[noition]

Hi there,

I’m building a cyclocross bike on the cheap. I have some Shimano ST-3400 (Old 3×9 sora shifters) and I’m wondering how they will work with a hybrid chainset? I’ve tried running it with an Alivio front mech to no avail. I have been told that a road front mech would resolve this. (I work in a bike shop and im fairly certain I’ve seen Dawes and stuff with Hybrid chainsets on.

If anyone has hints or tips they’re very welcome!

Topic

[noition]

Thanks for replying, you’re
Thanks for replying, you’re correct about the modern stuff all being cross compatible and have confirmed what I’d read about front mechs so thank you very much!

[Mombee]

I’m hoping someone will
I’m hoping someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but as long as you stick with recent Shimano ‘road’ components, and match the numbers of chainrings and cogs (in the rear cassette) to the number of gears available in the shifters, then you should be OK to match anything from Sora upwards… so you’ll need a triple chainset and a 9-speed cassette, but in theory, if the right parts were available, you could use bits of Tiagra, 105, Ultegra or Dura-Ace.
Two caveats:
1 – 3400 Sora is the previous incarnation, so should work, but worth double-checking.
2 – Shimano mountain bike derailleurs are not as compatible, with the ‘pull ratio’ (the distance the rear derailleur moves with each shifter click) for 9-speed being different to 10- and 11-speed parts, so be wary if you consider using the likes of Deore.

[Author]

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