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Questions and answers about sports

Derailleur and back wheel alignment issues

5 min read

Asked by: Rebecca Shaw

How do you fix a misaligned rear derailleur?


Quote from video: So if you have an l-shaped allen key that's great you can insert that into the mounting bolt of your derailleur. And you can use that as a lineman gauge.

Why is my rear derailleur not straight?

A common cause of a misaligned hanger is from the bike falling over to the right side. This pushes the derailleur body inward, bending the hanger. It is often possible to repeatedly re-bend many derailleur hangers. This is because there is very little stress from riding the bike or shifting gears.

How do I know if my rear derailleur is worn out?

Worn Derailleur



All derailleurs wear out at some point. Check for wear by pulling laterally on the lower cage. Compare this movement in the linkage of a new derailleur. Sloppy pivot and linkages will produce inconsistent shifting, and the only solution is a new derailleur.

Why do derailleurs move?

Loose or worn pulley wheels can greatly affect shifting. If your pulleys wobble, the teeth are worn, or the bearings/bushings are sticky you will need to replace them so the derailleur can properly do its job. Chainrings bolts occasionally work loose.

How do you fix misaligned bike gears?

Quote from video: It should just go smoothly to the next gear the way to do that is by winding the barrel adjuster. Out. And then it'll shift straight up to the next gear.

How much does it cost to fix a bent derailleur?

There can be a range of prices for replacement derailleurs, starting around $20 and going all the way up to $700.

How do I know if my rear derailleur cage is bent?

Quote from video: When we're trying to shift. Down becomes quite erratic or vice-versa. The key is to look at the rear derailleur we can see it's bent slightly inward.

How do I know if my rear derailleur hanger is bent?

Rotate the arm of the alignment tool to the 12 o’clock position (pointing straight up). If your hanger is straight, the gauge arm should sit in the same position relative to the rim. If it’s not straight, this will indicate the direction in which the hanger is bent.

How long should a rear derailleur last?

Derailleurs will last almost indefinitely. The jockey wheels will wear out in time (tens of thousands of km) but the rest of the mechanism shouldn’t see significant wear. It could be that the spring will break at some point due to material fatigue, but that is also a relatively easy to replace part on most derailleurs.

How often should you replace derailleur?

Once the chain wears “or stretches”, it starts wearing the cogs and you pretty much need to replace both to get shifting working again. If it’s been 6 months and you’ve been riding much at all, you should have replaced the chain at least once.

How do you align a derailleur?

Quote from video: We then rotate the tool hundred and eighty degrees. If this gap is larger than three millimeters. We know our hanger needs a bit of straightening. So we bend and we measure our distance to the rim.

How do I know if my gears are aligned?

Quote from video: First we paint a positive onto the sides of two teeth with the bluing compound. Next we rotate the pinion into the gear. Once we ensure adequate transfer of the bluing compound.

How do you realign gears?

Quote from video: Watch how the shifting is hesitant as it goes from the smallest to the next biggest cog. That's an indication that there's not quite enough tension on that cable. We'll check it through the whole

How do I line up my bike gears?

Quote from video: Похожие запросы

Can a rear derailleur be fixed?

Some problems can be repaired trailside while others require parts and tools most riders don’t commonly carry. Your bike’s drivetrain is really a simple system, and if you know what to look for, you can easily repair your derailleur yourself.

What angle should derailleur be?

That means when using a road front derailleur on a bike with a significantly non-standard chainline (e.g. no chainstay angle to measure) then use an angle of about 71 degrees between the post and the chain line. If it’s a mountain front derailleur, something slacker to match a mountain bike’s seat-post angle.

How do you adjust a Shimano rear derailleur?

Quote from video: The derailleur down into the small cog. Once we do that we're going to turn the barrel adjuster all the way in so that we have room to adjust it. After adjusting the cable position at the anchor.

Can you fix bent derailleur?

How to repair a bent derailleur hanger. You have two options here: try bending the hanger back into alignment, or replace it with a brand new hanger.

How do you align a derailleur?

Quote from video: We then rotate the tool hundred and eighty degrees. If this gap is larger than three millimeters. We know our hanger needs a bit of straightening. So we bend and we measure our distance to the rim.

How long does a rear derailleur last?

Good quality rear derailleur can last between 3 to 5 years, when unbranded or low-quality ones can last for 2 years, no matter what the durability of the rear derailleur the jockey wheel will wear after time and it can be replaced very cheaply with new ones, on the other hand, front derailleur can last almost