Chain compatibility with different cassettes (11-speed vs 9-speed)

maton

Hi,

I want to apologize in advance for the stupid question that follows, but I am a complete ignorant when dealing with "technical" aspects (and - as you can guess - my English is poor as well).

I have to replace my chain, but I am not sure which one I should opt for. My bike mounts a Shimano Ultegra crankset, which I need to pair with different speed cassettes depending on the wheel I am being using:

- Cheap wheel with a 9 speed cassette (Shimano) for indoor training
- Carbon wheel with a 11 speed cassette (Shimano) for outdoor training

Can I buy any Shimano chain just making attention to indexing the gears every time I change the rear wheel or I am risking damaging the cassette/chain? For instance, can I use a 11 speed chain even when training indoor with my cheap wheel? As far as I know a 11 speed chain should be narrower than one for a 9-speed transmission. It might be slower/more difficult to change gear, but it should work fine, right? Any recommendation on which chain to buy?

Should I consider buying a 11 speed cassette also for my cheap wheel (i.e. Mavic Aksium Disc) instead? Don't ask me why I mounted a 9 speed cassette instead of 11. The wheel was given to me already configured like this.

Thank you.

Regards,
Matteo

racerex

You can only use an 11 spd chain with an 11 cog cassette, so that’s a given, no option. The 9 cog cassette won’t index properly with 11 spd shifter/derailleur, so toss it. Leaves you three choices, buy a cheap 11 spd cassette for the indoor trainer wheel, or run the carbon wheel on the indoor trainer, or just ride outdoors only.

maton

Hi racerex,

thanks a lot for your reply. I think I will go for the first option you recommend: buying a 11-speed cassette for the indoor trainer wheel. This way I can easily swap wheel once I am able to go back to my outdoors rides at the end of the quarantine. Otherwise, I will need to change tyre every time I wan to move outdoors or vice versa.

Are the products listed below good enough for my needs?

Shimano Ultegra R8000 11 Speed Cassette (11-32t)
Shimano Ultegra 6800/XT M8000 HG701QLink Chain (116 links)

In terms of tools, I should have all the necessary simply buying a basic tool set like the LifeLine X-Tools Bike Tool Kit (18 piece)?

By mounting a 11 speed cassette on both wheels should make the indexing of gears pretty much the same for both setups, right?

Thank you again.

david37

for your inside training needs, the cheapest shimano 11 speed cassette you can buy will be more than adequate

The tools you will need to mount and remove cassettes are

1 a shimano cassette tool. plenty of people make them, theyre less than £10 and get one you can attach to an existing 3/8 or 1/2in drive ratchet https://www.amazon.co.uk/Park-Tool-FR-5-2-Cassette-Lockring/dp/B01LX3E08Z/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=lockring+tool&qid=1586975928&sr=8-9&th=1

2 A chain whip or chain pliers. https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-x-tools-performance-chain-whip/

do it up to 40 nm if you have a torque wrench or nice and tight if you dont. 40nm is actually tight plus a little grunt

racerex

What david37 said, and then a chain tool to break the old chain and remove excess from the new. Use a cassette approximately the same range on both wheels and the chain length will work with both.

maton

Thank you guys. I will look for a cheap cassette and replace the chain. Let's see if it works smoothly as I hope.

The Rookie

Don't forget you may need to re-index your mech every time you change wheel as the cassette may not be in exactly the same place.