Gearing for touring, CX, commuting - Shimano 9spd MTB + 10spd road bits?

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Gearing for touring, CX, commuting - Shimano 9spd MTB + 10spd road bits?
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flag uncwil
Posted: Dec 14, 2016 at 13:22 Quote
Hey all,

I just picked up a CX bike with 9-speed shimano road bike gearing (53/39 chainrings on 130mm BCD cranks, 12-25 ultegra cassette). I'd like to use this bike for touring, commuting, and CX. My hubs have an aluminum freehub body so I'd also like a cassette with an aluminum carrier to avoid damaging it with steel cogs. Would this setup work?

-10 speed 36/46 105 crankset with existing Dura-ace front derailleur
-9 speed MTB shimano derailleur (free from my MTB bin)
-2x10 Tiagra or 105 brifters
-SLX HG81 11-32 10 speed MTB cassette
-10 speed chain (MTB or Road?)
flag lowkeyokeydokey
O+
Posted: Feb 5, 2017 at 17:07 Quote
uncwil wrote:
Hey all,

I just picked up a CX bike with 9-speed shimano road bike gearing (53/39 chainrings on 130mm BCD cranks, 12-25 ultegra cassette). I'd like to use this bike for touring, commuting, and CX. My hubs have an aluminum freehub body so I'd also like a cassette with an aluminum carrier to avoid damaging it with steel cogs. Would this setup work?

-10 speed 36/46 105 crankset with existing Dura-ace front derailleur
-9 speed MTB shimano derailleur (free from my MTB bin)
-2x10 Tiagra or 105 brifters
-SLX HG81 11-32 10 speed MTB cassette
-10 speed chain (MTB or Road?)

So first off mixing 9 & 10 speed parts in your drivetrain isn't a good idea, especially on a touring bike. Yes, you can sometimes cheat a derailleur by messing with its limit screws and replacing the pullys for the correct tooth spacing, however if you actually plan on doing any serious touring mileage and that stops working and you're in the middle of nowhere that is going to suck.

Second, mixing road shifters with MTB parts also might work for a little while if you know a good mechanic who can cheat the limits and linear pull off the shifter, but it's gonna not work a lot faster than you want and you should just do it right the first time.

As for what you're building, it sounds like you're just looking for an X-Road sorta build, sorta like a do it all gravel grinder. If that's the case I'd say it'd be a good idea to stop and consider what you actually want to get out of your bike before building it. If you're actually gonna do some serious touring your build should be completely different from if you were gonna race CX.

Feel free to message me if you need any advice, I've toured the US, Canada and bikepacked Iceland and parts of Mexico and worked with a few CX teams as a mechanic.
flag viich
Posted: May 5, 2017 at 4:46 Quote
9 speed MTB derailleur (assuming shimano) will work - 10sp mtb rear derailleurs aren't generally compatible with road shifters, but 9sp and less are with most 10sp and below road shifters - as long as you don't have the latest version of Tiagra 10sp - i't's now using 11sp compatible cable pull. 105 10sp will work with a 9sp mtb rear derailleur.

Tooth spacing is the same for virtually all chains from single speed to 12sp - only the width of the chain and cog spacing changes

You should also check the DA front derailleur for cable pull. Use the shimano compatibility tables. Use the specific model number, will be stamped on the derailleur somewhere. Some of the Dura-Ace stuff is compatible with nothing.


Mixing parts is fine if you are using things that have the same specs - cable pull being the only real one for rear derailleurs. If you were using a 7sp with 10 sp, replacing jockey wheels on the derailleur might be advisable, but would probably work anyway.

I do ask though, why not just change the derailleur and cassette? Get a 9sp cassette with the range you want, could probably switch just rings on the crank if you want. Or you could just go bigger than 32.
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