Originally Posted by
hokiefyd
The biggest challenge with swapping back and forth between a Shadow and a traditional design is the length of the cable housing and cable. The Shadow has a much more direct (and, thus, shorter) cable routing.
For me and my bikes, I ride triples with front derailleurs, so I'm not so concerned with chain drops the Shadow legitimately helps to avoid...
Yes, having to cut the cable and housing has made me fiddle longer than I would have otherwise. I do believe the chain dropping is slightly improved, though I do hold my breath when I'm riding in the biggest cog and I need to downshift to the 26T ring. Typically I shift up a gear on the cassette beforehand. This is only a problem if I'm riding on a steep gravel/dirt trail that I'm not too familiar with, or my mind is distracted by the scenery or just wandering and I need to downshift in a hurry. So quite often as it happens.