I seldom used the 3 lowest gears with my Creo and so changed to a 11-34 11 speed cassette and replaced the rear derailleur with a Shimano Ultegra designed for 11-34 cassettes. I like the tighter spacing of the gears and the bike only weighs 27 lbs so even without the motor it is not a problem going up the steepest grade. On tours with my road bikes I used 12-28 10-speed cassettes with 48/36 front chainrings. My Trek 5200 has a 12-25 cassette with 53/39 chainrings and the gearing is plenty low enough with no touring load.
Creo and chainring/cassette configurations
- Thread starter kattanm
- Start date
Saratoga Dave
Well-Known Member
Dragging open an old thread which I have been reviewing prior to today’s project after a good ride. For anyone wondering if you can run an 11-46 on a first gen Creo with the standard GRX derailleur:
Note that this configuration is not supported by Shimano, but tightening down the B screw and adding a brand new chain as well gives me the desired 6mm spacing to the largest cog and the whole thing is shifting beautifully. If it all explodes and tries to kill me at any time, I will acknowledge it, but as it stands right now I have a greatly enhanced climbing gear with no identified downside.
I was going to add a Wolftooth extender, but found a couple of YouTube videos and know a few people both here and in the real world who have done this with success as well. Makes the Creo that much more pleasant, and it was already terrific.
Note that this configuration is not supported by Shimano, but tightening down the B screw and adding a brand new chain as well gives me the desired 6mm spacing to the largest cog and the whole thing is shifting beautifully. If it all explodes and tries to kill me at any time, I will acknowledge it, but as it stands right now I have a greatly enhanced climbing gear with no identified downside.
I was going to add a Wolftooth extender, but found a couple of YouTube videos and know a few people both here and in the real world who have done this with success as well. Makes the Creo that much more pleasant, and it was already terrific.
Allan47.7339
Well-Known Member
I'm running a 11-46 cassette, Wolftooth 42 chainring and Shimano Deore XT Di2, Shadow Plus, 11-speed combo for the last 8k miles. I bought the Wolftooth extender but did not need it. I use a 116 link chain. i took the chain keeper off since it didn't really do anything. I had a dropped chain from a slightly out, derailiuer hanger. Once that was aligned it's been good. The Creo 2 chain keeper will not fit the Creo SL because it mounts in a moulded recess on the case. They both attach through one of the motor mounts.
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Interestingly I recently put a Shimano XT Deore M8000 11-46 cassette on my Creo1 E5 with 46T Wolftooth chainring -- after appropriate adjustments of the GRX812 derailleur it's seemed fine. (not a lot of miles on the chain)
Still, I figured I better double check and today went through the process of removing the quicklink and checking the chain length per these instructions the chain length is already fine. Per the Shimano GRX-812 manual, it's okay but I could go two links longer if I was concerned about "turbulence in the drivetrain components" -- so I'll see how it goes for the time being. (yes, it can stand a cleaning)
Jeremy McCreary
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Park Tool makes a handy inexpensive chain wear gauge. Easy to use, no fiddling with the chain required.
Yes, and I have one.
…. but chain wear isn’t relevant to ensuring the proper number of chain links after changing from an 11-42 to 11-46 cassette.
my mention of not a lot of miles on the chain referred to my desire to keep using it if I could vs replacing it if I needed a longer chain.
Jeremy McCreary
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Sorry, I misunderstood.
Allan47.7339
Well-Known Member
It depends which Park chain checker tool some are better than others. The Park CC-4 is inexpensive and considered accurate. Replace the chain at 0.5% stretch to keep your cassette and chain ring from early replacement.
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