Morning all,

I know this isn't strictly speaking bikepacking related (though the bike I'm building will be used predominantly for bike[acking) but.....

I've purchased a new CX/gravel frameset and am hoping to use mostly kit I've got laying around the place for the build.

So, I've got a compact road chainset (it's an FSA 10sp thingy) and was hoping that I could use it with a nice big 10sp mtb cassette and chain but not sure if it'll all work seamlessly together???

Anyone got any experience or wisdom to offer on this one?

Cheers in advance, Gairy.

I used wide range 10 speed cassettes (praxis 11-40) with road chain rings before. Needed a roadlink, like this one - http://www.shop.18bikes.co.uk/m9b0s599p ... dlink-2015 to shift properly at the back.

Technically there was more chain than the long cage mech could handle but i never felt the need to use 50/40! SO it will work but you may not have all the gears, but the ones you are missing would be an odd choice anyway! I used shimano 10 speed shifters with a 9 speed mtb mech (just because thats what I had) worked fine.

I also used an mtb crankset on the same bike with an extra spacer either side of the HT2 bottom bracket. (different cassette though!)

SRAM 10sp road shifters and MTB mechs are compatible, and works with Shimano cassette (or Praxis or Sun Race or SRAM) without need for a doofer to change the cable pull ratio.

I have some Sram Red 10sp road shifters if you're interested?

Sorry, should've mentioned that I'll be using mtb shifters and mech as I'll be using the Velo Orange 'alt bars' as I can't get on with drops for anything even slightly offroad.

Maybe. Without numbers (cassette size, chainrings, if you have an existing mech - which model?) you'll only get anecdotal responses. It's fairly straight forward to figure it out if it'll work from the spec sheets and calculating your chain wrap etc.

If you use mtb shifters the only bit that won't quite match up will be the front mech. Shimano road f mechs don't always work that well with mtb indexing but when using just 2 rings it should be OK. Other option is an mtb front mech for 42 -30 doubles but if you use much more than a 44 or 46 outer it'll be a compromised set up.

Friction front shifting is good on a front double.

I'm using a Sunrace friction thumb shifter on my gravel tourer 3x9 I've just built,
Performs excellently, using a 9 Spd index thumbie for the rear mech, again excellent
But don't think you can get a 10 Spd ?

Microshift make a reasonable MTB 10s thumbie + bar end option.

I use bar end friction shifters with 10 speed, work nicely and more importantly, work with anything.

Ian wrote:SRAM 10sp road shifters and MTB mechs are compatible, and works with Shimano cassette (or Praxis or Sun Race or SRAM) without need for a doofer to change the cable pull ratio.

I have some Sram Red 10sp road shifters if you're interested?

The road link doesn't do anything to the cable it allows the mech to sit lower down and avoids b screw issues.

(I'd do have a j tec shiftmate on another bike that does clever stuff with the cables though

That's what I love about the Sunrace shifters, sooo easy to set up front and back
With my Shimano mishmash drivetrain , I've used a microshift rear derailleur
Before with poor results....it imploded

Ok, thanks ask for the input - much to consider and think about.

The upshot of all of this intel (and other research) seems to be that I can run pretty much any 10 speed rear end (with a compatible mtb shifter) and it should work with a standard 10 speed compact road double chainset.

No?

The issue I'm now faced with is finding a front mech that will work with a regular mtb shifter AND move sufficiently to work with a (FSA 'Gossamer') 50/34t compact chainset.

I'd rather stick with a standard Shimano/Sram shifter and mech if possible (looks like I'll be using XT on the rear end) but open to whatever works if not.

Anyone know what will work?

Cheers, Gairy.

The front shifter will work on the road c'set and mech, the rear shifter is 10s Shimano road so won't work with Shimano MTB rear mechs.

It's a huge PITA isn't it. Rear shiftmate looks like the best fix if you want to use those indexed triggers with road front and MTB rear gearing.

"Oi SRAM, Shimano - people do more than either road racing or MTB Enduro .."

jameso wrote:The front shifter will work on the road c'set and mech, the rear shifter is 10s Shimano road so won't work with Shimano MTB rear mechs.

Yep, I just meant as a solution for the front.

It's not easy!

I thought a 10 speed shimano road shifter shifting a chain on a 10 speed shimano mtb casette will work as long as you use a 9 speed shimano mtb rear mech?

That's what i came up with after some research before our little alpine jolly for my Uncle John. However if someone tells me this is nonsense, it might explain some things.

My Uncle John is still sitting in the garage covered in the grey dust of the asietta...

Mind you it's school holidays here so I could get the kids to wash it...

Mugsys_m8 wrote:I thought a 10 speed shimano road shifter shifting a chain on a 10 speed shimano mtb casette will work as long as you use a 9 speed shimano mtb rear mech?

Correct.

Don't think of the rear mech as having "speeds", more just a spring rate and some movement limits....

That said, I had an ultegra 10 speed road shifter on my "9 speed" xtr rear mech - it worked when perfectly clean, but was quite sensitive to dirt and would lose index as clag built up. I'm now full dyna-sys 10 speed shimano mtb, and it works brilliantly.

Just an observation I had, it may well work fine for you, but some peculiarity on my setup ended up like that...