How To Clean/Lube Rear Derailleur Pulleys
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- Опубліковано 29 січ 2013
- The pulleys on the rear derailleur are often overlooked when cleaning and lubricating the drive train of a bike. But the pulleys can get very dirty and clogged with dirt and grease. In this video I show you how to remove the pulleys, clean them, lubricate them, and install them back onto the bike. I use chain lube to lubricate the pulleys, but you can use grease or whatever your preference is. Your pulleys will spin much better and your chain will move smoother and your shifting will be better.
The derailleur in the video is a Shimano 105, but the process is pretty much the same on most derailluers. On this derailleur, the guide pulley and tension pulley are different, so you need to keep track of which pulley goes where. But on most deraileurs, the two pulleys are the same.
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RJ, I’ve really found a love for working on bikes over the last few years. Your videos have saved me from frustration many times and kept the hobby fun rather than frustrating. That’s for the positive impact your videos have had on my life.
Cheers!
Genius. Along with the mysterious noise video I went from "I think those jockeys are making my commute sound awful and no amount of rags, WD and lube are changing it" to "Allen key, toothbrush, thinner, and some old White Lightning and suddenly this thing is as close to silent as it's been since 2011." I freaking love riding old bikes into the ground. Well-done.
Lots of people recommend wet lube for the pulleys, but they look self lubricating to me as plastic bearings often are (the plastic jocky wheels spin on metal bushes), so I put dry lube in mine too because if you put a wet lube in they will pick up a lot of dirt. I did some research and found out that they don't need any lubricant because the cogs will wear out long before the bushes do, plus they spin fabulously without a lube. Still, a dry lube would be okay as it won't attract dirt.
Cheers for a great video! I found it's easier to take off one pulley at a time because the back of the hanger will stay on with the tension of the other one on.
I did that with the pulley wheels on the Shimano Altus rear derailleur on my mountain bike. I was getting a grinding sound while riding and I found it was coming from the rear derailleur after turning the crank by hand. I took out the pulleys and they were covered with caked on dirt. I soaked all the parts in some warm water with Dawn dish soap. Then I cleaned and rinsed them off, dried them, and then put them back together using some grease where the bearing sleeves go in the middle. I put them back in to the derailleur and did a couple test pedals by hand and the grinding noise was gone and the chain was a lot smoother going through the derailleur.
Dang for me when ever I clean something its satisfying to see the end result just reading your describing I just had that feeling... heck yeah... soap and water is also a go to cleaning method when I skateboarder did that with the bearings... since the pulley system isn't with ball bearing you prolly didn't have to blow dry it or throw them under a fan... cuz bearings need all water out basically b4 tubing them but just hand drying them in a towel did the trick???
Glad that was the issue seemed like an easy fix! Keep riding man!
I appreciated this video except 1 part--- the chemical cleaning. I was worried for health/ safety of the author & viewers, seeing bare hands in paint thinner. Plastic wheels don't seem like a good mix with chemicals either, since plastic is fragile, & could become brittle. Good call with soap & water.
Recent studies show chemicals even in sunscreen enter the blood stream; I would urge caution on keep your hands/ skin in chemicals.
Thanks for sharing and for reminding me that if I want to go deeper into cleaning my bicycle then I have more cleaning before I ride my bicycle for the first time in 3 years!
Just want to say thank you! Fixed my jockey wheels after winter riding..so much salt made for problems..your video did just the trick. Thanks for all of your posts! Could not fix my bike without your help!
Bike repair videos that are soul soothing idk why or how. RJ i need to perform this maintenance on my bike now. Thanks.
Hey RJ! This was a lifesaver for me. I didn't recognize the little difference between the two pulleys when I took the whole thing apart. All the German videos elaborated on the pros and cons of different sizes and types, but no one showed, which one is the damn guidance pulley on the Shimano deraillleur. Then I tried the english terms and bam - there you are with the info right on the spot.
Thanks man!
Best Regards
Andreas
3:59 saved me, thank you! I was cleaning my Acera and I wasn't paying attention which pulley goes where, so yeah now I learned!
So easy to follow. Took me 20 minutes on the first try. Thank you!
Hey, thanks! Great straight forward video that I think will help me once I get the replacement pulleys for my Shimano Ultegra.
Useful videos. I've known many things you did on your vids already but they're still fun to watch. You got yourself a new subscriber!
you answered my question on different pulleys, your videos are a great help
Thank you so much, very helpful!
I forgot to check how the pulleys were mounted.
After cleaning (Deore LX) i noticed the difference between the two pulleys.
High-quality knowledge-transfer, as usual, RJ. Thanks for your excellent Content.
I'm wrangling a Shimano 600 RD-6208 Rear Derailleur which exhibits a "binding" symptom in both the Guide and Tension Pulleys, which are quite different from each other, in design.
It occured to me that your video instructions might be EVEN BETTER with advice for Viewers to TAKE NOTE of which pulley is which, during removal, just as you mention about the orientation of the derailleur plate. My $0.02
Again, thanks for your passion. It's a valuable resource.
Matt (in California)
Thanks for this detailed video. really helped.
To those of you that may end with 1 pulley(the narrower one) seemed stuck/not spinning freely after re-assembly, try swapping the center metal 'core' between booth pulley.
It seems on 105r7000, theres a difference in length of the two.
This comment right here is the real hero!! Thank you I was starting to sweat😅
learned something new on this! Didn't realize there was a difference between the guide pulley and tension pulley. Luckily I watched this video before putting mine back together! Thanks!
On many derailleurs, they are the same.
Just bought the same pulleys, didn't know which one came the clossest to the cassette. Thanks helped allot!
Thought my indexing was out as the rear was making a racket, cleaned everything as shown here and now it's so quiet. V. happy! :)
Thanks, always wondered what the difference was between the two pulleys, why one had a second bushing.
Just replaced the Chain and Cassette on my Mountain bike so this video came in very useful and copied everything you did.
My rear deraileur is a Shimano Acera M3000 and my top jockey wheel fixes from the other side to
RJ the bike guy-One thing is to put fresh thread locker on threads.
super useful! Great explanations of everything, thanks for sharing this!
Thanks RJ for your advice and video
Good video R.J The Bike Guy, i always wondered what they used for the bearings in the derailers , cheers.
Thanks for this video...I just followed it to clean my pulleys and get ride of a really annoying squeak!
Love your videos, very ckear and given me confidence to service my bike components
Thanks for posting this!
Hmm, I haven't cleaned or replaced my jockey wheels in 27 years of riding the same 2 bikes, including several years of racing, on road and off. Didn't realize the 105 jockey wheels are not identical, so perhaps just as well. Rode yesterday they are still working fine and my bike is much quieter than the bike at the end of the video. Perhaps time for clean though - maybe start a regular schedule, once every 25 years, whether it needs it of not! ;)
weird flex but OK
@@MrColdSpark shut up you uncultured swine you shouldn't talk like that to a man of culture. 27 years do you even realise how long that is?
It's a good idea to put a bit of blue threadlock on each pulley screw.
No, thats not necessary. The thread is in a direction, that the screws are self-tightening.
Helpful, thank-you!!
I have had one of the pulley bolts come out while riding. I now use blue threadlock on the pulley bolt threads.
very helpful, thank you!
thank you very much, I never made a cleaning on the pulleys. When i was cleaning the chain and cassete i tryied to roll them but the bottom one didnt roll so nicely
Great video!! Thanks!!
Great video!!
Just pay some attention to the tension pulley. 105s tension pulley, for example, has an arrow indicating which direction it should roll.
which side does the arrow go, on the bottom pulley? Does it face out, or in towards the non-drive side?
Good question! Have you found out anything about it?
@@birnesuppengrun5644 No, not a good question. Arrow indicates rotation and it will need to go on this side on which rotation matches arrow's direction. There is only one side on which it will be true.
Cool !
Tks & cheers fm Rio.
Great job!
Thanks !
Bottom pulley also has an arrow on it showing the direction it should turn. Although you get the cage cleaner taking the whole assembly apart, it's easier if you just take out one pulley at a time.
Thank you
Wow, it's really good and detailed work to remove and clean them. Did you make videos about how to clean chain and rear derailleur?
I have a couple videos on cleaning/lubing the chain. The main parts on the derailleur that need cleaned are the pulleys. The rest of it can be cleaned with just a general scrubbing.
thank you from march 2020
i like the larger derailler gears.
I wouldn't use paint thinner on plastic parts. Citrus degreaser is what should be used. But which side does the arrow go, on the bottom pulley? Does it face out, or in towards the non-drive side? and you said one goes closest to the cassette, which one is that? They're both close to the cassette, and when it's off the bike, ??
If you noticed, the factory screws lad red loctite. You did not reassembly with loctite so you better check that screw as part of your routine maint.
I put even on a new derailleur Tacx pulleys for ony 8 euro and I never have to take them out as they have sealed bearings for over 25 years now.They don't have any play so shifting is very rapid and I have one set over 25 000 kms now in one. Still ok
in all the years i've done this, i just noticed the metal sleeve in 1 pulley but not the other. One of mine happens to be a 105 also but that's irrelevant. The one i just did it on was a deore and couldn't remember which one came from which spot after noticing the metal sleeve which is why i'm here. Thanks. I've seen these cool looking, color anodized, all aluminum pulleys online. It doesn't look like they're available in 2 sizes. Can you use 2 identical pulleys in a derailleur that didn't come that way?
I came here to find out which of the pulleys was going where (bushed/non bushed) as the new kit I bought had one bushed, one without, like here. The old kit had none bushed. Also the new non bushed pulley had an arrow indicating turning direction. You live and learn! :-)
I recently got a Token Tiramic pulley and installed them right away.. I do not see any arrow that would indicate the right direction the pulley should rotate.;. for token tiramic pulley, does it mean that i can install the pulley at whatever direction?
The lower extension pulley usually has a prescribed direction of rotation. This is indicated by a small arrow. Difficult to recognize, but if you try hard you can see it.
Some do, but NOT usually.
my guide pulley is seized up pretty good. it has the ceramic bushing. I cleaned it and lubed it and thought it was good, but just realized it's still having trouble spinning. I don't see why it shouldn't work.. Is the guide pulley not supposed to be tightened all the way because it spins well when it's a little loose?
Those pulleys are overlooked like 40 years damn
Do this guys more often,because it gets worn quickly
Are there no bearings in these jockey wheels?
Again I wanna go take my bike apart and clean it! Lol
Is it safe to clean plastic jockey wheels and their plastic bushings with rubbing alcohol?
I've been feeling a slight glitching in my drive train that does not seem to be coming from the chain (which is new), pedals, bottom bracket, hub, or cassette, so I've removed the jockey wheels on my Dura Ace RD-7402 rear derailleur and am about to clean them. Along with each dust cap is a rubber o-ring acting as a seal.
Yes, you can use alcohol. I usually use a degreaser. Warm water and dish soap and a scrub brush will work too.
After how many kilometers do you overhaul the pulleys on your bike usually?
If I notice they are really dirty or moving stiff. No mileage.
I used this video to help change out broken jockey wheels but now thinking of another bike. The new wheels had a green grease in them. Is that another option rather than the lube you used in this video? Is it a mountain vs road issue maybe?
I don't know what the lube was.
Is it advisable to replace jockey wheels with ceramic bearings
Shrug. Up to you.
Reason the bottom tension pulley and guide pulley screws are opposite is for not have them unscrewed while the pulleys rotate following the chain movement.... despite this, when reassembling a bit of red threadlocker is recommended :-)
Interesting theory. But most derailleurs have the screws put in from same side.
Yep but Shimano did a proper job here :-)
Wait, red threadlocker? That's the semi permanent stuff.At most use the blue stuff. But I have never had a pulley come unscrewed anyway.
GCN video recommends threadlock compound too
I find the plastic pulley wheels wear down over time, then start to wobble. That can badly affect the reliability and stability of gear changes. Although it is possible to buy replacement jockey wheels, it is also possible to buy a brand new rear derailleur for less money. I wonder whether anyone has found a good way of stopping wobbly wheels from wobbling?
Yeah~~
if one didn't have paint thinner but had mineral spirits, would that suffice?
Yes.
Was you able to see the video? cheers mate. Daniel
RJ, right after firm reassembly my guide pulley FLEW OFF across the room while pedalling indoors. Had this happened outdoors, I'd never find the parts on the ground and be left stranded. I'm now afraid to ride my bike even after reassembly with blue loctite.
The bolts/screws are both from the outer side on my "Shimano Deore" derailleur, hence the guide pulley is turning with the chain in the direction that "unscrews the bolt" which holds it. This is stupid design. On my other "Deore XT" bike, the screws are from opposite sides (guide vs tension pulley) as are the screws in your video - this seems like a very important engineering design to me with respect to reliability of the bike for daily riding. I'm considering buying a different derailleur due to this design flaw of my "Deore", despite the derailleur being in good condition otherwise. I see no other solution. Or weld up the guide pulley bolt:/
Never had that happen.
I noticed my lower pulley only faced one way facing out,can they be waxed
Sorry, I don't understand. There are tons of variations.
I take mine off individually to limit any mix up
Smart
Soaking the bearing/bushing isn't very wise as you've likely removed grease from within it. which will be near impossible to re-grease (please correct me if I'm mistaken)
You are mistaken. All the parts are completely open and easy to grease, or use oil.
Jeez u didn't have to attack the poor kid settle down... lol no I think rj may be right... at least for 105 shomano rear derailluer pulley system run on no bearings it's just that bushing he described is what the pulley rotates around so we got Allen key bolts some metal caps slash washer thingys and bushings they all can get decreased x 1000... but good to bring it up I dk how other systems work just 105 series but yeah I'm done peac3
Are these pulley made of plastic??
Is it possible to just up the pulley size? Like buy a bigger one and modify the pulley system to accept a larger pulley. Have you seen the oversized pulley systems?
Probably not in most cases and for what purpose?
The oversized pulleys increase efficiency claiming a minimum of 2.4 watts, more probably if your pulleys didn't have ball bearings inside to begin with, I know it's marginal gains, but I figured a bigger pulley sets like $10, so I guess are cages fairly interchangeable? I'm going tubeless right now, and after that if it works out for me Im even going to balance my wheels.
are there bearings in them
+Dylan Gross Not in these. The plastic pulley spins around a bushing. There are some pulleys that have bearings in them though. Most don't though.
Can you use water and dishsoap instead of paint thinner?
Yes, though a degreaser would be better.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Ah okay nice, thanks for the reply!
Go to the Dollar store and buy some LA Awesome Orange Degreaser. Works great and costs $1.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Ah okay good tip, I live in Sweden but we have that store here so I can try and see if they have that product here next time I'm in Dollar store :)
What do u do if the gear is missing a tooth
Replace it.
Yeah, buy a replacement pulley.
what kind of Grease do you use
If I use grease on pulleys, maybe Super Lube. Or a synthetic wet chain lube.
+RJ The Bike Guy thank u
Lube: well lubricated yet loud pulley
Grease: well lubricated yet not loud pulley
I put t9 a kickass lube for bearings chains anything rotates but for the pulley on my 105 shimano I rode it today it was extremely louder than when it was greased I'm thinking gonna grease it .... but I believe like he said its anyone's preference and how frequent you wanna RIP those suckers off and maintain them to stay nice and lubed/greased... peace
Hi there, I had a quick question about my rear derailleur, all the screws are tight as can be but the derailleur wobbles from side to side still, and I'm not sure why. Thanks
Where is it wobbling at? The pivot joint where it attaches to the frame? Where the tension arm hangs down?
Yeah that's the position where it is wobbling from, I'm not sure why though as there's no more screws left on it to tighten. Also the pivot arm with jockey wheels on it keeps rotating out of position, you can actually spin it round nearly 360 degrees so the spring pushes it forward rather than backwards once you let go, took me ages to realise why my chain wouldn't fit on the derailleur properly, it was completely out of allingnment. Thanks mate
Also are you a self-taught bike mechanic? I'm astonished at how many things you can fix, computers, cars etc, did it take you along time to learn it all? life experience lol
I have always been mechanically inclined. I can look at stuff and figure out how they work. Even as a kid, I could figure out how to put things together from the parts.
I can't picture exactly what you are experiencing. Something in the derailleur might be broken. I am not sure from your description. If I had it in front of me, I could probably figure it out quickly. Can you upload a short video showing the issue?
so they just keep chain tight?
One of them is the tension pulley, it keeps the chain tight. The other is the guide pulley and it guides the chain onto the freewheel/cassette.
Can someone help I removed the pulleys off my mountain bike and I’ve tried putting them back on and they won’t spin when I put them back on?
Try again.
RJ The Bike Guy hi I managed to do it I was working on an old mountain bike and they were missing the bearings haha no wonder they weren’t moving
Thank you. It would be easier if you removed the wheel.
GLOVES
I shoot Brake Cleaner all in my cassette and deraillures. No need to take it apart.
Shake that bottle before use! This teflon lube should be white... Cheers
You some hlep
Reply soon
Rather than being pulleys they are idler sprockets. A pulley is a grooved wheel which has a cord or belt running around it.
You can call them whatever you want. But on a bike they are called pulleys among other things. Even in Shimano's tech docs they are called pulleys. Feel free to write Shimano and everyone else about your concerns.
From an engineering point of view, they are sprockets. The fact that Shimano is a Japanese manufacturer may mean that they don't have full command of English terms for parts. From the 50's, Japanese manuals for many products have typically had gross errors in English translations. They were quite funny sometimes. Their manuals have improved a lot but there are still some residual inaccuracies in their translations. So you say that Shimano is entitled to change the description of parts and you are reinforcing that belief. Congratulations, you have helped change the English language. The Shimano tech doc is note a dictionary of English engineering terms. I wrote a line and a bit note that the correct term for these are idler sprockets. They have teeth and fit in a chain. Because these sprockets are not driven sprockets, they are idler and guide sprockets. A pulley is a wheel with a peripheral groove and typically guides a belt. It may be driven, driving, guiding or tensioning, in which case it an idler pulley. Other companies call them guide sprockets.
lmgtfy.com/?q=derailleur+pulley
I think you'll find usage is the arbiter final, much in the same way clickbait and sext are now recognised words, pulleys , in terms of a bicycle derailleur are recognised as terms for the sprockets. So much so, that if you search for an idler sprocket from Shimano, SRAM or any major component manufacturer, you will struggle.
And this is down to the community from the beginning of the usage of derailleurs, not just Shimano's poor translations.
Oh, and just because someone upsets your finely balanced sentiments, there is no excuse in being a pedantic twat on a video designed to help people. Your comment, I suspect much like you, is superfluous to the conversation.
Your were going fine until your turned your comment into a personal attack on my character. We can all have opinions. I don't have either finely or coarsely balanced sentiments about pulleys verses sprockets. There are no feelings attached to these components one way or the other. So why are you make a mildly vitriolic comment about my comment that I made over 4 months ago? It seems you are "butt hurt" or pretending to be "butt hurt" about my view about the term that Shimano uses for derailleur guide wheels. How do you justify suspecting that both my comment and me personally are superfluous? Are you the arbiter of what is and isn't valid and meaningful comments? Your final sentence seems pretentiously dismissive of my right and ability to have a valid opinion on this issue.
Diesel fuel for cleaning, wire brush to remove the rough grease, and lube with teflon pan spray.
mazpr2025 So do you cook with Amzoil and run Wesson in your vehicle? Once again, the weird oddball obsession with contrarian usages because a) you don't trust 'the Man', b) It's all a giant rip-off, c) you can't abide the possibility that companies actually sell products which might be better for special uses like bike lubes and cleaners?
I'd substitute naptha as a more benign solvent that happens to dissolve the majority of bike gunk and grease, and put a drop of Loctite on each clean bolt when installing, but principles are good.
thaknobodi
::: you are so parasitically logical.
Its a CHAIN what runs through those gears, with full of grit and gunk from the streets running through, a wire brush does not do anything, have done it a gazillion times and runs perfect. Of course its not your wire brush used for scraping metal on automobiles, but the smaller ones similar to a toothbrush.
AND Z1522, diesel fuel its a super OLD trick for cleaning parts, it gets the job done as well. Better than any crap sold at Auto Zone or Pep Boys.
And to prevent grit to glue on the chain when riding, the best old trick, (and it was shown on a Bicycling magazine), PAM spray. They tested all kinds of bike waxes, against the most expensive, cooking spray!!!!
Have serviced plenty of bikes in the area, nobody has ever complained. You go ahead and spend your hard earn money and buy brag brand.
Great video. Small advise: wear gloves next time ;-)
This guy obviously tested it, but i would NOT advise anyone to use paint thinners on random plastics on your bike or any utensil you own. Some can react with paint thinner...
Grease works better.
no, it does not
Yeah it works and last Much better. I use ptfe grease
be careful with those paint thinners, theyve been banned for a deadly chemcial in recent eyars
NONO hair removal
The "pulleys" might perhaps be called "jockey wheels" or "roulettes" in French.
10x easier removing rear wheel
Diesel is $2.30 a gallon. One gallon will last years. Paint thinner, mineral spirits, brake cleaner and other competitors are no match for price and performance compared to Diesel. Want to talk death fumes (brake cleaner) LOL
Hmm, That didn't sound smooth at the end there! In addition, some pulleys have a rotation arrow on them. They need to be installed so 'they turn in the direction of the arrow under power. That's because they aren't symmetrical and will make gear adjustment impossible if installed wrong. The guide and tension pulley can have significant differences and their bearing may also be different. It doesn't pay to mic up all the parts like that, just in case. Also mine have a seal that sits in the pulley grove. The seal also has a groove that the edge of the cap fits into. So that gets fiddly to get everything back together.
it doesn't sound smooth because the chain is hitting the front derailleur, which is not the focus of the video. Look at the pulleys, because the video is about pulleys.
Your bike doesn’t sound smooth, try to tune it
Tuning up a bike is a lot of smaller parts. This is just one part. Should I have fully tuned the bike, THEN cleaned the pulleys. This video is JUST cleaning the pulleys.