I recently started riding my 1985 Raleigh Seneca on more serious singletrack and found my drivetrain to be seriously lacking. Shifts were not easy to make going up seriously rocky paths, I snapped a chain shifting under load.
I switched my drivetrain from a 70s Suntour V GT Luxe 12-32 9 speed with friction shifting to a Cues 9 speed 11-42 kit. This groupset is a gift to us all, it just works.
I feel like I have twice as many usable gear ratios as I had before, despite already using a 9 speed cassette. Increased range just sweetened the deal. Performance is good, even after I jammed the drivetrain up with sandy muck and mud.
Highly recommended.
by Sun-spex
6 Comments
Maybe all you needed was cleaning the thumbie, get new cables, a new chain and wide range cassette?
I shift a 11-42T 8S with a RD-M550 (1989 deore LX) using a SL-MT62 in friction mode. It is super smooth and easy. I’m using an aliexpress goat and have still some clearance left to try 11-46T next. No problems getting even the higher gears dialed in quickly. 8S cassette spacing is just so forgiving that it works all the time.
While the Cues is a perfectly cheap and justifiable derailleur, i don’t like its incompatibility with older drivetrain components, plasticky build quality, clunky size, delicate stamped sheet metal cage, weight, etc. – The clutch is definitely a nice feature for an MTB, especially with carbon chainstays, but i don’t really feel the need for it on a more touring oriented gravel bike with a steel frame that has a chainstay protection sticker.
I put a Cues 1×10 drivetrain on a Stumpjumper for my wife. She’s newer to cycling and 3x setups are pretty hard to wrap your brain around if you’re not used to it. 1x with indexing was exactly what we needed for the added simplicity of use, if nothing else.
Going cues 10s on my new build I’m currently doing. Looking forward to it!
How you fitted it on this size of frame? Isnt a 130mm opening in the rear wheel?
How was your experience with setup? (Others comment too please) Did you find that the Cues derailleur is sort of sluggish to shift into the highest gear and needed the high limit screw set way far outboard? I find the Cues stuff shifts better under load. Has this been your experience too?
I’m dying for one of these super slack geo mtbs. They look so fun to ride