Bicycle Mechanics - Derailer question

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chele
09-07-06, 06:10 PM
Hi! I'm new here and need a little help. I have a Rhoades Car and the derailer hangs down quite a bit giving me only about 3 inches of ground clearance. http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y97/MicheleKrier/P9070020.jpg
It's not a big problem as I don't ride off-road, and when going over curbs the derailer flexes back so nothing gets broken. I noticed though that when I take the chain off the front sprocket the derailer goes back/higher off the ground. Could I solve the problem by lengthening the chain? Or is there a derailer that doesn't hang down so much? It's probably not a problem on a bike where the derailer is next to a wheel so I don't even know if they make such a thing. Thanks in advance!

Bikewer
09-07-06, 06:36 PM
Looks like you have a pretty big low cog on that rig, so the long-cage DR is probably a necessity. Lengthening the chain to the degree necessary to let the cage achieve a more horizontal position in the lower gears would mean lots of rubbing in the high gears....

Don't see much help here; maybe a fabricated bash-guard?
chele
09-07-06, 08:58 PM
Well dang, sounds like lengthening the chain won't work. I don't think I want a bash guard, as the derailer will move back/out of the way in times of need, whereas the bash guard would not. I thought of trying to change it to 36 gears, but looking at pictures it doesn't look like that solves this particular dilemna!