Down hill dura ace transmission

Boffington

i've seen a pro chain reaction cycles inyense with a dura ace rear mech on it. now i'm not too hot on these kind of components but isn't dura ace shimano's 10 speed road line? i've heard 10 speed is much smoother than 8 or 9 speed but how would that be strong enough for DH.

nicklouse

it is just a short cage rear mech with a slightly stiffer spring than a "MTB" mech.

But it is just a mech.

Boffington

so is it true 10 speed gives smoother shifting?

nicklouse

irrelevant, how many cogs did he have? a mech is a mech and only does what it is told.

Boffington

pretty sure it was ten but i could be wrong

nicklouse

unlikely what shifters was he using?

Many people do use road mechs as the spring is a bit stiffer and the cage is short but not for shifting reasons.

skyliner

Unless Shimano have produced a 10sp MTB shifter without telling anyone, it'll be a 9sp setup. The mech will work on 8,9 or 10sp as it's controlled by the shifter.
I'm currently working with a custom short cage XT shadow version for my WC DH racer.
And only the Athertons will be using them other than Rowan until they become available in August. It's the future though. Keeps the mech out of harm's way, and shifts real slick.

nicklouse

skyliner wrote:

Unless Shimano have produced a 10sp MTB shifter without telling anyone, it'll be a 9sp setup.

there is the Road flat bar trigger shifters..... whats his face at MBUK is running them on his MTB... so yes it is posible.

Boffington

and apparently worls quite well as well

nicklouse

yep but on a DH rig...the thiner chain..... Ok i am running X0 short cage and sram hollow pin chain but with a XTR cassette as i want the range while a colleague uses the same mech and chain but a sram road cassette. But 10spd not proven for MTB yet...

Boffington

are thinner chains weaker or more likely to comw off the sprockets then? what are the disadvantages other than at the moment having to run a road shifter

skyliner

Ahhh.... they've made a 10sp version of the R440.
Disadvantage would only be evident in thick mud. Clogging etc. and maybe skipping more.

But you'd have smaller jumps between each gear overall, and it could be smoother shifting.
But I can't see that you'd notice the difference on anythng but the smoothest of tracks. When everything else is clattering about, the last thing on your mind is how smooth your last shift was.
(for me it's usually "bugger, cased that fecking jump again")