Installed SRAM X7 Type 2 rear deraileur

Spring is climbing season for our cycling friends here in North Carolina. We leave the eastern plains and head to the mountains on at least one long weekend every spring.

With that in mind, I just installed a SRAM X7 type 2 rear deraileur with a wide-range cassette on Maria's V20. She just gave it a test ride and and she can shift into all the gears. I thought I'd share the specs on her bike.

This is a medium frame V20 with the spiffy red paint job. The brifters are SRAM Force. the FD is SRAM Rival. The crankset is 130 BCD SRAM Force with 172.5 mm cranks. Chainrings are Rotor Q-rings, 53/39 teeth. 10-speed cassette, 12x36t. The chain is 126 links.

The range of "gear inches" is 28 to 116. The range of gain ratio is 2.09 to 8.53. "Gain ratio" is a pure unit-less ratio of the distance the bike travels divided by the distance the pedals travel. If you put this bike in the biggest gear and push the pedal one inch, the bike will travel 8.5 inches.

This deraileur has a really long cage, with a great capacity to take up extra chain. It can shift into the "Big-Big" rings and the "small-small" rings with no problems. I really like the lock-out function on the Type-2 X7. It takes all the pressure off the chain when you are fiddling with a tire change.

If you aren't familiar with Q-rings, they are elliptical. The 53T ring is effectively a 56T ring when the long axis is engaged and a 51T ring when the short axis is engaged.

Jim

Yes indeed that is a nice

Yes indeed that is a nice setup!

Robert

So we just got back from a weekend of serious climbing in the vicinity of Pickens, SC, where the US Postal Service Team used to practice. The X7 rear derailleur worked great. The only problem we encountered was on the first really big climb, it wouldn't stay in the 36t ring, but kept dropping back to 32t. I think what happened was the cable housing and inline cable adjuster finally got fully compressed, what some people consider the cable "stretching" is really the housing compressing. Either way, I just adjusted the cable a little tighter and then no more problems shifting to, and staying in, the 36t ring, as needed. Here's a photo of the setup:

Jim

Jim Parker said:

SRAM X7 type 2 rear deraileur

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This is the long cage?

My X9 Type 2 is a medium with my 11x36 cassette and full range shifting has always been a bit of a pain. Maybe I should have used a long cage...

BTW, selecting a block of text in a prior post provides a "reply" option which is what I did here. Very nice feature.



-Eric

Guys I've used the X9-type2 and Sram Via Gt (the Via Gt is a cross RD and is lighter than the type 2's, I like it best) - both in long cage format with my 42-13 toothed cassette and 52x43 Q-ring and I have access to all gear ranges from big-big to small-small. Small-small has a little chain slack, but it's usable and works well. I've been getting into the mountain climbing scene, as we have them all around us.

Eric Winn said:

My X9 Type 2 is a medium with my 11x36 cassette

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...Cool!

Rick Youngblood said:

mountain climbing scene,

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Yeah, but can it do this? (Test post using Kindle)

No! or this! {Test image upload} This new forum is A W E S O M E. The below image was uploaded using the attach file tool. It will resized with the browser, making the forum Mobile Device Responsive! ...and the image will enlarge if clicked!

BentAero said:

Yeah, but can it do this? (Test post using Kindle)

Click to expand...

Ok, which one of the little icons is the "attach a file"?
Are you referring to the button on the bottom-right between ' post reply' and 'more options'?

BentAero said:

Ok, which one of the little icons the "attach a file"?
Are you referring to the button on the bottom-right between ' post reply' and 'more options'?

Click to expand...

Button on bottom right "Upload a File". Then select an image file from your computer, once uploaded click fulls size.

X0 type 2
Ahh, 'upload a file' button doesn't need a url unlike the insert image icon...

Oh, that's an easy way to drop a photo into a post. Here's a picture of one of Tom Traylor's old racing bikes. I took some photos in his shed while visiting him a few years ago.

Wow, MBB-FWD? Looks like Mad Max would ride that!

That is a sweet looking ride!

I ride 53/30 Q's with an 11/40 cassette and a long cage T2X0 RD and can use every gear even cross chained if needed. The X7 and X9 long cages will be the same and all are great especially the Type2.

Robert

Robert Holler said:

I ride 53/30

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Hey Robert 30 or 43?

I should correct - my small Q is a 34T

Robert Holler said:

I should correct - my small Q is a 34T

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Okay, that's what I thought, but wasn't sure Robert. Your set up is pretty close to mine. I'm now getting into climbs where the 34t ring x 42t cog comes in handy for me.

Rick, Im thinking of a Wolf Tooth 42T granny for my S30. Have a Type2-X7 RD and a 1070 11-36 cassette. From your and Roberts post seems like the X7 should handle the wrap. Which cog did you remove? I was thinking about both 15T & 17T and substituting 16T. Am planning the Rosarito-Ensenada ride on 5/2 and there are a couple of 12-14% climbs on the first part of a hill called El Tigre. Rode it on my Madone a couple of years ago. It was a grind and has got me thinking. Going to try my first reclined century two weeks later in Fresno but the hills are tame by comparison.

telephd said:

Rick, Im thinking of a Wolf Tooth 42T granny for my S30. Have a Type2-X7 RD and a 1070 11-36 cassette. From your and Roberts post seems like the X7 should handle the wrap. Which cog did you remove? I was thinking about both 15T & 17T and substituting 16T. Am planning the Rosarito-Ensenada ride on 5/2 and there are a couple of 12-14% climbs on the first part of a hill called El Tigre. Rode it on my Madone a couple of years ago. It was a grind and has got me thinking. Going to try my first reclined century two weeks later in Fresno but the hills are tame by comparison.

Click to expand...

I think Robert uses a 40t cog and replaced the 15 & 17 cogs with a 16t.

I use a 42t Wolf Tooth cog and removed the 11t cog and bought a 13t locking ring from Absolute Black. I use the 15 and 17 a lot and did not want to give them up, so I gave up the 11t cog. But I threw on a 52t Q-ring to try and make up for it. Currenty in 13 t cog and 52t Q-ring - downhill I can pedal up to about 33-35 mph before I start to spin in air.

Make sure your X7 is long cage to take up some of the small cog to small ring chain slop.

Anyone figured out how to load an image directly into the forum posts from IPhone? I've been loading them off my phone and then into my desktop Mac to get them here. But would like to load directly from my phone.