Bicycle Mechanics - Shimano LX destruction on tour

Well, I was about 500 km into my tour of Europe and Asia, when in Hamburg, Germany, my new LX (feb 07) rear derailleur snapped off the housing on the dropouts and wrapped around the rear axle, snapping three spokes as it went. I clean and oil the bike every three days, and when this happened, the bike was certainly not under high stress.

This shouldnt happen right? It has the potential to wreck my entire trip, as Im from Australia, super-tight budget, and there is probably no chance of replacement parts.

What can I do, and how much money am I looking at?

Sounds like your derailer traveled a bit too far in the direction of the low limit and got tangled up in the spokes. You should be cursing the person who set that up (or who bumped the derailer and bent the hanger).

You probably need a new derailer, couple of spokes and maybe a new derailer hanger. Labor involved will be truing the wheel, adjusting the derailer hanger and setting up the new derailer.

I'd say you'd get through this for less than $100 usd if you don't need to have an LX derailer. Shimano Alivio or Deore will suit you fine.

I agree that the cause and effect was probably the other way around. The derailleur traveled too far inward, caught in the spokes breaking them and the tangle then tore the derailleur loose.

BTW, was this the first time you tried to shift into the largest cog? I would guess it was and the misadjustment problem was there all along but didn't show up until then.

I agree with your diagnosis, but I had used that gear combo many times before....a completely random event! In the future, how will I know if the R derailleur is not adjusted too far?

An object lesson on the occasional utility of the dork disk, unfortunately. Good luck on repairs and on the rest of your tour.