Rear mech long cage or short?

Bwgan
Bwgan Posts: 389
edited November 2012 in Road buying advice
Building up my first road bike and am making an Xmas list for family, what cage is best for your bike? What is the difference between the two (obviously one is lone and the other short) but why?

Cheers

Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    exactly as for an MTB you need one that will cover the range of your gears.

    so work out your range and look up what the makers says for the mech you are looking at.

    viewtopic.php?f=40073&t=12546123
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Short cage is fine for compact 34-50 double chainset and 12-28 cassette giving a total capacity of 32 - any more any you'll need a long cage mech to take up the extra slack in the chain e.g. a triple. Also, be wary that few road mechs can cope with a rear sprocket larger than 28 because of the distance between the wheel spindle and lower jockey wheel.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..

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