Originally Posted by
DXchulo
What's worn out about it? Do you need new pulleys, is the spring worn out, or what? I'd be skeptical that the derailleur is worn out. My main bike still has an old 9-speed Ultegra RD from 2005 with lots of miles on it (I ride 10,000/yr total, but I split that between my road bike and the commuter bike.) and it's still going strong.
My Campagnolo Veloce derailleur, after 5 years and 20,000 miles, was getting less precise on the shifts. I tried new cables, but it didn't help. I've taken good care of the derailleur, keeping it clean and lubing the pivots regularly.
So I found a good deal on last year's Veloce derailleur. What a huge difference. Comparing the old and new, the new one is tight, and the old one is a bit loose in the pivots. It's very noticeable when wiggling the pulley cage. I see they changed the design to place the pivots farther out, and they are beefier, too.
Now the shifts drop right into the cogs with no grinding or late shifting from being off center. It shifts like new.