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Dyna Sys 10 speed compatability with 9 speed (Shimano systems)

342K views 626 replies 237 participants last post by  chewaz 
#1 ·
I just set up a ten speed system on my bike using a mix of 9 speed and 10 speed parts. Since there is a lot of confusing and contradictory information about Shimano dyna sys 10 speed, I thought I would post up some compatability issues I have found.

1. Road 10 speed derailleurs and shifters are completely incompatible with mountain (dyna sys) 10 speed derailleurs and shifters. The cable pull by the shifters is different for both front and rear.

2. Nine speed rear derailleurs will not work with 10 speed mountain rear shifters. They will however work with road “flat bar” 10 speed rear shifters. Dyna speed shifters pull twice as much cable per shift as 9 speed shifters, so if you use a 9 speed derailleur it shifts two gears for every one push.

3. Dyna sys 10 speed rear derailleurs cannot be used with 9 speed shifters. Road 10 speed derailleurs can be used with 9 speed shifters.

4. Nine speed front derailleurs can be used with 10 speed front shifters, but do not work optimally if used with a 10 speed crankset. Nine speed front derailleurs and cranksets can be used with 10 speed chains and front shifters. A nine speed shifter can be used to shift a 10 speed dyna sys front derailleur.

5. 10 speed road chains are different from 10 speed mountain (dyna sys) chains. The dyna sys chain is a directional chain that is made to shift better with 10 speed mountain drivetrains.

6. 10 speed road cassettes and 10 speed mountain cassette use the same sprocket spacing.
 
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#404 ·
Hey guys, I DID search, couldn't find answer: Where can I find a 26t granny to replace the 24t that came on 10x3 XT Dyna-Sys? I read elsewhere that I can use a 9-spd 26t granny, but shims are needed for chainline??? Doesn't anyone make a Dyna-Sys 3x10 specific 26t granny? Thanks, and sorry if the answer is indeed buried in here somewhere!
 
#405 ·
Sharing My Experience

I recently replaced my old crankset leaving me with the following setup:

Front
- Shimano SLX M660-10 Dynan-Sys 3x10 crankset
- Sram X.9 3x9 shifter
- Shimano Deore 3x9 front derailleur

Rear
- Shimano 11-34 9spd cassette
- Sram X.9 9spd rear derailleur
- Sram X.9 9spd shifter

All paired with a Sram PC1031 10spd chain. I was worried about the front derailleur/shifter combo with the crankset, but I have to admit I am very impressed with the shifting- given I do only use the larger two rings (limiter blocking out the granny ring.) In addition, the 10spd chain works beautifully with the rear cassette.

On a side note: the spacing on the larger two rings is identical on the new crankset compared to my old Truvativ Five-D 3x9.
 
#408 ·
So if I read this monster long thread correctly, I can keep my 9speed XT M770 22x32x44 crank, front X9 shifter, and my direct mount M771 XT front derailure. This thread mostly talks about Dyna Sys 10 speed rear though. I have a Niner W.F.O. and I would like an extra granny gear at 22 small ring up front and 36 pie plate ring on the rear cassette. It seems like a SRAM 10speed rear derailure long cage has 47T capacity according to the Performancebike website. Is there any reason I could not keep the above listed 9 speed front and get a SRAM X9 10 speed long cage, X9 10 speed shifter, and a 10 speed cassette?
My other question is if it is worth it? Just how flawless is the poor man's 10 speed conversion? I have a bottom bracket that needs replacing on a first generation M952 XTR 9 sp. crank on my hardtail. Replacement rings for those M952 XTR cranks are getting elusive (if not impossible to find) and are still stupid expensive. Would I just be better off getting 10 speed cranks and running an actual 3 x 10 and then putting the XT crank set on as a replacement for the M952? Sure its more money, but eventually I am going to have to replace that M952 crank and I have to replace the bottom bracket now, so I may be spending the dough anyway. Your expert thoughts MTBR community?
 
#409 ·
Whether anything is worth doing is your call and, as always, YMMV...

My general impression is that "x speed cranks/chainrings" don't matter much - unless perhaps you have a triple and shift under heavy load a lot. If you're going to have a double and shift moderately carefully then just about any cranks and rings will work with 7/8/9/10 speed, with the proviso that if the lateral gap between the rings is too wide you might get slow shifting and/or "skating," however this is unlikely unless you have 5/6 speed spaced rings.

Re chainrings: IIRC there was at east one 110/74 spider available for the M95x cranks, which would allow the use of lots of rings from just about everyone. Alternately, maybe TA and/or Middleburn still do rings for the weirdo pattern, or else I'm getting confused with M960.
 
#412 ·
please help, i'm desperate, 11 pages but i am over trawling through pages on the web so hopefully my question is a simple one to those in the know.

the bike, Surly cross check

shifters, new Dura ace 10 speed bar end
10 speed xt cassette
deore 10 speed shadow (dyna sys)

as you can guess, it's not shifter well at all.

how do i fix this?

change the cassette to a road variety?

change the derailleur? if so to what?

i want to keep my 10 speed dura ace bar end shifters

if it matters i'm running a new compact 105 crankset, front 105 DR and a 105 10 speed chain

any help is greatly appreciated.

cheers
Steve
 
#418 ·
I tried running a 10-speed xt crank (m770) on a 9-speed system. It shifts fine but the chain fails off almost all the time on descents. The chain length is correct so it's not a slack issue. To be clear, I'm running a 9 speed chain and I'd guess a 10 speed chain would fix that problem but I'm just sell it and get a 9 speed crank.
 
#419 ·
I am planning to use FD M985 front derailleur with 3 speed shifter and truvativ 3 speed crank with small chain ring removed. I only use bike for commuting and dirt road riding so small chain ring never gets used. I am not sure it will work but investment is small so just doing it for a bit of fun. At the moment I use the set screws to stop the small chain ring being used. If it works I may do my own mod on the shifter to turn it into a 2 spd
 
#421 ·
Piece of cake

I bought a xt shadow plus 10 speed rear deraileur
36-11 xt 10 speed cassette
10 Deore Shifter rh side (couldnt get xt)
10 speed chain

i fitted xt36 and xt26 nine speed rings and bash guard on to my xt m770 9 speed triple crank kept the 9 speed xt front derailleur
$300 all up:thumbsup:

works a treat the new shadow plus is simply awesome no chain slap for me.

I cant believe its taken so many pages for people to get as long as the rear is fully 10 speed and as long as the front is fully 9 speed, just run a 10 speed chain perfect.
 
#429 ·
I cant believe its taken so many pages for people to get as long as the rear is fully 10 speed and as long as the front is fully 9 speed, just run a 10 speed chain perfect.
i am a little hung up as to whether i need a dynasis cassette or will an sram 10 speed work.? I have found out that my sram xo rear will work with shimano 10 speed shifter, so now it's just if my sram 10 speed cassette from my other bike will cross over
 
#422 ·
Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me.

I have a Specialised Epic 2003, with a full XT m760 groupset.

I originally purchased this bike new and then never rode it. I just pulled it out of the garage to start riding it again, and I've been reading about 2x10.

I've noticed by chain skips off a lot and gets locked between the cranks, so I want to try 2x10 for smoother shifting. I ride mainly on the road to commute, but also XC (Not a big downhiller).

What is the bare minimum I would need in order to switch my current bike to a 2x10 setup?

I would really rather not have to change the crank, and was wondering if I could just switch the rings or something.

If someone could explain this to me in the way they would to a complete idiot, that would be very helpful, as I've forgotten everything I ever knew about bikes over the last nine years.

So yeah, in summary, I have a 3x9 bike, everything XT m760, and I wish to turn it into a 2x10 with as minimal change to parts as is humanly possible.

Thanks in advance!
 
#423 ·
So yeah, in summary, I have a 3x9 bike, everything XT m760, and I wish to turn it into a 2x10 with as minimal change to parts as is humanly possible.
If you insist on wanting 10speed in the back, you have to change pretty much everything.
Keep the 9speed and change only the chainrings in the front, and adjust the FD with the limit screws.
If chain is skipping it's either worn or not adjusted correctly.

For commuting I'd probably keep the 3 rings in front (44t for top speed), or perhaps just remove the granny.
 
#425 ·
Thanks for the responses, guys. I'm going to put the bike in for a service.

Neil, I didn't realise you could keep the 9 speed on the back. In which case, I'm thinking of losing the big ring at the front and switching the middle ring for something slightly larger.

Does that sound sensible?

I'm quite set on losing one of the rings, as the outer ring is almost never used. I think a slightly larger middle ring would give me the best of both worlds.
 
#428 ·
OK, I've done a bit of research, and I think what I'm after is a 24/36 set up on the front.

Does anyone know how I check compatibility with my m760 XT crank, or will any ring fit?
I replaced my 44-32-22 / 32-11 setup with a 39-26 / 34-11, keeping the rear a 9spd setup. I works great and I'm not really missing any gears.

Your chainring should probacly have a BCD of 64 and 104mm, and then you can use just about everything. You can consider replacing the outer chainring with a bashring.
 
#430 ·
No real distinction in 10sp cassettes as far as I understand. So all 10sp cassettes have the same overall width and cog spacing. As long as using a 10sp chain, then they are happy.

The distinction is if you use any 10sp MTB shifters or FD/RD (i.e DynaSys) parts. I am running a 10sp cassette, 10sp chain, 9sp crankset, 9sp FD and RD and 10sp road shifters and that works perfect.
 
#434 ·
I just post my experience, which confirms once again what is explained in the original post.

I have customised a Shimano XT 2012 double crankset, replacing its original chainrings with 22-36T chainrings--Shimano XT 9 speed chainrings, for triple.

It works flawlessly. Rest of the drivetrain is 10 speed. Cassette: Shimano XT 10 speed 11-36T. FD: Shimano XT 2012. RD: Shimano XTR Shadow Plus. Chain: KMC silver 10 speed.
 
#438 ·
well crap!!

i am putting together a GT Ruckus i got as frame only and have been collecting XT 9 speed parts a little at a time,.
took a chance and ordered M770 9 speed shifters/M770-FD from a hong kong seller.

got my parts and they sent an M780-FD instead, and i am not dealing with that bunch again, 30 days to get something and the way they ship, and it seems as if the consensus here is that the dynasis FD has a different geometry than the mega9 FD.

oh well, looks like my M780 is going on ebay.........


doug
 
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