Shimano Deore XT 735

Deore XT RD-735

Preamble

I need a rear derailleur to match the rest of the bike gear shifts and front derailleur (FD-M735)… and this article ended up into a list of parts for retro Deore XT over the year…

See also

Useful links

Shimano Product brochures

From goatsurfer.com/assets

Useful Service Manuals

BCD

BCD chart
BCD chart

What I have already

My MTB already has an FD-M735 and a pair of gear shifters, which look like Deore XTII SL-M732, Shimano SL-M732, Deore XT M730, according to Deore XT M732 Series

SL-M732
SL-M732

Images for the individual gear shifts for the M735 range are not available, as they appear to have been integrated into the brake levers.

Rear derailleur

Shimano Deore XT 735
Shimano Deore XT 735

Great info here: Disraeli gears Shimano Deore XT (M735 SGS).

From YouTube – Shimano Deore XT RD-M735 SGS:

The Shimano Deore XT M735 is the final incarnation of Shimano’s first indexing Deore XT design. It obviously shares a great deal with the M730 and M732, but has two distinctive features – the ability to adjust the spring tension in the parallelogram and the ability to adjust the spring tension at the hanger bolt.

I also have a seized RD-TY15

eBay

Cage length

Note that there are long cage (87 mm) and short cage (57 mm) and mid cage (56 mm), see:

According to United Bicycle Institute:

  1. Determine Maximum Chainring Difference by subtracting the number of teeth in the smallest chainring from the number of teeth in the largest chainring
  2. Determine Maximum Cassette Cog Difference by subtracting the number of teeth on the smallest cassette cog from the number of teeth on the largest cassette cog
  3. Determine Total Drivetrain Capacity by adding Maximum Chainring Difference to the Maximum Cassette Cog Difference
  4. Record the Maximum Cassette Cog (the number of teeth on the largest Cassette Cog)

For Shimano:

SS – Short Cage Road Double – Maximum Cassette Cog is 27 and Total Capacity is 29

GS – Medium Cage MTB/Road Triple – Maximum Cassette Cog is 34(MTB)/27(Road) and Total Capacity is 33(MTB)/37(Road)

SGS – Long MTB – Maximum Cassette Cog is 34 and Total Capacity is 45

Limits

  • Short cage has a 28 tooth upper limit for cassette

SHIMANO Vintage Deore XT Front & Rear Derailleur Set / FD-M735 RD-M735, $30 + $21.25 + $10.66 (£23.33 + £16.53 + £7)

Servicing

I got a job lot for £42, FD-M735, RD-M735, Brake lever and gear shift assembly and V-brakes. However, the rear derailleur that I ended up getting was somewhat seized. After asking Is it possible to service rear derailleur pulleys?, I was pointed to Park Tool’s Rear derailleur overhall.

From RetroBike service manuals (Original image)

rd-m735rd-m650rd-m550

The lower jockey wheel feels like there is a piece of grit in it, but it is easy enough to disassemble:

From http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Shimano_Bicycle_System_Component_-_91.html

shimano_bicycle_system_component_-_91_page_51_main_image

Service manual from https://si.shimano.com/#/es/search/Keyword?name=RD-M735, link, PDF:EV-RD-M735-1033A

RD-M735 exploded view.png

The lower jockey wheel feels like there is a piece of grit in it, but it is easy enough to disassemble:

  • Unbolt jockey wheels from alternate side
  • Consists of a bolt, spacer and washers, and the jockey wheel.

Pedals

vintage shimano deore xt rd-m735 pedals, $65 + $18.50

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Shimano Deore XT Classic Mountain Bike Pedals – PD-M735 $9.99 + $24.20 (£7.22 + £18.82)

To replace the bearings in the pedal, see also, Stumped! Shimano PD-M735 Pedal Maintenance…Help!

On eBay, pedal cone tool TL-PD73, Shimano TL-PD73 Pedal Cone Adjusting Tools Set 7/8mm and 10/11mm / Genuine NOS, $49.99

TL-PD73
TL-PD73

There is also a TL-PD63

 

Pedal removal

From ParkTool – Pedal installation and removal

To remove:

  • right hand pedal – turn anti clockwise
  • left hand pedal – turn clockwise

Service manual from https://si.shimano.com/#/es/search/Keyword?name=PD-M735, link, PDF: EV-PD-M735-1047A

PD-M735 exploded view
PD-M735 exploded view

Bottom Bracket

Useful video: Bottom Bracket Standards Explained | Road Bike Maintenance

These are from the Deore XT range

  • BB-M730 (1989)
  • BB-MT60 (1989)
  • BB-UN70 (1992)
  • BB-UN71 (1993)
  • BB-UN91 (1994)
  • BB-UN71 (1995)
  • BB-UN72 (1996)

Note that the spindle lengths vary:

  • 107
  • 110
  • 115
  • 122

Shells are 68 mm, in length (not diameter), normally, or 73 mm (English). From Sheldon – BB Size

  • Shell width in millimeters:
    • 68 for standard ISO/British
    • 70 for Italian
    • 73 for oversized ISO/British. This dimension has to do with what kind of frame the bottom bracket fits, and has nothing to do with the crank.
  • Length: overall spindle length in millimeters. This will determine the chainline and various clearance dimensions.

Shimano sometimes specs two different lengths for the same crankset. This usually relates to the diameter of the seat tube. The shorter dimension is normally preferred, but bikes with fat seat tubes may require the longer size to accommodate the swing of the front derailer.

  • Square Taper: CT21, LP27, UN40, UN51, UN52, UN71, UN72, UN91. These are all interchangeable if the other numbers match. Listed in order of quality, CT21 is worst, UN91 is best.

Shimano square taper bottom bracket, BB-UN71, (KL), £12.95 + £3.95

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Shimano BB-UN72 Retro Bottom. Bracket, £10 + £3.48

I purchased from Retro Heaven – Shimano Deore XT – BB-UN70 – 68mm Shell – English – 122.5mm, £8.75+£3.95

Chainset

I currently have a Shimano Tourney FC-TY33:

See  Crank replacement compatability for Shimano TY 33A?

The FC that correspond to the FD/RD models are:

It is worth noting that while the FC-MT60 and the FC-M730 are similar, they were branded Deore DX and XT respectively. The differences are, from Differences between Shimano cranks XT FC-M730 and DX FC-MT60:

XT are machine finished and are of higher grade materials, pantographed logo, possibly ‘cold forged’ but cant remember and are anodized.

DX are cast, printed logo and have a raw finish

and

XT: anodized finish
DX: barrel finish

I guess the weight of the bodies isn’t really different.

Tech docs state:

XT: 730gr with 26/36/46 rings
DX: 740gr with 28/38/48 rings

From this post on What is your favorite square-taper Crankset?

Originally Posted by frantik View Post

nice MT-60 is also great.. the difference between M-730 amd MT-60 is minimal. Around here MT-60 bikes are so undervalued i have to stop myself from buying them all. MT-60 cranks don’t have the finish and engraving of XT but otherwise look the same. 5 of my bikes have these cranks on them

I think the FC-MT60 was melt-forged where the FC-M730 was cold-forged. Someone will no doubt correct me if I’m wrong. One nice thing about the Deore XT (M730) cranks is that they came in 180mm- good for my gangly legs.

4bb7e3da-da44-477f-91b5-36f6841f277d

The FC-M739 are apparently cold forged, from Older XT FC-M739 Cranks vs. Newer Regular Deore FC-M470:

There are plenty of chainrings available for those old XT’s…great crankset with cold forged arms.

FC-MT60

This is Deore DX not XT (although in 1989 it was classed as Deore XTII), from here, Shimano FC-MT60, Deore MT60 Series, BCD 110mm / 74mm

FC-M730

Velobase: Shimano FC-M730, Deore XT M730: BCD 110mm / 74mm (although this states 106, Will an old M730 XT crankset work with a 9spd chain?)

s-l16004

These are pricey, some past auctions:

 

FC-M737

22-32-42, Velobase: Shimano FC-M737, Deore XT M737: BCD 94mm/56mm, although there were 110mm available (see where do i find rings for my xt 737 crankset?).

However, BCD  is actually 94/58 not 56?, from Re: SHIMANO deore XT FC-M737 crank and chainrings – Question

Any 7/8 or 9 speed chain will be fine. It’s part of an 8 speed but will work fine within a 9 speed drivetrain. Any 58/94mm BCD (compact MTB 5-arm, aka “CD” or “compact drive”) chainrings should fit. Yes, 4-arm is more common nowadays, but CD rings are still readily available. (Be careful not to confuse CD with road compact, which is the same as the old 5-arm ATB standard, 74/110mm BCD.)

and

Be very careful, it may actually be an old 5-arm ATB standard rather than compact drive. Velobase certainly think it is a 74/110mm BCD set.

You won’t have any trouble finding rings to fit, just make sure you do get the right BCDs.

and

They’re wrong. It’s a compact drive chainset. If in doubt, note the photo of the label on the big ring: “Hyperdrive-C” – that’s the compact designation.
and
Here’s a definitive review of the cranks from bikepro, a most wonderful website! http://www.bikepro.com/products/cranks/shim-atb.html
and
Info here. Your cranks are compact 5-arm MTB type, 94/58 – the last variant listed in the BCD section.
Also from Shimano Cranks

Shimano’s M737 is the new HyperDrive-C Deore XT crankset. The HyperDrive-C cranks use much shorter spider arms and smaller chainrings which reduce the on-bike weight of the cranks. Previous versions the XT cranks were cold forged, this is no longer a feature Shimano promotes so the M737 must be forged using a more common molten aluminum process. After forging, the spider has some milling work performed to take off burrs and give the arm a clean line for the chainrings. They are then drilled for the dust caps, spindles (both B/B and pedal), and the fixing bolts. The B/B spindles are broached to make the 2¡ tapered square for the B/B spindle and tapped with 22mm x 1mm threads for the dust cap, and the 9/16 x 20 threads for the pedals. The arms are given a fine, even, textured surface, then clear anodized leaving a Silver color, left as un-painted aluminum they are easily able to be inspected for defects or cracks. Each of the arms has the name “Shimano Deore XT” screened Black lettering near the B/B spindle, (you may remember when these were still cold forged cranks that the name was engraved in the face of each arm, this is likely a casualty of the Dollar/Yen exchange rate, creating a high yen value or “Endaka”). The XT cranks come with three SuperGlide SG-X type, round chain- rings, using the Shimano standard 58mm inner and 94mm outer bolt pattern. The outer aluminum chainring shows some splendid workmanship. Made of 4mm thick aluminum plate, the piece is very cleanly die- cut to shape, then turned on a lathe to reduce the thickness to the 2.12mm

The chainring is stamped to make the tooth points and give them the necessary shape for the SG-X shift gate pattern. Certain parts of the inner side of outer chainring are milled away to make the beds for the four SG-X steel pins used to lift the chain to the top of teeth. Two SG-X portals exist on the outer chainring which are anodized Black before the steel pins and the aluminum anti-jam pin are riveted to in place. The middle chainring is made of 2.6mm thick aluminum plate, that is die-cut then turned on a lathe to reduce the thickness to 2.0mm in the area of the teeth. The piece is stamped to give it necessary corrugation for the SG-X feature, make the points of the teeth and the SG-X shape to the teeth. The middle chainring is anodized in a Silver color, then the 4 steel shift gates are riveted to the back of the piece. The inner chainring is die-cut from steel plate, turned on a lathe to taper the tooth points, then Chrome plated. The inner chainring is a high wear point traveling several more revolutions than the middle and outer, the use of a steel inner is wise. The crankset comes with 5mm hex head fixing bolts to fasten all three chainrings to the arms. The fixing bolts and nuts are made of steel. The bolt set to hold the inner chainring is also made of steel and has 5mm hex fittings for removal. Included is a set of Shimano “cap-less design” crank bolts. These bolts are made of chromed steel with an 8mm hex fitting for removal or installation of the bolt, (to remove the arms without damage, will still require a crank arm pulling tool). Around the out- side of these 13 grams bolts a Black plastic dust seal snaps. XT cranks will work with any 2 degree tapered spindle bottom bracket, Shimano recommends using a 107 or 113mm spindle length. We stock the cranks in 170mm, 175mm, or 180mm lengths with either 22-32-42 or 22-32-44 tooth SuperGlide chainrings. We can also special order if needed the XT cranks in a 165mm length. The Shimano XT crankset comes as right arm, left arm, three chainrings, all the required fixing bolts, and a set of chrome capless crank bolts. XT cranks, 175mm long, using 22-32-44 chainrings, with all included parts, weigh 696.5 grams. When ordering specify length and chainring sizes.

However, from this post on What is your favorite square-taper Crankset?

Originally Posted by Jeff Wills View Post

I think the FC-MT60 was melt-forged where the FC-M730 was cold-forged. Someone will no doubt correct me if I’m wrong. One nice thing about the Deore XT (M730) cranks is that they came in 180mm- good for my gangly legs.

4bb7e3da-da44-477f-91b5-36f6841f277d

The 7xx and 9xx (XTR) were cold forged… the XTR is a thing of exquisite beauty but the finish is not quite as robust as the Deore.

Shimano Deore XT M737 crankset (M730, 175 mm), £60 + £7

Deore XT FC-M737
Deore XT FC-M737

 

FC-M739

22-32-42

Shimano Chainset Crankset Crank Arms Set Retro Choice Triple W/Rings XT Deore.., £129.99

Deore XT FC-M739

With bottom bracket (BB-UN72)

 

See Shimano M739 cranks vs M737, chainline & Q-factor question

It should be noted that the right hand crank can be removed from the mount, see image below showing the circlip, from 1990s SHIMANO DEORE XT FC-M739 ALLOY 170MM VINTAGE MOUNTAIN BIKE MTB CRANKSET, £24+£6 (a real bargain).

FC-M739 showing circlip
FC-M739 showing circlip

This crankset has had the usual four bolt spider mount replaced with a standard five bolt mount:

FC-M739 with five bolt bolt
FC-M739 with five bolt bolt

Another rare example, Shimano Deore XT FC-M739 Crankset,94/60 BCD,175mm,22/32/42,5 bolts, USED, JAPAN, $225

The BCD of this standard five bolt mount is 94/58, if it is the same as the cranks in this link, FC M739 5 arm 177,5 mm cranks + 44 chainring SOLD

BCD 94/58

With respect to the four bolt spider mount, usually seen with the FC-M739, see XT M739 Chainset Question.

It looks like the outer ring is joined to the crank spider? so I guess a regular 4-bolt outer ring won’t fit?

The BCD of which is 104/64, from Shimano FC M739 Crankset

Those cranks were new in 1996 and the first of the 104/64 pattern. They did make the big ring integrated with the spider, same as the M95x series XTR cranks. Shimano went from an engineering perspective with a stiffer integrated setup rather than a user friendly replaceable chainring. This was a brand new bolt pattern optimized for the 22T and 32T rings. Now everyone is using it. The bulged look was new with this model and not far off from the new XT cranks. It was a big transition year that lead to what we have today.

As an aside, it is interesting to note that whilst the FC-M560 generally has the spider integrated into the arm, there is a version of the FC-M560 which has a similar crank arm to the FC-M739 above, with the removable spider, Shimano Deore LX FC-M560 crankset 175mm, 42/32/22

s-l1600-31

FC-MC33/36

These are from the Alivio range (according to this), and/or the STX (according to this), not the Deore XT.

I saw these SHIMANO crankset Fc-mc33 Fc-mc36 Welgo Pedals, £15. Very cheap, slightly mismatching left (MC33 – 170mm) and right (MC36 – 175mm), with only one 42T ring.

s-l1600-8

However, extra rings can be fitted, but the MC aren’t compatible with other chainset, as the MC36 are 94/58 mm bolt-circle diameter (BCD) as compared to 110 mm BCD chainrings – although there is a BioPace adapter, that you may be able to find… However, the bashguard can not be put on a M730 (BCD 110) although it would fit a M737/9 (BCD 94)

From Shimano STX SE FC-MC31 chain rings,  the MC range used 94 BCD

Unless I am wrong the outer ring on any other MC 32, 33, 34 or 36 are all 94mm BCD and not compatible with the MC31 being a 95mm BCD

and this post corrects the above post to 95 BCD for MC31-33

As far is I understood. the MC31 to MC33 all used the same setup. The outer & middle rings bolt together with some spacers between. The middle ring has two sets of bolt holes, the smaller set is 58mm bcd. These are used to bolt the two outer rings to the arm, The granny ring uses the same mounting bolts. These chainrings aren’t comparable with other cranksets- so may well be 95 bcd.

I’ve had all three models at one point or another & swapped chainrings around without any issues (although that may have been dumb luck).

Even if the outer BCD does vary, as long as you have matching outer & middle rings, it shouldn’t make a difference anyway?

As I mentioned. The alternative is the Pace adapter which would allow you to use standard 94mm BCD chainrings.

See also FC-mc36 equivalent

For an equivalent, you’d need to find a 5 arm spidered square taper crank, with (I think) a 94/58 mm bcd to use your existing rings. And one that would give you the right chainline with your existing BB.

I’m not sure what todays equivalent would be, or if it even exists. Most MTB compact triple chainsets use a 104/64 combo, though there are others.

Other FC-MC3x

Also, Shimano STX Vintage Retro Triple Chainset / Cranks. FC-MC34 175mm 42T/32T/22T, £13

s-l1600-9

Retro Shimano STX FC-MC31 SE Triple 7 Speed Chainset 42/34/32 175mm S/Taper, £15

Manuals

Manual FC-MC36 (PDF: SI-F6BLA-000-00-ENG _ Shimano FC-MC36)

From Maintenance Guide (PDF: DM-FC0003-06-ENG_Shimano FC-4703):

Screen Shot 2019-04-25 at 23.46.09.png

Comparison chart

From Shimano specifications

Screen Shot 2019-04-25 at 21.10.28.png

Front Chainwheel (FC)

Shimano table #2a

Shimano table #2b

TY-80 L/H arm only, BICYCLE CRANKSET L/H SIDE 170 mm ALUMINIUM, SQUARE BB,SHIMANO, SR SUNTOUR, £10

 

Quick Release

From SHIMANO DEORE XT REAR QUICK RELEASE SKEWER WITH SPRINGS HANDY RARE RETRO SPAR, £12.99+£1.95

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Shimano Deore XT Silver QR Rear MTB Wheel Skewer, £5+£3

SHIMANO DEORE XT FRONT Hub Quick Release NOS BX45 R9, £7.50+£7.50

 

Rear hub

FH-M760

Shimano Deore XT Rear Hub and Quick Release Skewer, £10

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