Bicycle Mechanics - Old Gitanes cannot reach biggest gear

I have found an old Gitanes Mixtie 10 speed bike, all seems in pretty good shape except the rear derailer will not ride up to the biggest cog. The parallelogram linkage that moves the cage back and forth is completely closed but the jockey pulley fails to line up with the sprocket, I assume that the hanger is bent outwards. How easy is it to bend the hanger back? Can I put it in the vice and bash it with a hammer?

you might want to check the low limit stop screw, that the shifter cable is free and clean and lube the rd, the basic stuff before resorting to more drastic measures. hammers have their place but perhaps not here.

you might want to check the low limit stop screw, that the shifter cable is free and clean and lube the rd, the basic stuff before resorting to more drastic measures. hammers have their place but perhaps not here.

Thanks, the limit screw is backed off, and you can pull the cable as much as you like, the problem is that the parallel mech is completely closed, so it can't move back any more. If the hanger is bent, I mean the small metal bracket fixing the derailleur to the frame, you normally expect it to be bent inwards, not outwards, the only other thing I could think of was re shimming the rear wheel spindle to move it about the tenth of an inch which would line things up again.

It could be a worn derailleur - if you wiggle the cage, is there more than a mm or two of slop at the bottom of the cage?

Get the chain out of the picture and eye up whether the jockey wheels align vertically under the cogs; if they're true, there's not much chance your hanger is bent.

If your hanger is bent, your derailleur is prolly cactus too. So with a new derailleur on, take off the side plate and jockey wheels and use the main plate of the derailleur cage throughout its range of movement to tell you which way the hanger needs to be bent. Whip off the derailleur and give the hanger a bit of a tweak with a large shifter. Refit the derailleur to check the result and so on.

Before you start whacking this and modifying that consider that the set-up probably did work originally and look for the reason that it now doesn't. Do you have another RD around? A quick easy check would be to swap it out and see if that one will reach the large cog. Disconnect the cable and check for full movement. Look for excessive play in the derailleur pivots. Eyeball the derailleur to see if it looks visibly out line, this is easiest by looking from the back of the bike.

Oh yeah, someone might have put a washer inside the dropout.

It's Gitane.

Innit Mixte too?

Innit Mixte too?

Yes the bike not the Cigarettes, and mixte or mixtie? both spellings on google, however it might be an old Raleigh as it has Raleigh front derailleur and pedals, however the frame says Tour de France, unfortunately the badge is missing from the front.

"Before you start whacking this and modifying that consider that the set-up probably did work originally and look for the reason that it now doesn't. Do you have another RD around?" Yes that's what puzzling me, I can't see why the jockey won't line up with the big cog. I haven't been able to do too much with it yet as my hands get quite cold with our daily temperatures hovering around zero. Don't have any spare, it's quite an old bike, it was thrown away so I rescued it as it looks quite pretty. Thanks for the inputs, I'll try some non distructive dissasembly before bashing things.

Yes the bike not the Cigarettes, and mixte or mixtie? both spellings on google, however it might be an old Raleigh as it has Raleigh front derailleur and pedals, however the frame says Tour de France, unfortunately the badge is missing from the front.

"Before you start whacking this and modifying that consider that the set-up probably did work originally and look for the reason that it now doesn't. Do you have another RD around?" Yes that's what puzzling me, I can't see why the jockey won't line up with the big cog. I haven't been able to do too much with it yet as my hands get quite cold with our daily temperatures hovering around zero. Don't have any spare, it's quite an old bike, it was thrown away so I rescued it as it looks quite pretty. Thanks for the inputs, I'll try some non distructive dissasembly before bashing things.

I did bend the dropout and now it will select all the gears, it was relatively easy as the steel is quite soft

I did bend the dropout and now it will select all the gears, it was relatively easy as the steel is quite soft
The bike probably fell onto the derailleur side at some point, bending the tab.

The bike probably fell onto the derailleur side at some point, bending the tab.

Wierd I had to bend it the opposite way, i.e. intowards the wheel, whereas you would expect it to be the other way round if it was dropped, pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/47883438@N04/ if anyone can help me identify the make or year I would be grateful.

Wierd I had to bend it the opposite way, i.e. intowards the wheel, whereas you would expect it to be the other way round if it was dropped, pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/47883438@N04/ if anyone can help me identify the make or year I would be grateful.

Doesn't look like a gitane to me, could be wrong though with the lack of decals