If yes - is it just a regular casette swap or does it require a long-cage RD?
If not - what’s required?
Nope. Almost all short-cage derailleurs have a max of 28T on the cassette. Going to a long-cage should do the trick. Spacing-wise and spline-wise, SRAM cassettes are interchangeable with Shimano.
Maybe depending on the bike. Try reversing the b tension screw to give more clearance or buy a longer screw with the same threading.
What Styrell says is worth trying. I have run a 30 tooth cassette with a D/A 7800short cage derailleur and only adjusted the B screw - not reversing it.
That would be your best shot, but I’d say you probably need a long cage
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Keep in mind their are 2 issues,. One is the jockey wheel not hitting the big cog. That can almost always be worked around. ProTour riders using Di2 got those RD to work by adjusting the B screw for some of the rediculous climbs.
The second issue is chain wrap. Basically how much slack can the RD accomadate. Thats where cage length comes in. I prefer to be able to shift into the Big/big, and little /little. If the chain is a touch slack in the little /little its no big deal, particularly if it a few rides a year and you know to avoid it.
compatibility questions:
- will SRAM APEX 32 cassette work with SHIMANO ULTEGRA short or long cage RD ?
- if not, and it requires a SRAM medium/long cage RD - will such an RD work with Shimano ULTEGRA shifter?
thanks!
1- Although I’ve never tried it, a shimano long cage RD should work.
2- No, SRAM derailleurs and shifters are not compatible with Shimano derailleurs and shifters, although their cassettes are compatible because the spacing is the same, but the shifters have different cable pulls.
For a very hilly event last year I had the sram apex 11-32 moved from my wife’s bike to mine. My shop swapped the cassette and long cage detailer. the ultegra shifter was supposed to be compatible, but it did not work very well and we ended up swapping rear shifters as well.
in other words - your shop didn’t think the shimano long RD will work well with SRAM 32 cass OR you just didn’t have the right shimano long-cage RD and used your wife’s SRAM, which in turn nessesitated changing the rear shifter as well?
If the 32 wont clear the short cage Ultegra and you switch to an Apex derailleur the Ultegra shifter will not work. SRAM and Shimano have different pull ratios in the shifters and even though the cog spacing is the same the shifters go about their business in different ways. SRAM is a straight 1:1 pull ratio along its entire sweep, with Shimano it is not 1:1 and some kind of varying ratio making the two incompatible. What you might be able to try is either a long cage Ultegra derailleur or a Shimano mountain derailleur. Either should have no problem handling the 32.
Don’t know if long cage shimano will work, its just that I had the sram, so we used it.
I’m using a Tiagra 12-30 10speed cassette on my cyclocross bike with an Ultegra 6700 short cage rear derailleur and it works with the B adjustment screwed all the way down. I’m not sure that a 32t cog would have worked (but then again, I haven’t tried).
Note of caution: Are you trying this with a compact crank? If so, you may exceed the maximum range of gears that the short cage SS derailleur can handle (which is 33t).
-A 16 tooth difference in the front (50/34) + 21 tooth difference in the 11-32 cassette = 37t. The short cage RD does not have the ability to take up enough chain slack in this set up.
-Heck, Even with a standard crank (53/39), the 11-32 would exceed the gear capacity of the short cage RD.
… So you will definitely have to go to a GS (medium cage) rear derailleur that can handle a 39t capacity. But even then, there is no guarantee that your derailleur would clear the 32t cog.
I’m running 44/34 (10t difference) cyclocross rings, so with my 12-30 tiagra cassette (18t difference), the gearing range comes in at 28t.
I do recommend the tiagra 10 speed cassettes. They may be relatively heavy, but they are only $25 at ribble cycles.
My 10 speed ultegra tri bike, I have used 11-32 and 11-34 cassettes on it with a 9 speed Shimano mountain bike derailleur. Shifts okay but may need some playing around with shifting to get it smooth. I change cable and chain as well.
Like others have said, Sram derailleur with Shimano shifters doesn’t work as pull ratios are different. I have heard the new 10 speed Shimano mtb derailleur won’t work either.
I did this for my wife’s bike. Traded out the D/A 7900 rear derailleur for one of the MTB ones. Sorry, I can’t remember which one. It worked fine. Somebody might be able to make the short cage derailleur work, but on paper it isn’t compatible.
FYI, My team mate has Di2 and was able to get a 32 tooth rear cassette to work by changing out the B screw for a longer one. I guess the longer screw allowed him to push the rear derailleur farther away (back) and it worked. He used it for Master’s road world’s in Belgium that was on some of the climbs of Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
This article explains the “B” screw.
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-derailler-adjustments-derailleur
thanks all, albeit belatedly - i installed the SRAM APEX 11-32 cassette and Shimano long-cage RD - works perfectly! so, now i ride speepest uphills on 34/32 ratio (have a compact crank)
Long cage has nothing to do with fitting a 32 cog on the cassette. All the long cage does is take up chain slack. Most Mtb rear derailleurs will work though.
I run a 32t added to dura ace 11-27 7700 with an Ultegra 6700 mid cage… Needed to reverse “B” screw. Do not believe it would work with short cage unless chain shortened to forsake big/big combo(not needed anyway)
Long cage has nothing to do with fitting a 32 cog on the cassette. All the long cage does is take up chain slack. Most Mtb rear derailleurs will work though.
I use a Shimano MTB rear derailuer when using a 32 or 34 cassette on my Ultegra bike.
Regular cassette swap, and B screw in all the way, short cage Ultegra 10 speed rear derailleur and the top pulley wheel barely clears the 32, but it does (by around 1 mm). Also needed to set the “set screws” for my rear drop out so that I could slam the axle in all the way, creating a touch more clearance from the 32 tooth.
Here is the set up with 50/34 compact and 11-32 rear. I can only use in big to “second biggest”. I already had a slightly longer chain (2 links) to accomodate a 28 tooth. When riding in the small ring I can go from small to 3rd smallest, but not down to the 12 and 11 tooth…there is no need to ride in 32x12 and 34x11 anyway. That same gear is the same as a 50x17 and a 50x16
The reason I got this gearing was to ride up Kaloko and Mauna Kea access road. Both of which have extended sections at 15-20% grade. In the case of Mauna Kea access road, it is between 6000 and 9300 feet, so we needed all the gearing possible.
