If you read a few of my project review, you know that I like to test different stuff and assemble funky bikes. When Wolf tooth asked me to test their Tanpan, I was pretty excited since I could push the enveloppe of the Marketplace project.
About Wolf tooth
Wolf Tooth was founded to design and manufacture precision cycling products that emphasize function, performance, and reliability to meet the needs of our fellow racers and riders. They are a group of cyclists that spend a lot of time talking about bike components. Like most detail-obsessed riders, they are always looking for new products that could make our bikes lighter, faster, more versatile, or more reliable.
They are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Despite the frigid winters and relatively flat terrain, Minneapolis has earned a reputation of being one of the top cycling cities in the US. In recent years, Minnesota has become a hotbed for the emerging snow bike scene with several groomed singletrack trails and an endless network of snowmobile trails that spread across most of the state. This is in addition to roads with stunning scenery, world-class gravel, and an ever-growing roster of MTB parks.
The Tanpan
The Tanpan makes Shimano 10- and 11-speed road shifters work with 10- and 11-speed mountain bike rear derailleurs.
Crossing boundaries and breaking down walls: the Tanpan brings the range and security of Shimano mountain rear derailleurs to Shimano-equipped drop-bar bicycles. This means a greater gearing range for bigger adventures, better chain security for rough terrain, and lighter weight and reduced complexity for the daily commute.
In order to deliver these benefits, the Tanpan amplifies road shifter cable pull to allow for seamless communication with mountain derailleurs. The result is ideal for riders looking to convert their road, gravel, cyclocross, or commuter bike to the simplicity and light weight of a single chainring – or for those whose riding demands lower gearing than a typical double can provide. With the addition of a clutch-equipped Shadow+ rear derailleur, the Tanpan provides unparalleled chain security for Shimano road drivetrains.
The 17g Tanpan installs in moments, tucking neatly above the rear derailleur and an indexed barrel provides for quick and easy cable adjustment. Each Tanpan is CNC machined in the USA by Wolf Tooth and comes fitted with precision stainless steel hardware and a sealed cartridge bearing.
Installation.
The installation was fairly easy following the how to install on their website. I had a long cage Shimano Deore 12 speed derailleur and it was compatible without any issues. Wolf Tooth recommend to readjust the derailleur after 2 rides but in my case I stretched it to 5 or 6 rides and over 400 km without any problems at all.
Testing
The Tanpan was perfect for our Marketplace bikepacker project. We had some 2×11 Shimano GRX610 levers, but I wanted to run an 11-speed cassette in the rear. While we were at it, we installed an 11-51 Sunrace cassette for more range, coupled with a 34-tooth chainring.
When we announced that we would be testing the Tanpan, some people on social media mentioned they had issues with it, particularly with adjusting the derailleur properly. In my opinion, these problems likely stemmed from not following the instructions correctly. After riding over 2400 km with the Tanpan on my bike, I had no issues whatsoever.
In conclusion
The Tanpan is the perfect component for those who want to run mountain bike derailleurs and larger cassettes without needing to change levers when using 10 or 11-speed gravel or road shifters. It helps keep costs low by allowing the use of affordable mountain bike components available on Marketplace.
You can have more information about Wolf Tooth components here:
