Can I Fit a Compact Chain Set?

Sam Wright is from New Zealand and has a Shimano 9 speed set up on his bike with an 11/25 cassette and 9 speed shifters. He wants to fit a compact chain set, but he can only get his hands on a 10 speed chain set, so he wants to know if this will work

Question:

Hi. I want to put a compact Shimano (50/34) 10 speed chain ring and cranks on my road bike. I have a 9 speed cassette (11/25) and shifters. Will they need to be changed as well?

Hi Sam,

The easy answer is “yes” it will work. The 9 speed chain is slightly wider than the 10 speed version, so it should sit on the teeth of the thinner 10 speed chain set. The gear change might not be as smooth as with the full 10 speed set up and you may find that the chain rubs against the inside of the large outer chain ring when you are using the small chain ring and the smaller cassette sprockets, but this happens occasionally anyway.

The front gear mech should work OK as there isn’t much difference between a 52 tooth chain ring and a 50 tooth. Your only problem maybe that the chain might rub on the bottom of the front mech when you are on the smaller cogs and the small chain ring. Usually everything works well, if not you will have to spend some money on a new group set!

Time Carbon Compact