Have questions or want to discuss cycling? Join Now or Sign In to participate in the BikeRide community.

New: Take Part in the September Giveaway to Win the Luckeep X1 Pro ebike


Trouble with chain & rear derailleur pulleys
#1
Hi,

While fixing a broken chain, the chain came completely off of my rear derailleur. I fed it back through (in a way I thought was right) and fixed the chain. When I tried riding the bike again, it pedaled smoothly at first but gradually became choppier and then became so slack that pedaling was ineffective.

In trying to figure out what went wrong, I noticed that the arrangement of the rear derailleur pulleys had changed. The first two attached photos show what they look like now. They basically do nothing to support the chain. If I hold the lower pulley back, as shown in the third attachment, the chain appears to feed through everything properly, but when I let go, the pulley springs back to the position in the other photos. The upper pulley can also be pushed forward (so that the part in the photo that says "GOLDEN-SUN" would be horizontal), which is how every photo of normal derailleurs I can find looks.

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong? My understanding is that the purpose of those pulleys is to take up slack in the chain. When I fixed my chain, I did end up shortening it, but it still looked like there was plenty of slack. Can a short chain cause this problem?

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
  Reply
#2
My GUESS is that the spring stop inside the RD or the spring broke.

I would replace the RD with this:
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Tourney-TX35-Derailleur-Speed/dp/B003ZMH69S/

And replace the chain and freewheel at the same time - that freewheel looks questionable.

Chains need to be properly sized; the instructions for the TX35 show you how; or search on the 'net for proper determination of chain length.
Nigel
  Reply
#3
Some of these derailleurs don't have a stop on them to prevent the whole pulley cage from rotating around and allowing the main spring to unwind. You might try removing the chain, then try to rotate the pulley cage counter clockwise one revolution before re-installing the chain. If I'm right, it should develop enough tension to keep the chain tight, but not so much that you blow the derailleur apart.

Otherwise, I think nfmisso is probably right and the spring either broke or popped out of one of its seats. May have to replace.
  Reply
#4
(04-07-2014, 01:03 PM)DaveM Wrote:  Some of these derailleurs don't have a stop on them to prevent the whole pulley cage from rotating around and allowing the main spring to unwind. You might try removing the chain, then try to rotate the pulley cage counter clockwise one revolution before re-installing the chain. If .....
Hi Dave; Great suggestion; I have not seen that one before, and it makes a great deal of sense. Hopefully this will be the case, and save the OP some cash.
Nigel
  Reply
#5
Thanks for the ideas! I'll try them out this evening and see how it goes.
  Reply
#6
Update:

I know it's been several days, but I just wanted to say that rotating the pulley cage worked like a charm!

Thanks to both of you who replied. I can't tell you how happy I am that this was an easy fix!
  Reply


Possibly Related Threads...

Forum Jump:

[-]
10 Latest Posts
Why Do My Cycling Stats Feel Inaccurate ...
Today 12:37 AM
Shimano Deore cassette with SRAM Apex me...
Today 12:35 AM
Change comes hard in the cycling communi...
Today 12:29 AM
Pogacar wins UCI Road Bike World Champio...
Today 12:26 AM
How to keep your bicycle safe?
Today 12:23 AM
Northeast of India or Myanmar rides
Yesterday 02:15 PM
1 New Knobbly Tire... Front or Back?
10-01-2024 08:06 PM
MTB Night Lighting - What are recommenda...
10-01-2024 07:59 PM
COLNAGO SUPER (unknown year)
09-29-2024 07:29 PM
Any other Bridgestone Picnica OneTouch r...
09-28-2024 07:30 PM

[-]
Join BikeRide on Strava
Feel free to join if you are on Strava: www.strava.com/clubs/bikeridecom

[-]
Top 5 Posters This Month
no avatar 1. Jesper
20 posts
no avatar 2. Flowrider
17 posts
no avatar 3. GirishH
17 posts
no avatar 4. rydabent
15 posts
no avatar 5. meamoantonio
12 posts