40/42t expander with Zee mech + RADr cage?

calum001

Recently switched to 1x10 and finding i'm missing a lower gear for some of the longer ups, i like the simplicity of the single chainring up front so looking to try out a 40/42t expander and see if it will give me the range i'm looking for

My current setup is a Zee wide ratio short cage rear mech with a Shimano XT 11-36, 10 speed cassette out back and a Raceface Narrow wide 32t up front

Initially I was thinking I would have to change to an XT med cage mech to be able to accommodate the 42t.

After looking at the OneUp RAD and RADr cages i'm not too sure now as the RADr is specifically made for the Zee/Saint and they state it should work fine....

The exact working of the rear mech eludes me but would it really be as simple as they are saying or are there any pitfalls i should be aware of? As the Zee is only rated up to a 36t I am just a bit wary of altering something when it wasn't designed for that in the first place, i know none of them are but is it pushing it a bit too far when an XT med cage would be more suitable

Or is the RADr cage basically turning the Zee into a med cage mech.....? Soo much confusion....

Any help would be much appreciated!

Horton

I've got the original Rad cage which would only fit a GS mech, but you could (can still, I suppose) install it onto a Saint/Zee mech, you just need to get a new inner cage the right length and replace it. On the standard GS mech, you use the existing inner Cage and the Rad Cage replaces the outer.

By the looks of the pictures, the new Radr cage comes with a new inner cage as well which is why it now works with Saint/Zee short cage mechs as well as all the other ones - basically it's a complete cage replacement rather than just the outer.

They're easy to install - just watch the Vid and follow it step by step and it takes about 1/4 hour or so depending on how technically minded you are and how many times you have to go back to the vid... I've had no problems with mine at all - I went with the 40T as thought 42T would be too big a jump at the back but plenty of others use a 42T and don't notice the jump.

Not sure if you can actually get the Radr at the moment as shows as sold out on the One up website. Still got the Rad Cage though so you could get that and a replacement inner cage from somewhere (found this but no idea what they're like... http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/393/y5xv09000/shimano-rd-5701-inner-plate-gs-type.html

Herdwick

Google it, I saw a lot of people running 42T with the wide ratio zee rear mech and no Radr cage, mostly hard tails

Never tried it my self, but I am close enough as I have one for a friend and time permits will try it on my set up as well, wide ratio zee, 1x10 11-36 Hard tail.

Wouldn't recomend it on a full susser with out the Radr cage though...

Herdwick

Take a look here, may help
http://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-shift ... 02677.html

calum001

Horton - Thanks for the explanation and info it's much appreciated, makes perfect sense now

Herdwick - Cheers I've been searching forums for the past couple of weeks trying to find info on it and found conflicting info, it will be on a Remedy 9.9 so I think it would pushing it too much without the RADr cage

Managed to speak to OneUp and they have said the same thing that a RADr would be best suited for a FS

mcnultycop

40t T-rex on both my FS and now (as of yesterday) HT with a standard Zee Mech. No issues at all, but I guess it depends on your suspension growth.