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Tech Rear Derailleur bushes

wexford

Maximum Pace
Jul 3, 2012
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Decided to replace my chain today. Not done yet as I'm cleaning everything (as you do). Found that one of my rear derailleur bushes doesn't really move freely while the other one spins. Gonna take it apart and see if there is anything I can de-grease, re-grease. Never dug in there before. Bit shocked at how stiff it was.
 
You mean the jockey wheels?

You can take them apart and regrease. That might sort it. I did the same thing when I built Andys bike. Have a look in that thread if you fancy.
 
Yeah. Those things :) Ah - that thread! Good one. Will look.
 
Haha, nice.

Yeah they are pretty simple. What mech is it?
 
Back in my noob days I finally traced an almost-ultrasonic squeak to one of these. I'd been spraying degreaser on it when cleaning my drivetrain. Oddly, there was no grease left in it.

@wexford you should throw the parts away and buy ceramic ones from @GSAstuto - just because they exist.
 
^lol, those Chinese aftermarket soft aluminium jockey wheels are shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite. They wear down in about a week.

Ceramic bearings though, so they are more aero-dynamic and only suffer from 0.0003% harmonic distortion.
 
Ultegra 6700. Sorry got distracted for a while. Bike is done now though. First time using a chain tool. Not so hard at all. Just intimidating I guess as I had to measure a new chain (old chain was too long as I switched my cranks a while back). While I was at it, I took the front derailleur off too and regreased it. Always fun to put that back on. Anyway - back to those jockey thingies... So the lower is fine and dandy and the top needed help. The ultegra seems to use ceramic bearings so not sure what all the fuss is about. Took it apart and degreased it. Dried it up.

Was wondering where to apply grease. Couldn't find details in the ultra build thread due to my incompetence perhaps. Ended up putting it between the two ceramic parts, the removable inner core and the surrounding part that make up the bearing. That still didn't spin freely (although it was better). Took it apart again and cleaned it. Maybe the grease was too heavy. Next I sprayed it with Teflon dry chain lube in the same area. Back on the bike, still not spinning as nicely as the other one. Gave up as didn't want to spend all day on it and figured, I'd research a bit more and fix it another day. So partial success strikes again!
 
Can you take a photo of the disassembled jockey wheel bearing?

What two 'ceramic parts'?

I don't think Ultegra 6700 jockey wheels use ceramic bearings...
 
Can you take a photo of the disassembled jockey wheel bearing?

What two 'ceramic parts'?

I don't think Ultegra 6700 jockey wheels use ceramic bearings...

You see - I knew I should have taken a photo. I knew it. Really I did. I'll take it apart again a bit later tonight or after tomorrows ride. I have to go out for a while. It does say ceramic on them though and the bearing parts are white in color. Thanks for trying to help as usual :)
 
Btw, I only did the jockey wheel that was stiffer than the other, so I didn't check if the other wheel was ceramic or not. However, here is a link I found just now.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/jp/ja/shimano-jockey-wheels-road/rp-prod28108

One guy commented:

"One wheel was with ceramics while the other was bearing. Would had bought the Dura Ace jockey wheels as bearings will definitely spin better than the ceramics. Dura Ace both jockey wheels fitted with bearings, Ultegra one was ceramic (Non-bearing) and another was bearings."

So perhaps that is the difference. The ceramic just doesn't spin as good?
 
This is all a bit vague and messy.

Get some photos of it disassembled and let's get to the god damn bottom of this!
 
This is all a bit vague and messy.

Get some photos of it disassembled and let's get to the god damn bottom of this!

Ok. sorry to disappoint but I had another quick read around and I think what I have is normal at this point so rather than mess with it more tonight, I'll leave it and have a few carbs for tomorrow.

This link had some good info on the feeling of the two wheels that made me feel better about how the top one feels.
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/components-wrenching/new-ultegra-rd-6700-problem-217449.html

Shimano's part breakdown of the derailleur.
https://static.bike-components.de/cache/dl-rd-6700-1-pdf-4ac2410f7152349297106e306ad07396.pdf

Here's the relevant parts pulled from that pdf.
Screen Shot 2015-05-19 at 19.23.28.png

parts 1 and 6 are metal covers
parts 2 and 5 are rubber seals that hold parts 1 and 6 nicely into place inside 3.
part 4 is ceramic and sits into part 3.

I put grease inside the hole in 3 initially and slid 4 into it and then reassembled. Don't know if I needed grease else where?
Finally cleaned off the grease as it was still not as free as the lower wheel and tried teflon dry lube. No change in feeling but I guess the grease would be better. I presume that was the correct place to grease and perhaps the only place that needed it?
 
Grease the whole thing; 3, 4, 5 and inside 6. Light coating.

Check for any bent parts which could be causing, for example, part 6 to touch part 3 when tightened down.

Have your homework done by tomorrow evening, or I will give the prefects permission to 'radish' you again.
 
image.jpg

Whacky rotation but here you go (edit; fixed it). Harder to work on it with the chain on but doable. Ok. All greased up again as you suggested. Feels the same still though. Although I should add better than when I started. Thanks for the sound advice and for frightening me into it again tonight. Better to have the grease in there me thinks. Haha.
 
How tight is it, when you rotate it?

As tight as... ?
 
How tight is it, when you rotate it?

As tight as... ?

Put your finger on the lower pulley and flick it. It keeps spinning for a short period. Do the same with the upper pulley and it spins but stops almost immediately. There is less friction than before so it feels better than when I started but it doesn't keep spinning like the other one. Nothing looked bent or worn to me. I think from reading the other posts that it is normal behavior now - just not a difference I expected to have before I knew any of this. Parts 3 and 4 seat together quite well and just slips out when it is not greased.
 
Put all the parts together in your hand and pinch the two plates together with your fingers. Spin it. Is it loose like this, or does it have the same tightness?

If it has the same tightness, remove the rubber seals and try again.. Does that make a difference?
 
Thanks for trying to help. But I'll take my chances with the prefect at this point I think. But yes, spinning in my hand has the same tightness. Didn't try without the rubber seals.
 
OK so it is not an issue caused by tightening in the mech cage, but an issue with the jockey wheel unit itself.

Try it without rubber seals. Takes less time than typing a post.
 
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