Originally Posted by
dedhed
pretty much any 6-9 speed Shimano SIS RD, road or mountain, will shift any 6-9 speed shimano freewheel or cassette, if the indexed shifter speeds match the rear cog number. 6/7/8 same chain, 9 uses 9 speed chain. There are a few anomolies in there, mostly on the Dura Ace level.
YOU NAILED IT!
Shift levers determine indexing compatibility. (systems modeled after Shimano's SIS) I can't speak for 9 speed setups because I only have one that's on a never ridden show bike.
The key to those systems is an upper pulley with 1.5mm to 2mm side to side float which allows it to self center on the sprocket. It eliminates trimming! I've modified the upper pulleys on Campy NR/SR rear derailleurs and they DO index shift with a Shimano style lever. (forget about Campy's nightmare Synchro non-shifting system)
Shimano 6 speed indexing levers could be fussy because of sprocket spacing but 7 & 8 speed levers are more forgiving probably because of more accurate sprocket spacing???
BTW, I've used 9 speed chains on some fussy 8 speed setups and they fixed the problems.
This is a reasonably accurate list of chain widths: (read these as "nominal" dimensions as chains are a rather crude power transmission technology designed to effectively compensate for extreme variations in components)
Multi speed chains, from 5 to 8 speeds have inner width of 3/32 ? (2.38 mm).
Multi speed chains from 9 to 12 speeds have inner width of 11/128 ? (2.18 mm).
Outside width of the links:
5 & 6 speed – 7.8 mm (5/16 in) (all brands)
7 speed – 7.3 mm (9/32 in) (Shimano HG), 7.1 mm (9/32 in) (SRAM, Shimano IG)
8 speed – 7.3 mm (9/32 in) (Shimano HG), 7.1 mm (9/32 in) (SRAM, Shimano IG)
9 speed – 6.6 to 6.8 mm (1/4 to 9/32 in) (all brands)
10 speed - 6.2 mm (1/4 in) (Shimano, Campy), 5.88 mm (7/32 in) (Campy, KMC)
verktyg