nox1111 Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 I leave my clutch on all the time - I still have chainslap, but a whole lot less than without it. I also leave my bike in middle rings (F & R) when not riding - couple of hundred km's on mine, hard riding and loads in wet weather and its still good as new. Leave my clutch on though. Only switch it off for removing the wheel - you can do without switching it off, its just easier when you do.
TopFuel Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Get the clutched derailleur. Very worth it IMHO. Got one about 2 years ago, and no issues so far. How Skylark manages to get his wheel off with the mechanism on is beyond me, I just dont have the strength. But otherwise, yes, I leave it on all the time. Can't really see the harm in it.
Mojoman Posted September 22, 2014 Author Posted September 22, 2014 Is it really necessary to switch it off when the bike is standing?
hayleyearth Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Only switch my clutch on when riding rough terrain, in town I never put it on, try to save the mechanism. I've had 1 drop when doing a jump on my 1x10 RaceFace 34 without the clutch on, with it, no issues. Also leave the clutch off when not riding and put the gears in the smallest cogs. I dont understand your logic behind this. Is it really necessary to switch it off when the bike is standing? No.
Daniel J Méssem Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Thanks everyone. So no-one has had any issues with the clutch failing? If it was to fail does that make the RD useless and you have to buy a new one or just replace that part? If it did fail, you could just leave it turned off, no biggie The only failures I have seen are from people overtightening the clutch mechanism then breaking the switch, or from greasing the internals of the clutch... I guess if it was broken in some sort of special way there might be a slight chance of the clutch jamming, still cannot see a way that this would make the clutch scrap though
Daniel J Méssem Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Is it really necessary to switch it off when the bike is standing? I cannot see how this would achieve anything to be honest? If anything continuously switching it off/on could cause more harm than good
Skylark Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Get the clutched derailleur. Very worth it IMHO. Got one about 2 years ago, and no issues so far. How Skylark manages to get his wheel off with the mechanism on is beyond me, I just dont have the strength. But otherwise, yes, I leave it on all the time. Can't really see the harm in it.I have a normal Qr rear wheel, never noticed any difficulties taking it out with the RD clutch engaged? I have adjusted my clutch though, the stock setting is overly tight unless I suppose you are taking 6ft jumps on a HT, stock setting also makes it noticeably harder to up shift when pushing the shifters.
Mojoman Posted September 23, 2014 Author Posted September 23, 2014 Bit on the fence with this, did some reading last night and it seems there arequite a few broken clutch derailleurs out there (although Shimano seems quick and responsive to replace). Some posts have mentioned that having them on a full suspension bike is to blame as they cannot take the movements of the chain under load and compression etc?
Alouette3 Posted September 23, 2014 Posted September 23, 2014 Bit on the fence with this, did some reading last night and it seems there arequite a few broken clutch derailleurs out there (although Shimano seems quick and responsive to replace). Some posts have mentioned that having them on a full suspension bike is to blame as they cannot take the movements of the chain under load and compression etc?Just buy it, once you have one you will understand. I won't go back. Only turn off the clutch when removing the wheel. Any problems Shimano agents are quick to repair.
TopFuel Posted September 23, 2014 Posted September 23, 2014 I have a normal Qr rear wheel, never noticed any difficulties taking it out with the RD clutch engaged?I have adjusted my clutch though, the stock setting is overly tight unless I suppose you are taking 6ft jumps on a HT, stock setting also makes it noticeably harder to up shift when pushing the shifters. That's probably the reason right there. I just left mine as is. My QR wheel really struggles to come out with the clutch on. Do you think an adjustment is necessary? I have noticed upshifting is a bit more difficult, but it hasn't really bothered me, to be honest. Leave alone?
Mike Bike Posted September 23, 2014 Posted September 23, 2014 Clutch must only be off when you need to remove the wheel.
Mojoman Posted September 23, 2014 Author Posted September 23, 2014 That's probably the reason right there. I just left mine as is. My QR wheel really struggles to come out with the clutch on. Do you think an adjustment is necessary? I have noticed upshifting is a bit more difficult, but it hasn't really bothered me, to be honest. Leave alone?I also read that there is a chance that the mechanicals of your shifters wear faster because of this but I don't know... Have ordered a Deore one to try out.
Skylark Posted September 23, 2014 Posted September 23, 2014 That's probably the reason right there. I just left mine as is. My QR wheel really struggles to come out with the clutch on. Do you think an adjustment is necessary? I have noticed upshifting is a bit more difficult, but it hasn't really bothered me, to be honest. Leave alone?Very easy to set, remove the 3 screws on the cover, loosen the clutch setting screw a bit, check the tension by lifting your back wheel high into the air(as per your riding) and dropping the bike to see if the chain slap is controlled, loosen or tighten further till you are happy with the tension. Take a ride around and check how the adjustment works, ramp off some pavements etc.. I loosened mine a fair bit from the stock setting and I need to slam the back wheel really hard for any slap to occur, that's the ideal point for me. Made a very noticeable difference on the shifter, now it feels almost as if I don't have a clutch, before that it was noticeable stiffer to shift which I found quite uncomfortable. I'm pretty certain that stiffness from the stock setting would wear out your shifters faster, how much so I don't know, probably also wear the clutch itself out quicker as it would be working harder.
johanpre44 Posted September 23, 2014 Posted September 23, 2014 Got an SLX Shadow+ on my 29er HT, I also loosened the clutch a lot from the factory setting because the shifting was too hard. Shifting is still a bit tight at the moment but I think I found the sweet spot on easy shifting and minimal chain slap. Think the Deore and SLX is very much the same, I did put in jockey wheels with bearings rather than the bushes, think they will just last longer. I think this is probably the only difference with the XT model. I saw a set of alloy BBB RD pulleys with bearings at Linden Cycles for R100 odd. My only gripe with the Clutch RD's is that they do not work with 8/9 speed drive trains, unless you are willing to do a biggish mod.
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