Originally Posted by
sd5782
Lots of fun discussions on long cage derailleurs here lately. I recently came into a first version Campy Rally on a rough Raleigh. I have read how they break and I can see the weak spot. My question is what causes them to break there? Is it from rough use with lots of tension while shifting? Maybe just fatigue and falls apart? Or is it from an added stress like a dropped chain binding everything up and this is the weak spot? I am hoping it is abuse and careful use could increase the odds of it lasting. Thoughts?
Huh good question. I've seen a half dozen or so that broke and maybe another half dozen in pictures, but I was never there to witness it. I just assumed it was from the bike falling over/crashing, or maybe shifting past the big sprocket into the spokes. But even going into spokes is so often a secondary effect of the bike falling or crashing, and bending the hanger in enough to let it hit the spokes. So I'm putting my money on the broken ones were in contact with the ground at least once.
I'd be surprised if any broke just from normal use, like during a normal shift, or JRA.