Derailleur transplant surgery

[icepick_trotsky]

I know a few members here have modded their Nuovo Record and Super Record rear derailleurs with the longer cages from Soma so they can wrap enough chain to shift a triple. Has anyone tried it with a newer Dura Ace RD? I'd like to use a 7700 or 7800 with a triple, so can I swap the cages over from a Shimano mountain bike derailleur or an Ultegra from the same era?

But Icepick, you'll ask, didn't Shimano make those RDs in a long cage version? Yup, they sure did, but they didn't make many, and they're priced accordingly.

http://i.imgur.com/ORNesUYh.png

[Vinci]

I guess just using an XTR is off the table?

[icepick_trotsky]

Sure, there are other ways to skin this cat, but I had Dura Ace in mind.

[CiclistiCliff]

You can swap the cage from a long cage Ultegra, but don't expect to be able to run bigger than a 27/28t on the cassette. Even reversing the b tension screw, the jockey pulley will sandwich the chain between the cassette the pulley.

*Depending on the bike/hanger it may work. Some bikes have slightly longer hangers or they sit further rearward.

Curious if Wolftooths Road Link would work well for running bigger cassettes on these derailleurs.