Originally Posted by
raybo
My trusty Waterford touring bike will turn 20 this year. I haven't replaced the derailleur in all that time and the bike seems to shift fine. I don't do a lot of shifting when I ride but I do work the gears a bit up and down the San Francisco hills.
Is there any way to check if my derailleur needs replacing?
raybo, over the years what I have found is that simply by keeping a rear derailleur clean and not gummed up with old chain oil and dirt embedded gunk is pretty much all you need to do. I regularly wipe the exterior as best as I can, wipe down the jockey wheels all the time to keep toothpaste gunk from building up, and once in a while I apply a thin lube on all the pivet points. Wipe off excess, dirt will just get stuck in it.
Once in a blue moon I will use a toothbrush and clean any crud from out of the spring area etc that is hard to get to with a finger and a rag.
Spraying wd-40 in all the crevices does a reasonable job of getting grit out of areas that are hard to get to, but a good thin lube on pivot points is really good. Again, wipe down excess always.
Also, Ive always stored my bikes for the winter with the chain on the smallest rear sprocket and smallest front sprocket-- I figure why have the rd spring under tension when not needed? In other words, I have rear derailleurs that are 15, 20, 30 years old and that are still working perfectly fine.
don't know how you are with keeping your drivetrain clean, but this is the easiest way to keep a rd working fine for ages. The less dirty they are and pivot points lubed, the less wear there is on the various parts.
Heck, one of my bikes is a late 90s mtb that I have used as my Canadian snow, salt and grit winter bike, and that old xt rd is still going, but I do try to keep it clean ish , even in winter.
Depends on how much rain riding you do also, and of course how much dirt riding also.
basically I am amazed by how well front and rear derailleurs hold up over time with fairly simple regular common sense cleaning and lubing.
taking off a rd makes it easier to clean, but I really never do that, although having a bike repair stand is great for making it easier to get to it more comfortably. Removing the chain can make it easier to get to all the nooks and crannies easier too, so if you have ever removed a quick link, this makes it easier.
Dont know how much bike repair stuff you do, but its not that hard.