zachv81

What has been the general consensus so far for a clutched rear derailleur?
Ive only had on on a Cutthroat, and thought it worked great in that setting. My road bikes never had up to this point.
I am building up a DI2 all road bike and am looking for input on the RD. I’ll likely go for the 11-32 cassette. I’ll be on pavement 85% of the time, and the rest on smooth gravel, nothing too gnarly.

thanks for the input

JW in AK

I've got the Ultegra RX (R8000) on my gravel/all-road/rando bike and think it's great. That said, I don't have a clutch rear mech on my older hard tail mountain bike and it hasn't ruined my life. Though I do notice considerable chain slap whereas my gravel bike has absolutely none. If you'll be on pretty smooth surfaces most of the time I'd think you'd probably be fine without the clutch. But there's also no point in handcuffing yourself if you decide you want to take on a little rougher terrain in the future so a clutch mech might be an investment in future-proofing.

zachv81

Thanks, this is helpful

Elvo

Been running RX800 for over a year. I don't notice any shifting differences but I do notice I get almost zero chain slap

zachv81

Good to know. I’m about to embark on my first DI2 setup and want to think everything through the first time.

Maybe I’m not looking correct, but I don’t see the RX800 DI2 on the Shimano website. Is the GRX DI2 the current replacement for this? If that is the current replacement it looks like that should work good with the current Ultegra and DA DI2 correct?

jpescatore

Last year I bought a Jamis Renegade with a lot of firsts for me: 1st 1x drive chain, first use of SRAM components, first clutched rear derailleur (Force 1).

I use it for unpaved rail trails/towpath, gravel roads and bikepacking road riding and so far I'm very impressed with the shifting and the lack of chain slap - but with all those new things to me, hard to say how much is due to the clutch.

The clutch definitely makes getting the rear wheel off easier, or at least easier to keep my hands clean while doing so!

Rides4Beer

RX805 is the clutched Ultegra derailleur for di2.

Canker

If you are going DI2 anyway why wouldn't you get the clutch? I mean the only real downside I can think of is it takes a bit more finger effort to change gears but Di2 eliminates that issue. And I guess a hair more weight but meh.

eflayer

the closer your chain will be to the chainstay and the more likely it will get slapped by the chain. clutch could be helpful. also if you run a big cassette your chain will have more slack in small-small combinations. i run 48/32 up front and 11-36 in the rear with the non-clutch rear derailleur and i don't get much if any slap. but given another opportunity i would definitely opt for clutch for insurance.

msu2001la

What are the downsides to a clutched RD?
I have one on my CX bike and haven't noticed anything negative.

zachv81

Thanks all,
I opted for the clutched Ultegra DI2. If I regret it for some reason I’ll report back.

WhyFi

The increased tension can add friction (lost watts) and have a small effect on shifting.

mstateglfr 

Can't imagine wanting one for a road bike. The ultegra clutched rd on my gravel bike is often not engaged, so omit would go to even less use on a full pavement bike.