I am upgrading my stock drivetrain for my Trek Fuel EX 5. Its got the Sram X5 stuff and I want to upgrade to Sram X7. I have found stuff on websites and some say for example Sram X7 front derailuer low clamp/low clamp or rear derailuer long cage/medium cage. I have no idea what that means and I have no idea what my bike has
Upgrading drivetrain
- Thread starter edow
- Start date
purchasing from your LBS will ensure you get the right parts, and the advice needed to DIY....and probably a save, if you need to bring them in to clean up.....
one wrong choice will negate any savings.
That being said, all the info is on the internet, read about different types, plenty of pictures, etc. the self-research will help understand it.
one wrong choice will negate any savings.
That being said, all the info is on the internet, read about different types, plenty of pictures, etc. the self-research will help understand it.
I Ride Bikes
Well-Known Member
Seems kind of odd to me only upgrading one level. I dont think it would be worth the money to upgrade from x5-7. X9 would probably be a better choice and still an affordable group. Just my thoughts.
I have the same thoughts. Go x9.
Why are you upgrading? If "because UPGRADE!" I'd maybe jump to X9. Nothing wrong with X7, perfectly serviceable, but for a few more bucks per item you'll get a larger performance increase. Although I'm fine with SRAM, Shimano stuff seems to be priced a little better overall online.
I'd assume the stuff you have is currently 9 speed. Another thing to consider is if you do a part-by-part swap, you'll be stuck with 9. NTTAWWT, but as the industry progresses it'll be harder to find. But, if you do ten speed, you gotta change everything, cassette, chain, derailleurs, cranks or at least chainrings if possible with your cranks.
To answer the question, if your bike has three front rings, you probably have a long cage RD.
Fidodie has a point, using a LBS would be easier, but there's a ton of info out there on this stuff and it's entirely doable if you've got a little aptitude. Plus it's kinda fun.
Just for the halibut here's a thing I wrote the other day on MTBR:
1. VERY generally speaking, a long cage RD would be for a double or triple front ring, medium or short for a double or single front. Depends on how much front sprocket you have. A shorter cage will have more leverage against the chain and have less slap or dropped chains. The manufacturers list the amount of gearing you can run on a given derailleur,which you'd want to be careful about so as not to damage anything. You can run a long cage with just about any setup. You are better off a little longer to avoid ripping off the rear derailleur...
2. Bottom/top pull refers to how the cable routes from the frame through the derailleur. Some are routed under the derailleur and rotate it from the bottom, others straight down from the lug on the frame and pull the derailleur "up" to shift. I think the Trance has bottom pull but there are different versions of how those mount, they will not all work due to the jog in the frame there.
3. You can run (almost) any chain, sprocket, or cassette combo (with a few exceptions) as long as everything matches 9 speed or 10 speed. On one bike I have XT RD and cassette with a SRAM chain and a blackspire front ring. Another bike has all SRAM with a XT cassette.
4. Front mountain shifters are SRAM/Shimano compatible, while rear need to be brand specific. A front SRAM shifter with a SLX derailleur would be ok, but not on the rear.
This is a very general outline for full disclosure!
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Dave, I'm running 3x10, went the other way, kept getting stuff caught in the long cage, so went to a medium and gave up the big-big combo (which is only used when i'm on the road with the mtb) - actually really only use the big chainring to climb rocks, which someone said is bad form😀
it won't shift into the top two cogs, but that would be a massive cross-chain anyway.
1x11 - FTW. new everything! and the FD problem goes away.
I meant ripping it off as in not enough RD for a given gearing (guy was swapping rings and RD, didn't want him to shift big/big and go ka-blooey), not from obstacles/debris.
Ya know, I'm dumb when I'm on the bike and would rather run a conservative setup rather than possibly damage something cause I wasn't thinking. Somewhat amazed to see you run 3x, I consider the big ring a shipping bracket.😉
Ah - guess it could get mangled if it caught.
Conservative is good, as the price goes up.....
"serrated bash guard" would be the functional term.
I've got a buddy who uses his big ring as a log-over impeller. It's fun to watch, he's pretty good at it. He tried it once on a fallen tree that was suspended two feet above the ground. It didn't work but impressed he even gave it a go. I was already dismounted to portage. 😉
Free hub is standard, fortunately. For now anyway. Although I think XX1 is different?
XX1 is different - there are free hub bodies to replace the stock ones, rather than replacing the whole hub.
to get back to the upgrade path....XX1 is a major investment, but as they say at the shop, it can move to another frame when ready...