I have poked around here and on Facebook a bit, but I thought starting a new topic might cast a wider net. I have a 2017 Salsa Cutthroat, currently set up with the full on bro-set; all SRAM components. This is how the bike came, and it has worked pretty nicely since the pull ratios were the same between their mountain and road groupsets. I am looking to upgrade this winter, and since it's due for several components I'd like to make the switch to Shimano. The only issue I've come across is the front derailleur compatibility with the Shimano STI shifters. These are my most promising leads:
2018 Salsa Fargo Tiagra: This comes stock with Tiagra 4700 shifters and a Deore FD. The Fargo frame is listed as "High direct mount (26.5mm offset) via 28.6mm clamp Problem Solvers Bracket (FS1326)" This is similar to my Cutthroat, which is listed as "High direct mount (26mm offset)"
Facebook group: I dug up a couple older posts, including one referencing Jay Petervary's custom FD mount. I found out that a few people had luck just using an XTR or XT FD, and using the barrel adjuster until the front shifter worked well enough. I'd guess that's what Salsa did with the Fargo. One other guy used a JTek Shiftmate 7, but I'd like to avoid adding extra pulleys if possible.
Has anyone here tried anything else? Or any other ideas? It seems like all of the focus is on rear derailleur compatibility, with products like the Wolftooth Tanpan and Di2 combinations discussed at length.
I'm an awful mechanic but dont see why any old FD wouldn't work. Isnt the difference between mountain and road crank spacing is like 2.5mm on each side? I'm successfully using a sram mountain shifter with shimano road cranks on my cargo bike.
Or use this as an excuse to get Ultegra Di2 to XT Di2. It could be a fun project if you do hydraulic and replace the flat mount road brake calipers with XT too.
Or 1x if that's an option in your neck of the woods.
I have experience with both 9sp Sora 3500 w/ SLX M661, and 10sp 5700 105 w/XT and SLX mtb front dérailleurs. In my experience doubles "just work", while triples require the Jtec Shiftmate.
Thanks guys, since Salsa published that combo I feel a lot better at least trying the "just works" route first. I'll report back if I come across anything worth mentioning.
I understand the reluctance to try a thingamajig like the Jtek Shiftmate. I was in the same boat a few years ago with wanting to mix Ultegra STI shifters and an XT triple drivetrain. I decided to try it, though, since I wasn't sure how to make it work otherwise. It shifts smooth as butter. I currently have two bikes running this setup (Ultegra shifters, XT drivetrain) and they shift as well as the full Ultegra group on my road bike. In both cases, I installed the Shiftmate so that it sits just under the front of my stem a few inches from where the cable housing exits from under the bar tape. It's out of the way and unobtrusive. Anyway, just my experience in case it's helpful. Happy to provide more details on specific components used and/or photos if there's interest. Cheers!
OffB10Path wrote:I understand the reluctance to try a thingamajig like the Jtek Shiftmate. I was in the same boat a few years ago with wanting to mix Ultegra STI shifters and an XT triple drivetrain. I decided to try it, though, since I wasn't sure how to make it work otherwise. It shifts smooth as butter. I currently have two bikes running this setup (Ultegra shifters, XT drivetrain) and they shift as well as the full Ultegra group on my road bike. In both cases, I installed the Shiftmate so that it sits just under the front of my stem a few inches from where the cable housing exits from under the bar tape. It's out of the way and unobtrusive. Anyway, just my experience in case it's helpful. Happy to provide more details on specific components used and/or photos if there's interest. Cheers!
I have the Shiftmate on my touring bike, with a triple crankset, in the same location. Minimizes the amount of grit and grime it's exposed to.
Update: I finished the build this past weekend. Originally I had my LBS order a new, 2x11 XTR FD, which cost $99 at retail. I had to file the lower portion of the direct mount slot to get the necessary clearance above the teeth on the large 40T outer ring. The problem came when I attached the cable and tried to shift it with my 5800 levers. I could get the FD to move the chain, but I couldn't get it to run without rubbing in the highest and lowest 4 gears (that is to say, the gear combinations with the longest and shortest amount of gear inches). If i adjusted the cable tension to work in the highest gears, the lowest ones would rub, and vice versa. After some more digging online and an email to Salsa, I figured I'd try the SRAM X9 2x10 that came on the bike originally, since I had it in my possession anyways. Wouldn't you know it, the thing shifted nearly perfect straight away! All 4 positions work in the stand, and I can achieve all 22 gears without any rubbing. Unfortunately I really won't be able to test it until later this spring or summer, but I don't foresee any potential issues.
One thing I found that was strange - the new Ultegra clutch RD will not clear the drive side chainstay with the clutch switch engaged. I think there are two solutions for this. One would be to file off the plastic part of the switch that comes up on top of the derailleur body. It would make it tougher to turn the clutch on and off, but it would still work. The other option, which I ended up choosing, was rotating the linkage between the derailleur body and the derailleur hanger on the bike. Shimano recommends to have no gap between the "projection on rear of bracket" and "B-tension stop." While this worked on my girlfriends cx bike, it did not work on the Cutthroat. If it becomes an issue down the road I will probably change it out for a normal RD without a clutch.
