Need lighter / lower gears on your road bike? Do this.

Thank you! That’s an easy and cheap solution to fix this! Who would think about changing the cassette and derailer when you want lower gears?

If anyone wondered, a Claris R2000 rear derailleur can handle a 36 teeth cog without a road link. I have been using it for a year without problems.

"Do this" like it a cheap upgrade. 😂

Bro really went all the way. I'm like 'nah, a bit of B screw will make my SGS handle a big cassette just fine'

"If you want X, do X" Wow what a great suggestion it's amazing that you come up with such an amazing idea

Please, please, please use a derailleur hanger alignment tool between swapping derailleurs! This is best practice as mostly hangers are bent so always worth checking!

Oah, I love clips like that!! Wonderful even when I do stuff like that everyday for twenty years now. Bicycles are my life! ❤

My dad helped me make something kinda like this to my mountain bike, I love it, a mountain bike that can still go very fast

My other bike is fixed gear. Done this cassette thing on my adventure bike.46x30 chainrings, but think I can work out a 46x28 rig. The same range basically as 12 speed, but closer ratio using just 9 speed. 11-36 cassette. Tinkering is half the fun! I like shorter cranks and have 175mm now. Upgrade to hollowtech standard Samox, evenly spaced 4 arm 64mm bcd small 30 tooth ring and put 28 tooth in it's place. Probably go uphill 4mph at 80 RPM with a full touring load! Think the rear derailleur can just handle all that wrap. 9 speed chain can wear almost 1% before replacing, 12 speed. 5%.way cheaper to use 9 speed.

Shimano chains should always be mounted with the logo facing outwards 😅

Omg is this the polish best mechanic! SickBiker!

You could also get a Wolf Tooth derailleur hanger extender instead of a new derailleur. I’ve used them before and they work flawlessly.

It's not as simple and, above all, cheap as it may seem. To switch from an 8-speed cassette and Claris derailleur to an 11-speed setup, you need to replace not only the rear derailleur, cassette, and chain but also the front crankset (due to the narrower chain) and the rear derailleur shifter, incurring additional costs. Usually, the hub that supports 8 speeds may not handle 10 speeds, so there's a concern about needing to change the hub as well. Additionally, the Ultegra derailleur won't work with the Claris shifter.

I just love the sound of shifting gears.

If you already have a long-cage derailleur and your wheel has a freehub, it's quite reasonable to get a new cassette and chain. If you aren't looking at high-end components anyway, or for an older bike, you could buy a long-cage derailleur, cassette, and longer chain on the cheap or gently used all cheaply as well. Problem comes if you're trying to replace a cassette for a bike with a freewheel... then you basically need new wheels. I happened to find a very closely-matching wheel with a freehub (what you need for a cassette) for my folding bike, that was dirt cheap at a shop that was getting rid of unused repair parts... but this isn't likely to be the case for many.

Cheap option For the rear mech is the 10 speed medium cage tiagra 4700 rear mech. This works with all 11 speed Shimano setups, but ironically it does not work on other 10 speed setups except For the tiagra 4700 shifters. Thank me later.

How I wish I had those tools. But I'd probably use them once in a lifetime

"need lighter gears? all you need is €500 in tools and parts"

Perfect. I did that to mine as well.

11 sp derailleur $50, 11 sp cassette $25, 11 sp chain $35, Shift cable $9, cassette removal tool & chain whip $15, bike hex tool $15. $150 ALL IN. All Amazon prices. Any bike worth sitting on that's still a boat anchor will be $500 minimum. Best upgrade I did to one of my old gas pipe road bikes, transformed it. Also converted to mountain bars and controls. Turned an uncomfortable road bike into a gravel style cruise. HUGE improvement.