11/36 cassette with a road mech

[webber]

is it possible to use a road rear mech (shimano 105 10 speed ) with an 11/36 cassette with a single front chainring ???

[Steve-W]

I run a 105 10 speed mech (medium cage) with an 11-32 (11sp) cassette and a single chainring. Can't speak with much authority, but it doesn't look like it'd stretch to 36.

[pwa]

I've not tried it, but I'd imagine the angle of travel of the parallelogram would be wrong. The upper wheel would have to be too distant from the smallest sprocket in order to not strike the largest. Normally you can expect to get away with one or two teeth more, on the large sprocket, than Shimano recommend. A 9 speed MTB mech should work well with Shimano 10 speed controls. I'm not sure which one to recommend for 36 teeth, though.

[meic]

For 36teeth you should have one with the word shadow in its name.
You wouldnt need the longer SGS cage version, just the GS version for a single front ring.

Depending on your frame's dropouts you could get away with something else too.

[sjs]

For 36teeth you should have one with the word shadow in its name.
You wouldnt need the longer SGS cage version, just the GS version for a single front ring.

Depending on your frame's dropouts you could get away with something else too.

I use the Alivio M4000 9-speed long cage mech on a 2X10-speed road system with a 12-36 cassette (I'd never use an 11-tooth sprocket) and it works well.

[pwa]

I too avoid 11 tooth sprockets. I suspect them of being mechanically inefficient because the radius is too tight. If you put a bike on a stand and turn the cranks by hand with an 11 tooth sprocket you can feel a distinct rumble that is not there on larger sprockets. That means energy lost. If you need a taller gear a bigger chainring might be a better option.

[iow]

you may be able to use an existing mech' with one of THESE

[PsycleNut]

In the past I have used an SRAM 11~36 cassette with a 10 speed Ultegra medium cage rear mech and a tripple up front and it worked fine.

I'm not sure how a single front ring would affect things, but the rear mech should certainly handle it OK. If the single front ring was effectively in the same location as my middle ring then I can't see why it wouldn't work. If the single ring was closer in to the frame then you may need a chain device to keep it in place when using the smaller sprockets and it may be a bit noisey.

PsycleNut

[tincaman]

I have 11 speed and currently run a wide narrow 40T at the front, 11-36T Sram cassette with a medium cage Shimano 105 mech.
On a 10 speed system I would use a 9 speed MTB rear mech to achieve the same.