[The Bridge]

Hey there everyone, I'm a newbie on these forums, just looking for a little technical advice. I'm starting the process of my own bike, and have found the process to be a little bit more confusing than I anticipated! I think I have most of the gear figured out, in part thanks to this excellent forum, but I need some help in the drivetrain/shifter department.

Basically, I'm looking to run a 2x9 speed setup on a flatbar cross bike. Components so far are:
-Nashbar 'X' cross frame
-shimano 105 cranks (53/39, 170mm)

I'd like to ride this bike a little on some light but hilly singletrack, so I need a pretty wide gear setup in the back, maybe 11-32 or 11/12-30 at a minimum. I've also heard good things about SRAM components, shifters especially (feel free to support or refute this notion), and given my own experiences with shimano shifters, I'm inclined to agree. the problem is that the shifters I found:

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=27541

only seem to work with triple MTB front derailleurs, which don't handle the 53/39 cranks I have. Also, all the SRAM road FD's I've seen are 'specced' for 10-speed setups. Any thoughts?

 

[w00dy]

It's not a problem for your shifter to have too many detents. Just adjust the derailleur so that two of them are in the proper places.

The shifter is more important when deciding how many speeds a system is. Just get a road der. with the proper tooth range and you'll manage just fine.

 

[lew s lugnut]

The amount of cable throw required is different on a road and mtn der. You won't get it to work as well as you would like and be fussing with it constantly if you use a mtn shifter and road der.

 

[ultraNoob]

Used to ride a DH bike with a Deore shifter pod and a 105 RD. No probs in that department. So long as the actuation ratios are the same you should be golden. Majority of SRAM RD's are 1:1, Shimano's RD's are 1:2. If you want to run SRAM shifters with a shimano RD, you'll need to run the SRAM Attack shifter pod. BTW... SRAM FD shifter pods are 1:2 just like Shimano

I've never built or ridden a cross bike. From my experience though, SRAM stuff is very easy to set up, but the Shimano stuff shifts much cleaner... IMO.

 

[slimshady]

The amount of cable throw required is different on a road and mtn der. You won't get it to work as well as you would like and be fussing with it constantly if you use a mtn shifter and road der.

That's only true when it comes to the new SRAM 10 speed groups, or Campagnolo. But with Shimano you can mix road and MTB parts with no hassle. Just have to match the number of gears in the shifter and the cassete (along with the chain). In fact, here in Argentina many DH riders put road cassetes and deraileurs because they tend to be more stiff and accurate, due to the short pulley cages.

 

[The Bridge]

If you want to run SRAM shifters with a shimano RD, you'll need to run the SRAM Attack shifter pod. BTW... SRAM FD shifter pods are 1:2 just like Shimano

So Shimano road or mountain FD's should work fine for most shifters, from either brand? That would be awesome. I'm not too concerned about the make of any of the components, but I need a mountain bike RD for the big gears, since I haven't seen any road RD's that can handle a 30t cog, let alone 32t.

Thanks for all the advice!