10 speed Short Cage X9 with 2 rings....viable?

Has anyone setup a 2 ring 10 speed set-up with the following:

• 32t/22t rings
• 11t-36t cassette
• SHORT CAGE SRAM X9 derailleur (non-clutch)?

I know the short cage derailleur can handle the 11-36 cassette, but I’m not so sure about the 32/22 rings. It will be on a shorter travel full suspension bike (Trance) with very little chain growth.

I know it’s not ideal, but I have a brand new 10 speed short cage derailleur just collecting dust. Nobody will buy it because it is non-clutch, so I figured I’ll just make the bike 10 speed and enjoy the benefits of a lower gear and a fresh drivetrain.

i run an X0 short cage 9-speed drl with an 11-34 cassette and 32/22t rings on my prime (decent amount of chain growth) with no issues whatsoever. i think you should be good

I ran sram x-9 non-clutch short cage with a 28-36 and a x-9 clutch with 24-32. Specialized Enduro frame, so I would say the chain growth is not too bad. I think 22-32 would be ok. Surprised you would need such a girly gear though…..

bro, do you even climb?

As long as you size your chain long enough to be the big-ring, big-cog combo at full chain growth you don't have to worry about damaging your drive train. The issue with short cage derailleurs is that they have a reduced "total capacity," so you may notice a loss of chain tension when you're in the small ring and the smallest 3-4 cogs. These are redundant gears, but you may not remember to shift into the big ring at the start of every downhill section.

As kdv mentions, you will be outside of the capacity of the derailleur. A short cage X9 9-speed derailleur has a 23T capacity and you are looking at a 35T difference with your setup - large cog - small cog + large chainring - small chainring. That means that if you have enough chain to wrap the large cog and large ring, then you are going to have a lot of slack in the small ring and smaller cassette cogs. You can set it up to (sort of) work, but you would be better served with a mid-cage derailleur.

Thanks for the answers.

All the parts I am using are spares so if they work with a bit of compromise then I am fine.

"Bro do you even climb?"……Meany :fu: All I can do on a bike right now with my mangled wrist is climb up and down fire roads. :)

I said that knowing full well you can out climb me pretty much any day of the week….even with a mangled wrist.

I say size the chain to the big ring and biggest cog. It's only going to matter if you're in granny and small cogs, and why would you be doing that?

I said that knowing full well you can out climb me pretty much any day of the week….even with a mangled wrist.

I don't know about that.

Injuries sure do make you tinker with your bikes a lot.

You said you are using a 10 speed SRAM short cage. That means you have a max cassette sprocket size of 34 teeth and a total capacity of 32 teeth.

Like dogboy mentioned you are trying to run a setup that needs a 35 tooth capacity, so you are over-BUT not by much. It will likely work just fine…

You said you are using a 10 speed SRAM short cage. That means you have a max cassette sprocket size of 34 teeth and a total capacity of 32 teeth.

Like dogboy mentioned you are trying to run a setup that needs a 35 tooth capacity, so you are over-BUT not by much. It will likely work just fine…

Doh! Missed the 10-speed part. Still, I am seeing a 25t capacity for a 10-speed X-9. Where are you getting the 32t capacity spec from?