screwed up jockey wheel

guppie · Mar 15, 2015

Has anybody had to replace a jockey wheel? Not sure what the problem is, but my chain comes off the jockey wheel when I'm in the last 1-2 gears. The derailleur is straight and lines up with just fine with gears... Chain get stuck between the hanger and jockey wheel in the lower cage but nothing major bc the jockey wheel is plastic. Seems like the jockey wheel comes off center but the hangar is screwed together tightly and straight. Should I get a new jockey wheel or should I get a new deraillleur cage or a new derailleur altogether? Shame because the rear derailleur shifts fine (for the most part) and I want to switch to RaceFace NW 1x10. Is it possible to swap the long cage for a short cage? (I've read that a short cage is recommend for the RaceFace NW 1x10 setup).

Shark · Mar 15, 2015

That's weird, never seem that before. My guess is worn jockey wheel, bent cage maybe, how is the chain for wear?

Sounds like a good time to swap to the medium or short cage

dledinger · Mar 15, 2015

Or slap a RADr cage on and you're ready for anything.

Impetus · Mar 15, 2015

I have the same RD and it started doing exactly that a few weeks ago, wore a nice little groove in the inner cage plate before I figured it out. I stole the jockey wheels off my road bike and the problem went away, so I bought new ones and haven't sucked the chain like that even once since. I imagine it has much to do with the teeth getting worn and allowing the chain to roll over and off the jockey wheel.
Replace them ASAP or you'll destroy the cage.

RE: 1x10- There is no 'short' cage for XT RD's, only long and Medium. The recommended cage length for 1x10 is medium. If you want an actual short cage RD, you need a Zee or Saint model made for DH. It's my understanding that it's gonna limit you on how big of a cog you can use, meaning you have to stick with a 11-36 cassette or smaller. No 40 or 42 extended range cog- a short cage can't accommodate an extended range. I'm not 100% certain about the range on the short cage, but by far the most popular option is medium cage, and I've read posts/reviews to substantiate that. Also, OneUp's RADr cage is medium length, and they make the thing specifically for an 11-42 cassette, so that says a lot.
A 1x10 setup is definitely not for everyone. I have had a 1x10 (30x36 granny- medium cage XT) for a while and it works great for about 95% of my riding, but there are some days I just ain't feelin it and wish I had a 40T, mostly after the 3 hour mark on rides when my legs are tired, or when I go up from Phoenix to 8k+ ft ASL in Flagstaff and the air is thin. I'm almost certain I'll be doing the 40T+GoatLink in the very near future.

AaroninSC · Mar 16, 2015

I had a bad/stiff link in my chain that caused this. The problem went away with a new chain.

Robg68 · Mar 16, 2015

I had this problem on my Farley when it was new. The bearing was loose inside the jockey wheel. I brought it back to the bike shop and they replaced the jockey wheel and all has been good.

My bikes--2014 Trek Fuel EX 8-29er, 2014 Trek Crossrip Elite, 2015 Trek Farley 6.

Surestick Malone · Mar 16, 2015

The jockey or guide wheel is the top one. The pic shows the chain coming off your tension pulley.

The teeth on yours don't seem worn, are the bearings okay? How's your chain-line? Does this happen under regular pedalling or back-pedalling?

Also, last two gears? Do you mean the last two small or large cogs and what chainring are you in when this happens?

bgkz25 · Mar 16, 2015

It seems that some of the teeth of that pulley is a bit worn out, some aren't. Probably why the chain jumps off from it.

Cleared2land · Mar 16, 2015

Hey guppie, maybe you could try using that bobbie pin. That might work.

Just joking! The advice sounds good. Prolly not a serious issue.

Good luck with all of your issues!

Tracer650 · Mar 16, 2015

The bearing inside the tension pulley can come loose causing the pulley to float left and right on top of the bearing. Get a new pulley should be warranty

Rmab15 · Mar 16, 2015

What about a new chain? Or Possibly too much wax.. good luck

Procter · Mar 16, 2015

Did you have any crashes or lay-down recently which might have bent the cage a little?

Haggis · Mar 16, 2015

Clutch mechs do this often - the bearing drifts out of the jockey wheel

guppie · Mar 17, 2015

I posted a pic of the bobby pin and the **** works lol.

Back in topic: seems to be a few factors involved and I can probably agree w most. Cheap plastic gets worn fast, bearing does go out of whack bc I have to press the wheel together each time (not sure if wheel coming out of alignment or chain jamming and then pushing bearing out of whack (I didn't write that originally bc I didnt know how to explain it) and I did crash on a big jump but I landed on my front wheel (ate it nasty endo style) and it still shifts flawlessly when using the large fr chainring through all gears. However when I use the samm fr chainring and the 2 smallest rr gears and pedal backwards that's when it seems to happen... I'll take everybody's advice and get a new chain and new rear wheel. Was thinking of getting an aluminum blue wheel for bling but do you think I should stick w plastic in the event it happens again (metal on metal grinding not good)?

man.cave · Mar 18, 2015

Not sure what brand of derailer it is but shouldn't the chain be on the other side of that guide.? The back part of the chain should be in the cage?

noapathy · Mar 18, 2015

One other thing to consider - I don't know what gear you're in now, but it looks like you could stand to lose a few links the way the chain doubles over itself at the bottom. Have you checked this?

Spec7 · Mar 19, 2015

The gap between the chain cage at the back behind the pulley tells me that either the allen bolt securing the pulley to the cage is loose or the cage itself is slightly bent. None of my rear derailleurs on 4 different bikes have more than 1/32" gap at the back of the pulley cage. Tighten it if its loose. If its bent, I'd try to straighten it.

guppie · Mar 19, 2015

Chain was 2 links too long so perhaps too slack for those bottom 2 gears. Bearing was tight so that wasn't a factor. And the chain is installed properly: I fed it through the other side of the derailleur and it makes constant contact on the cage (between the jockey wheels). LBS put it together so I would hope they knew what they were doing... let's see what a few less links does? Oh yeah, it's an XT derailleur.

noapathy · Mar 19, 2015

guppie said:
Chain was 2 links too long so perhaps too slack for those bottom 2 gears. Bearing was tight so that wasn't a factor. And the chain is installed properly: I fed it through the other side of the derailleur and it makes constant contact on the cage (between the jockey wheels). LBS put it together so I would hope they knew what they were doing... let's see what a few less links does? Oh yeah, it's an XT derailleur.

Most peeps working at the LBS know what's up. Can't hurt to take out extra (as long as you're measuring with the suspension fully compressed if on a FS, which I'm sure you're aware). One other thing I just thought of - does the wheel spin freely if you move the chain away? It looks really clean, but maybe a drop of lube or even take it apart if it doesn't.

Park Tool instructions (they still have an older model Shimano though). I don't know how much applies for your cage switch question, but the pullies would be basically the same. I did find the cages for sale at Tree Fort (sort it for Shimano and it'll be easier to find), but if you're going 1x in the future and end up wanting to go the 40t/42t add-on, you'll want to look into that RAD/RADr thing that I'm not real familiar with anyway.

bikerbilly73 · Jun 30, 2015

I recently had this same issue and it was a "screwed up" tension wheel. The rubber guide became misaligned. Replacing the tension wheel fixed the issue.

screwed up jockey wheel

guppie

Shark

dledinger

Impetus

AaroninSC

Robg68

Surestick Malone

bgkz25

Cleared2land

Tracer650

Rmab15

Procter

Haggis

guppie

man.cave

noapathy

Spec7

guppie

noapathy

bikerbilly73

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