Move from triple to compact is killing me.

[Cataboo]

Okay, it's irking me I can't find that thread.

But I did find that IRD makes a shimano compatible 10 speed 11-32 cassette:
http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2353

That must be the one I was thinking of from before - probably it needs a mountain bike rear derailleur.

You can definitely do the 10 speed shifter thing with 9 speed cassette with this jerkmate thing:
http://jtekengineering.com/shiftmate.htm

But it looks like just routing the cable differently will also do it:
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adj...html#alternate


Options:

- Going to a triple is going to cost triple cranks (& maybe bottom bracket) + probably new shifter + new front derailleur + new rear derailleur (she's probably going to need the long cage rear if she doesn't have it, and the double front derailleur isn't going to handle the triple cranks... I don't think ultegra sl shifters are double or triple compatible, but I haven't specifically pulled them up to look...)

- Going to a 9 speed mountain bike rear cassette - 11-34 or something
- cost of cassette (not too bad) + a mountain bike rear derailleur probably. Downside - her gears are going to be far apart, so it may be hard finding a comfortable gear. The advantage of this is that a 9 speed mountain bike cassette is probably cheaper than getting a 10 speed cassette.

- Going to a 10 speed mountain bike rear cassette (SRAM XX) or that IRD, probably again needs a mountain bike rear derailleur, but a 9 speed rear derailleur can handle 10 speed shifters (I've done 9,10 & 8, 9 mismatches) - this is probably more expensive than going to a 9 speed rear cassette - but the gears will be slightly tighter than the 9 speed and she might have a more comfortable time going through the gears.

- Going to a more compact front crankset - costs, new crankset & possibly bottom bracket... that'll do away with a lot of the high gears though for flats.