Derailleur interchangeability

[Retro_Roy]

i have exceeded the rated RD capacity minimally in the past with no problems.
i never do the cross chain thing. our dike ride to the brewery is all flat. chain stays
on middle ring up front and travels thru middle 3 cogs on the rear depending on
cadence of people on the ride. i just want it to `work'.

 

[Woz]

For the FD capacity you may not be able to get it low enough and the chain clear the cage when in the small ring and small sprocket, this will depend on seat-tube angle to a fairly large degree (pun intended). I've never had this problem when going smaller than the normal 52T they were designed for. At a guess, I think you would be fine with a 46T.

If you have the bits in front of you, it just a case of sucking it and seeing it.

 

[Retro_Roy]

this encouraging. larger rear cog than i am going with.

https://www.reddit.com/r/xbiking/comments/15uu6ro