Can I upgrade just my derailleur?

You’d have to swap the front derailleur but you might be able to keep the crankset. However, you need to look at your rear wheel. If you have an old style freewheel (sprockets and pawls mechanism in a single unit) you can’t upgrade it to 9 speed.

Does any derailleur fit any bike?

A derailleur for your mountain bike should match the specifications on the original derailleur. That is, while it doesn’t need to be the same model of derailleur, it does need to be the same brand, in almost every case. It also needs to match the number of gears, or have more intended.

Do I need to change my derailleur if I change my cassette?

As there is only 2 tooth difference on the top end and the same number of teeth on the bottom end, you should not need a new chain or adjustment. There is some room in the derailleur to adjust the length (between 11 teeth and 34 teeth). Generally Yes you have to change your chain.

Can I use any shifter with Shimano derailleur?

6, 7, 8 and 9 speed shifters Shimano shifters, whether for 6, 7, 8, or 9 speeds are compatible with all the Shimano RDs for 6 to 9 speeds, and with Shimano 10 speed road RDs (not with 10 speed MTB RDs). Update: a new exception are Shimano Tiagra 4700 road 10-speed shifters, and Shimano GRX gravel series shifters.

How do I get a replacement derailleur?

When buying a new rear derailleur be sure to match it with your drivetrain ‘speed’. 10-speed drivetrains use narrower chains than 9-speed so you’ll need a mech to match. Most rear mechs are made of a polymer and alloy mix but you’ll find carbon fibre in top-end models to shave even more weight.

Can I put a different cassette on my bike?

Yes, almost any bike is compatible with bigger cassettes, bike drivetrain is groupset of components that works in perfect harmony, any miss reconfiguring can break the perfect functionality of the system, parts that need to be changed and reconfigured when putting bigger cassette which is long-chain, wide cage …

Can I use any cassette with any derailleur?

As a general rule of thumb, it’s best not to mix and match drivetrain components from different brands. While things such as cranks, chains and cassettes are mostly inter-compatible between brands, generally speaking, shifters and derailleurs aren’t.

Can you mix shifters and derailleurs?

In many instances, it is possible to mix different levels of shifters and derailleurs from the same brand (e.g. Dura-Ace/Ultegra/105; Red/Force/Rival; Super Record/Record/Chorus), however it’s not safe to assume that this will always be the case.

How hard is it to replace a derailleur?

It’s relatively easy, and if you haven’t done it before, you’ll learn the procedure of tuning a rear derailleur from scratch, which can be invaluable out on the trail. Are you planning on installing a new cable? It’s not required, but this would be the time to do it. If so, you’ll need cable cutters.

Can you use road shifters with a mountain bike rear derailleur?

For example, you couldn’t use a set of road shifters with a mountain bike rear derailleur. It bears mentioning that cable pull converters from brands such as JTek, and Lindarets/Wolf Tooth Components do exist and will allow you to mess about with your drivetrain configuration to your heart’s content.

How do you upgrade a bicycle to an 11-speed Components Group?

To upgrade a bicycle to an 11-speed components group requires your existing rear wheel to accept the 11-speed cassette. If it won’t, you’ll need to build a new wheel on an 11-speed hub or buy a new 11-speed rear wheel.

Can you use SRAM and Shimano derailleurs together?

In brief, Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo all use different cable pull ratios (the amount that a derailleur moves for every millimetre of cable pulled through by the shifter), and mixing parts will result in very poor shifting. Generally speaking, road and mountain bike groupset components will not work with each other.

What derailleur should I use with my tiagra 4700 trigger shifter?

This means you could, for example, use an 11-speed derailleur with 10-speed Tiagra 4700 shifters. All 12-speed Shimano mountain bike components are inter-compatible – you could for example use an SLX M7120 derailleur with an XTR M9100 trigger shifter