Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
FWIW, I haven't lubed a derailleur in over a decade and I'll match shifting performance with anybody. About the only regular maintenance that I do on actual derailleurs is to wipe it clean.
+1
No need to lube derailleurs. I use silicone automotive doorlock grease on new cables and then leave them alone until they need replacing.
One way to improve shifting performance is to loosen the short housing found just before the rear derailleur, slide it forward on the cable to expose the cable. Lube the cable and re-assemble. But instead of doing this I usually just replace the shift cables and housings when they get sluggish. They're cheap.