XT mech and road shifters...

[Rabbit]

Does anyone know if Shimano XT rear mech will work with indexed bar end shifters - guy in the bike shop said the new XTs have different cable pull and won't work with road shifters. The old ones apparently did - but not sure what model that was (M 771 maybe?). Thanks - I was looking at the 9 speed version.

[honesty]

9 speed mech will work with 9 speed STIs.
9 speed mech will work with 10 speed STIs.
10 speed mech wont work with 10 speed STIs.
Neither work with 11 speed STIs.

[Rabbit]

Thanks but apparently the new XTs don't work with anything other than flat bar shifters - according to the mechanics at Mercian, who don't now fit XTs. I was up there yesterday and they said the cable pull just isnt right. So i guess I need to find the old style XT but dont know which that is...

[honesty]

You need a 9 speed mech. M771 long cage version will handle up to 11-34 according to Shimano, and M772 is the shadow version which will handle up to an 11-36 cassette.

[Rabbit]

Thanks - and that will definitely work? Are you running one of those on road shifters?

[honesty]

I'm running the M771 with my 9 speed shifters fine but it will work well with 10 speed shifters as well.

[Rabbit]

...and anyway - I suppose i could always use the shifters in friction mode. That should work with anything...I wonder why they said they were having problems. Strange... but thanks for advice!

[honesty]

I think what they are trying to get at is you definitely cannot use a 10 speed XT derailleur with STIs.

[Rabbit]

You may be right there - I didn't tell them I wanted a 9 speed cassette maybe they just assumed everyone now goes for 10! While you are here I've done a bit of Googling and there seem to be several versions of the M771 - some with 'top normal' springs - whatever they are - I assume they will all work ok?

[531colin]

Top normal is....well, its normal.
The spring takes you to top gear.....the cable takes you to bottom gear.
There were some "reverse" mechs. where the spring took it to bottom, and the cable to top....all fine and dandy, as long as you want the lever on one bike to work the wrong way round!

[honesty]

As Colin says, the m770 is the reverse version, m771 is the one you want.

Interestingly a 9 speed XT rear derailleur can be used on a 10 speed cassette and sti giving you all 10 gears, you just cant use a 10 speed XT rear derailleur to do it...

[Rabbit]

Thanks so much for that - could I just ask what front mech and chainset you are running with yours? I was planning on an XT m771 9 speed front and a triple chainset with 22-32-44 rings and a 50mm chainline. The shop - which recommended an Ultegra set up - said I had to have a minimjm of 48 teeth on the big ring or it wouldn't shift properly. I'm not sure but I think that may be because of the Ultegra front. I don't really want a 48 big ring.

[honesty]

I'm running nine speed throughout which is much easier as they were completely cross compatible, so I have an XT m771 rear dearailleur, XT 48/36/26 triple, tiagra front mech and tiagra STIs

[The Mechanic]

On my audax/tourer I have the following setup:

Rear mech Shimano XT M771 (9 speed)
Front mech Shimano 6700 Ultegra triple (10 Speed)
Shifters Shinamo 6700 Ultegra triple (10 Speed)
Cassette SRAM 1050 10 speed
Chainset Stronglight Impact triple 48/36/24

The front mech needs care setting up mainly because of the tooth difference. The 6700 mech calls for a minimum tooth diff between middle and outer of 13 teeth. Anything less than this and you need to raise the mech up a bit but mine now work perfectly.