8 Speed 32t derailleur with 34t max sprocket?

af25

Hi all,
I recently purchased a Ridgeback Advance 5.0 gravel bike with some slick tyres. It has an 8 speed shimano Claris derailleur with an 11-28 cassette. The maximum capacity of my particular derailleur is 32t max sprocket. However, where I live it's quite hilly therefore I would like to upgrade my cassette. My question is if I should buy an 8 speed 11-34 cassette instead of a maximum capacity 11-32 cassette as I have heard people say that it should be possible to run a 34 on a 32 derailleur providing you have the right chain length? The derailleur is the medium cage version from the shimano Claris group set.

vegasfoster

Issue is whether the mech can physically clear a 34t. What's on your front chainset? You may be able to accomplish similar by making your front chainrings smaller. Deore chainrings are pretty inexpensive. Problem with going to 32 or 34 on 8 speed is the difference becomes a bit much and not very smooth shifting IMO. If you have stock 50-39-30, then I would go something like 46-34-24 and keep the 11-28 on the rear for smooth shifting. Unless you are currently winding out your big ring, then you won't be sacrificing anything on the top end. Maybe someone else has better idea.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

My Wazoo came with an 11-34 cassette and an M310 medium cage derailleur, I found the shift from 26T to 34T to be pretty horrid, the 11-30 I have fitted on the road wheels is far smoother with a maximum 4-tooth jump.

af25

vegasfoster wrote:

Issue is whether the mech can physically clear a 34t. What's on your front chainset? You may be able to accomplish similar by making your front chainrings smaller. Deore chainrings are pretty inexpensive. Problem with going to 32 or 34 on 8 speed is the difference becomes a bit much and not very smooth shifting IMO. If you have stock 50-39-30, then I would go something like 46-34-24 and keep the 11-28 on the rear for smooth shifting. Unless you are currently winding out your big ring, then you won't be sacrificing anything on the top end. Maybe someone else has better idea.

Thanks for the answer. I think I'm going to simply buy an 11-32 as it's significantly cheaper than buying a new crankset. If I feel like it's still not enough then I'll upgrade my 50-39-30 to a lower tooth toothed crankset.
Thanks for the advice!

vegasfoster

Just FYI, you don't have to buy a new crankset, only new rings, which is a fraction of the cost of a crankset. If you don't ever go to your big ring at all, then could start with the two small rings for around 15-25 gbp. Regardless, do what you think is best for you, good luck.