Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 7401 7402 7403 7410 Series Road Component System 1984 – 1996
Details on Dura Ace 7400 series.
Drivetrain
Bookmarks
SUBCOMPACT 2X ROAD CRANKSETS: A BRIEF ANALYSIS. IS 46/30 GEARING RIGHT FOR YOU?
Subcompact crankset explanation.
Bicycle Lubricant Cost-to-Run Calculator
Calculate the cost of your lubricant for your drivetrain and miles ridden.
Fake vs Genuine Shimano chain. How to spot the difference
How to spot fake Shimano chains.
Voluntary Recall: 11-Speed Bonded HOLLOWTECH II Road Cranksets Inspection and Replacement Campaign
2023 Shimano crankset recall notice.
Wikipedia - Shimano
Shimano info including groupset release year.
Art's Cyclery Science Behind the Magic | Drivetrain Compatibility
Details on mixing 8-11 speed road parts.
- Cable pull
- Shift ratios
- Cog pitch
SHIMANO DEORE XT M8100 Debuts with Shimano’s marquee mountain bike component technologies and trail-specific focus
Shimano Deore XT M8100 press release.
Shimano Introducing the Evolution of XTR
Shimano XTR M9000 press release.
MTBR - What is the difference in the Shimano M780 and M781 Rear Derailleur
RD-M781 is direct mount capable.
SickLines 2011 Shimano XTR M980
Review of Shimano XTR M980 groupset.
Sheldon Brown 6-speed, 7-speed, 8-speed, 9-speed, 10-speed, 11-speed?
Parts compatibility across speeds.
Single Track World - Shimano 9 mtb speed mechs with 10 speed road shifters question
To improve shifting, add a 1mm spacer to cassette between 3 largest sprockets and others.
Sheldon Brown - Unthreaded Bottom Bracket Cribsheet
Table of non-threaded bottom bracket sizes.
Cycling Tips - Mixing Roand Groupsets What Works Together And What doesnt 2
Lots of info on mixing SRAM, Shimano, Campagnolo 10 and 11 speed parts.
DansBikeBlog How To Calculate Correct Chain Length Shimano 12 Speed
Guidance on # of chain links to add after wrapping chain around the largest gears.
LFGSS Sugino 75 vs Campagnolo Pista #24
Track crank q factor list.
Bike Hugger The Rise of the Compact Crank (aka “The Death of the Triple”)
Excellent overview of options and tradeoffs between standards, compact, and triple cranksets.
More gears in modern 10+ speed cogs let compact (50t-34t) cranksets cover the range if triples. Racers may still choose a standard (53t-39t) for smaller gaps between gears.
BikeRadar What is a Compact Crank?
Explains the difference between standard and compact double road cranksets.
Disraeli Gears
Resource for derailleur info.
BikeGremlin - Rear derailleur compatibility
Excellent resource on drivetrain compatibility.
Articles
Drivetrain Wear
Over time, the moving parts on a bike wear down. Gear teeth slowly wear down by the forces and friction of the chain. The chain elongates as the inner parts wear and gaps widen.
Proper maintenance is essential for keeping your parts working optimally. Grit and insufficient lube will rapidly grind things down.
Parts wear together - as the chain stretches, the point of contact on the cog moves. Putting a new chain on a worn system can make a lot of noise, skip gears, and will wear the chain out faster.
Chains
A chain connects the parts in your drivetrain.
All bike chains have a pitch (distance between link pins) of 1/2 inch.
Chains have different widths to work with various shifting systems.
Chain wear happens on the inner chain plates, as they rotate around the pin.
Triple drivetrains
Back in my day a 21 speed, or 3x7 bike was the standard for top end bikes. Now days they have been phased out for 2x or 1x drivetrains.
Why triple?
Triple drivetrains are still useful for a few things.
Touring
Hauling bike packs up hill takes some gears, and on long rides, you want a lot of options so you can keep spinning.
Mountain
Sometimes dropping a ring in front to go up a hill is faster than shifting down a few gears in back.
Shimano 9 speed mountain derailleur with 10 speed road shifters
To get lower gears on your 10 speed Shimano road bike, you can use a 9 speed mtb derailleur.
Cable pull, sprocket pitch, shift ratio
Shimano 10 speed road, 9 speed mtb shifter cable pull: 2.3mm
Shimano/SRAM 10 speed road cassette sprocket pitch: 3.95mm
Shimano 10 speed road, 9 speed mtb derailleur shift ratio: 1.7
Shimano 10 speed mtb derailleur shift ratio: 1.2 (not compatible)
1x12 Drivetrain
With a large cassette up to 51t, a 1x12 drivetrain climbs any hill and has enough speed to go as fast as you want.
Gravel bikes paved the way for 1x systems, desiring simpler drivetrains and not caring as much about steps in cadence. The additional gears makes that less of an issue anyway.
New freehub types
New hub types from Shimano (microspline) and Sram (XD) allow for a 10t top gear. This lets you have a smaller max chainring in front, which fits closer to the frame.
Alternative Shifters
Most road bikes today come with integrated brake and shifting levers, or brifters. They are more comfortable and usable than traditional styles. Let's look at some available options.
Shifting mechanisms
Shifters work by increasing or decreasing the tension on the shift cables to move the derailleur into place.
Indexed
Indexed shifters click into place and move the derailleur one gear. They allow for precise shifting, but need to be tuned and parts are made for specific speeds and derailleurs. Brifters are all index shifters.
Choosing a crankset
There are dozens of cranksets to choose from. Here are the most important factors to consider.
Crankset type
You may see cranksets labeled for the intended drivetrain.
Type | Chainrings | BCD | Example | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard | 53/39 | 130mm Front Derailleur CompatibilityFront Derailleurs have a ton of variations to consider when finding one for your bike. SpeedIf you're using a derailleur, it's for a 2x or 3x setup. The inner plate of a triple is larger to reach a smaller inner ring. AttachmentThe most basic attachment is a clamp, but there can be small, medium, or large sizes for various seatpost diameters. You can use a shim if you have one that is a size too big. Gear RangeHow fast do you want to be able to go on your bike? What gear ratio do you want to use for climbing steep hills? Choosing the right gear range will give you a fast enough top speed and a comfortable climbing gear. Faster riders and racers need higher gears and will power up hills. Mountain and touring bikes go lower to get over rugged terrain or haul cargo.
RoadA Shimano Dura Ace 2x11 crankset comes with several chainring sizes from 55-42t to 50-34t. Cassettes are available in 11-25t to 12-28t. Here are the gears available in that range: Gravel Gearing
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