Equinox

I use Tri-Flow. Should I lube the pulleys on the rear derailleur?

simplify

Since those pulleys get constantly sprayed with road grit, there's a much better way to lube them than to just spray some Tri-Flow on them, which would just carry that grit inside the bushings where it can do some real damage. To do it right, you need to disassemble and clean them really well, which is very easy to do by just taking apart the pulley cage. The pulley wheels come apart easily and you can clean the inner part and then apply some clean grease in there where it will stay put and not get easily contaminated by dirt. You want the lubricant inside the pulleys, but no residue out in the open where it will just attract more dirt.

moxfyre

+1, this is the only reliable way to lube pulleys

Grease is a much better lubricant for pulleys than TriFlow, since a thin liquid lubricant will run out quickly and get replaced with dirt. If you put grease in there, you keep the pulleys lubricated for a while and also keep the dirt out better. For what it's worth, I *stuff* the pulleys full of grease. I put a ton of grease in between the plastic pulley and the aluminum bushings that sit on either side of it.

Bikewer

Whenever I'm doing a rebuild, I always pop the DRs off and thoroughly clean and lube same. The way the pulleys are made, it's very difficult for anything applied from the outside to get in there.

Equinox

Thank you so much for your thoughtful advice.