MTB Gears on Road Bike

[laura*]

What are shadow rear derailleurs?

Instead of sticking out to the right, the body of the derailleur tries to hide "behind" the cassette. The intent is to reduce the chance that the derailleur might get snagged on something next to the trail.

The shift cable also is rerouted to eliminate the 180 degree loop entering the derailleur. This also reduces the chance of snagging something.

[goldfinch]

Thanks Laura.

[featuretile]

As far as I know, the Shadow derailleurs are 10-speed, not 9-speed. They are not compatible with road bike shifters. That's why I used an older Deore XT 9-speed derailleur with my new 10-speed 11-36T Shimano cassette (and kept my 105 shifters). My bike is a compact double. I would not need quite such a big cassette if I had a triple.

I can't believe how well it works! It shifts with just the tiniest touch, although that might just be because the mechanic is so good.

Today I went on a ride that includes a very long, steep uphill - probably 3 miles with no breaks (fantastic downhill on the other side). I have never been able to get up this without stopping several times, sometimes walking. I rode up the whole thing in one go. My cadence went from 30-35 with the old cassette to 50-60 with the new one. Plus, my quads were not burnt out. I felt really good today.

[laura*]

As far as I know, the Shadow derailleurs are 10-speed, not 9-speed. They are not compatible with road bike shifters. That's why I used an older Deore XT 9-speed derailleur with my new 10-speed 11-36T Shimano cassette (and kept my 105 shifters).

The derailleur you bought is a "shadow" style. The RD-M592, M662, M772, and M972 are the 9 speed shadow derailleurs. The slightly newer RD-M593, M663, M773, and ... M980/M985 are the 10 speed shadow derailleurs.