Member
I run a short (mid cage) XT with triple front & 11-34 cassete with no problems. The mid is lower profile than long so the rocks tend to hit it less. Some guys will run a road der on a 1x9 setup.
 

743power

Shop: Bicycle Pro
Shop Keep
I run a short (mid cage) XT with triple front & 11-34 cassete with no problems. The mid is lower profile than long so the rocks tend to hit it less. Some guys will run a road der on a 1x9 setup.


Shimanos "short" or "mid" is a bit longer than the sram "mid" cage. You can actually use every gear combo with it, not that you should, but it's good to know you wont rip the RD off on a missed shift. The SRAM mid cage is not quite long enough to use every gear combo. On the big ring, I wouldn't use 2 or 3 largest cogs under and circumstances.

The benefits of the shorter cage RD's are quite nice, however. I'm using a mid cage x.0 on a triple front, 11-32 rear and it's lighter, provides better clearance, doesnt flap around even close to as much as a long cage and it shifts alot faster, more like a road mech.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Whats the difference between a short cage and a long cage RD? Is the short cage just lighter or is there a big difference?

One of them has a shorter cage than the other one;)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

-Jim.
 
Top Bottom