Rear derailleur is not working correctly
5 min read
Asked by: Brittany Bassett
Often sluggish and reluctant shifts are due to debris buildup between the shift housing and the shift cable, kinks in the cable and/or housing, or worn out housing. As above, make sure your derailleur, hanger, and cassette are tight, and your wheel is properly seated and tight.
How do I know if my rear derailleur is bad?
Quote from video: We get it to shift up to a bigger cog. 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 you fix a rear derailleur?
Quote from video: We're going to find the correct setting by purposely making it too tight then we'll back it out slightly. Until it's just right. So grab your screwdriver and tighten the age grew a half turn.
How do you fix a derailleur that won’t shift?
If derailleur does not succeed in shifting the chain into the next largest ring or hesitates, add cable tension. Once you get to the largest cog, shift back into the smallest rings. If there is any hesitation or the chain will not shift back into the smaller rings, remove cable tension until the shift is successful.
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.
What is wrong with my derailleur?
Often sluggish and reluctant shifts are due to debris buildup between the shift housing and the shift cable, kinks in the cable and/or housing, or worn out housing. As above, make sure your derailleur, hanger, and cassette are tight, and your wheel is properly seated and tight.
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 much does it cost to fix a derailleur?
There can be a range of prices for replacement derailleurs, starting around $20 and going all the way up to $700.
Why does my rear derailleur click?
A clicking noise often comes from your chain wanting to jump up or down a gear on the rear cassette. This can typically be fixed by adjusting the tension of the cable that runs from your shifter to your rear derailleur.
Why does my rear derailleur jump?
Without enough cable tension to properly regulate your derailleur (the part of your bike that shifts the chain from one sprocket to the next), your chain will begin to skip. The most typical recommendation for fixing a skipping chain is to add tension to the rear derailleur.
Why are my gears not shifting?
Over time, dirt, debris and other tiny particles can accumulate in the transmission fluid, affecting its fluid properties. This can cause the vehicle to die when you shift into drive or reverse, allow a loss of power, transmission slip, rough shifts or even prevent the vehicle from shifting into gear at all.
How do I know if I need a new derailleur?
If there’s play, get a new one. Also, drip some Tri-Flow or something into all the pivots. If it’s really dirty and sticky, it’ll have a harder time with the shift you describe. If with clean, lubricated pivots the derailleur still won’t move well, you probably need a new one.
Why are my bike gears not shifting?
This is usually caused by an overly tight gear cable or the low limiting screw that needs adjusting. You can test this by shifting to the lowest gear and seeing if your front derailleur is in line with the smallest chainring. If not, try adjusting the limiting screw. Alternatively, your gear cable may be too tight.
Why is my derailleur hitting my cassette?
Most derailleurs will drag on the top cog of a 34 t cassette when the bike is upside down, but not when it’s right-side up. If it does it when it’s right side up, shorten the loop of cable on the derailleur. Shortening the housing loop is not the best idea. You should adjust the b-tension screw.
Why is my rear derailleur clicking?
A clicking noise often comes from your chain wanting to jump up or down a gear on the rear cassette. This can typically be fixed by adjusting the tension of the cable that runs from your shifter to your rear derailleur.
Why is my derailleur clicking?
If you hear a constant clicking (especially in certain gears), it could mean that your shifter cables have stretched enough to pull your derailleur out of alignment, causing your chain to ride between gears or rub on the derailleur cage. First, make sure your derailleur is aligned and that the hanger isn’t bent.
Why does my rear derailleur jump?
Without enough cable tension to properly regulate your derailleur (the part of your bike that shifts the chain from one sprocket to the next), your chain will begin to skip. The most typical recommendation for fixing a skipping chain is to add tension to the rear derailleur.
Do derailleur springs wear out?
That said, derailleur springs will lose tension overtime, and pivots will get sloppier. Shifters can wear out too (if you ride enough), and most cannot be serviced back to health. But before you go sinking money into these more expensive components, best try a new cable/housing or get a second opinion.
How do I know if my derailleur needs replacing?
Quote from video: So how are you going to know that if those bearings are on their way out or in fact already got well the easiest way is certainly to remove the back wheel.
Can you tighten a derailleur spring?
Press cage into derailleur body and begin to rotate derailleur cage toward back of derailleur. It is important to always wrap the spring tighter in the same direction as the coil.