Friday, January 29, 2016

Claris 2400 Rear Derailleur

Finally the Tourney rear derailleur had been replaced by a road-oriented component. The Shimano Claris is an adequate replacement as it is not as complicated as its professional-tiered brothers, yet modern enough to be long lasting and reliable. It is an 8-speed rear mech, just two gears above this bike's 6-speed cassette, making it somehow within range.

Claris 2400 Rear Derailer
The Claris rear derailleur has a glossy grey color.


 Using the same grip shifter, the Claris felt a little heavier to shift at the cockpit. You'd have to get a good grip and a big push at the wrists. This is something you have to adjust to if you are used to the indexed shifters widely used now. The Tourney rear derailleur probably has weaker springs inside it as it is very easy on the grip. You just need two fingers to get it turning.

Claris 2400 Rear Derailer
In the Dahon SUV's case, you have to buy hanger for horizontal dropouts.
On the rear, it shifts quite impressively. Take note that this folding bike's rear hub is a late '80s Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 series, with Uniglide cassette. Compatibility issues are expected in this setup but apparently there are none. Now, there are no stubborn shifting problems or skipped gears. It just changes gears in one click.

The latest version of this Dahon SUV folding bike.
The only thing quite sour to taste in this method of customizing your bike is that you get components from different tiers that have different color schemes. The current Dura-Ace 9000 series sports a two-toned piano black and brushed aluminum design, which looks sleek and sexy. The Tiagra has a more warm grey look with subtle hints of blue. The Claris' grey is on the cooler end of the spectrum. Put them all together and you get a very weird looking bike. But as long as you take pleasure on the ride, the looks just come in second.

So far, here is the mash up of components for this Franken Foldie:
Crankset - 10 speed Shimano Tiagra 4700
Chain - 9 speed Shimano HG-53
Rear Derailleur - 8 speed Shimano Claris 2400
Cassette - 6 speed Shimano Dura-Ace 7400
Shifter - 6 speed Shimano Tourney SL-RS35

Here are some photos of the Bike's current setup.







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