Was in the process of refurbishing a nice SunTour V-Luxe to try out on my Peugeot. Noticed that the hanger claw/upper pivot bolt combo was able to rotate freely (to the limit of the stop screw)- other Sun Tour derailleurs I have had were fairly tight (they could be rotated but felt more bound up).

Is this free rotation OK or abnormal? I assume for good operation the RD needs to be able to rotate back and forth on the upper pivot. Everything is nice and tight, though I did try a couple of shims to see if that would make a difference and it did not.

Mark

Some Suntours used a lock nut on the back side of the installation bolt to hold the bolt in with the correct clearance. I believe this was one of them. Roger

Thanks Roger - I believe I have that locknut in the right place as well - I took the claw off another Suntour (V-GT Luxe), and even tried the pivot bolt from that RD as well.

My real question is how free should the rotation be? The way I have assembled things there is no danger of anything coming apart, nor is there any discernable lateral motion - just that the hanger/pivot bolt rotate freely.

Just loose enough so it will pivot on its own without a chain in it. Move the derailleur pulleys to the front or back and let go. It should drop back down on its own. For what its worth and you may have already done this make sure the lock nut is on the inside of the frame. Roger

Thanks Roger - that's what I ended up doing. One of my issues was that I am used to Simplex Prestige for this bike, which has a double spring pivot and so the upper pivot has tension on it all the time.

The Suntour worked well, which I expected (other than the simplex levers have a smaller barrel so low gear has the lever almost completely using up its travel).

Unfortunately it is too cold and icy to try it out - hoping for a nice day or two soon.

Mark