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A cautionary tale for old derailleurs

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A cautionary tale for old derailleurs

Old 05-23-19, 12:37 PM
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A cautionary tale for old derailleurs

It is a gooood idea to check the limit screws and add a coat of loctite if they are at all loose. I am off today to the bike shop to replace the nine rear drive side spokes that sheared when the chain dropped.
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Old 05-23-19, 12:40 PM
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If only they made a piece of plastic or something to help prevent this....
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Old 05-23-19, 12:43 PM
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Originally Posted by katsup
If only they made a piece of plastic or something to help prevent this....
I think there's a thread here, or there should be one, called show me your bike with a dork disc which is perfect for you.

You can post pics of your bikes there and chide BF members for not having the smarts to run them.
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Old 05-23-19, 12:46 PM
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The new/old Sachs freewheel I just installed on my Motobecane Grand Record came complete with one!
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Old 05-23-19, 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
I think there's a thread here, or there should be one, called show me your bike with a dork disc which is perfect for you.
I'm aware of that thread.

I visited a closing bike shop and asked about their dork disks. They gave me a box of various sizes that they removed over the years, so now all my bikes have them.
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Old 05-23-19, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by katsup
I'm aware of that thread.

I visited a closing bike shop and asked about their dork disks. They gave me a box of various sizes that they removed over the years, so now all my bikes have them.
Some of them are beautiful. I have a few bikes that proudly wear their dork discs.
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Old 05-23-19, 01:02 PM
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The limit screws have springs to keep them in place. If that's not working, try different screws. Then use loctite blue.

If my chain drops from the big rear cog, physics pulls it down to my next smaller cog, not toward the spokes.

For all my rebuilds, the dork disk always goes with the reflectors, steel components, kickstands, and turkey levers: straight in the trash.
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Old 05-23-19, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Aubergine
It is a gooood idea to check the limit screws and add a coat of loctite if they are at all loose. I am off today to the bike shop to replace the nine rear drive side spokes that sheared when the chain dropped.
Oh, that BLOOOWWS. I've never run a dork disc but I've also never had that happen. With that said, I do have purple that I usually use on small, fiddley screws.
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Old 05-23-19, 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
The limit screws have springs to keep them in place.
Not all limit screws have springs. Mine did not.
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Old 05-23-19, 01:57 PM
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I use dork discs. And I use helmets.
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Old 05-23-19, 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Aubergine
Not all limit screws have springs. Mine did not.
What kind of rear derailleur?
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Old 05-23-19, 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
I think there's a thread here, or there should be one, called show me your bike with a dork disc which is perfect for you.

You can post pics of your bikes there and chide BF members for not having the smarts to run them.
There's also a piece of plastic on most modern derailleurs that turns the the threaded limit screw holes into nyloc nuts. Much stealthier.
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Old 05-23-19, 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
What kind of rear derailleur?
An old Huret Duopar Eco.
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Old 05-23-19, 03:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Aubergine
An old Huret Duopar Eco.
Ooh. That's a real clunker.


For the bored, take a drink every time RJ says "here."

Aubergine, if you have a Campy-style hanger, best to use almost any Suntour mech in place of that Eco.
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Old 05-23-19, 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
Ooh. That's a real clunker.

https://youtu.be/0WMdgPrgZdw

For the bored, take a drink every time RJ says "here."

Aubergine, if you have a Campy-style hanger, best to use almost any Suntour mech in place of that Eco.
Hmph! I am offended. I love my DuoPars!! They are better than even the best Suntour friction derailleurs. So there, Nyah Nyah.

Seriously, the DuoPars work very very well, but I acknowledge they need attention. Which is why it really is on me that I did not notice the limit screws were loose enough to unscrew. And @SurferRosa, the derailleur is on a 1973 Motobécane Jubile with Huret dropouts, so it fits perfectly with the age and character of the bike.

I have another DuoPar on my Old Peugeot #1, an AO8 from 1974 or thereabouts. It has been a standout. So I am confident that these work well when cared for.
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Old 05-23-19, 03:57 PM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
For the bored, take a drink every time RJ says "here."
I take that back. Don't do that. I had to count 'em. 86 times. 86 drinks will kill a man. No matter how clunky your derailleur, you shouldn't have to die for it.

I think he says "there" about half as many times, but I didn't count.
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Old 05-23-19, 03:58 PM
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@SurferRosa Nothing wrong with Duopars. Not many mechs can compare to the chain wrap capacity of an Eco or Titane. Nor is the Eco (steel cage version) even that heavy for a nice long cage touring derailleur.

Also, if you really do throw all steel components in the trash, there would be quite a few Campy and Suntour mechs in the trash as well. Read up on Disraeli Gears and you'll see the nicer rear mechs didn't start going to alloy bodies until the 60s/70s. Even then and still today, rear and front mech cages are still made from steel as it is an application that requires it. No use making blanket statements throwing things in the trash.
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Old 05-23-19, 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by TenGrainBread
If you really do throw all steel components in the trash, there would be quite a few Campy and Suntour mechs in the trash as well.
Yes and no. I haven't come across that many campy steel derailleurs. Three, I guess. But you're right. Unless they're campy or suntour, the steel bits go in the trash.
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Old 05-23-19, 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Aubergine
Hmph! I am offended. I love my DuoPars!! They are better than even the best Suntour friction derailleurs. So there, Nyah Nyah.

Seriously, the DuoPars work very very well, but I acknowledge they need attention. Which is why it really is on me that I did not notice the limit screws were loose enough to unscrew. And @SurferRosa, the derailleur is on a 1973 Motobécane Jubile with Huret dropouts, so it fits perfectly with the age and character of the bike.

I have another DuoPar on my Old Peugeot #1, an AO8 from 1974 or thereabouts. It has been a standout. So I am confident that these work well when cared for.
I am sorry for your spoke shearing incident, early in my bike fiddling days I "adjusted" my RD to accommodate a bigger Cassette (yes before I went full on C&V) and ended up trashing the derailleur hanger which fortunately was replaceable. I have to say your Nyah Nyah retort made me laugh out loud, just glad I hadn't taken a drink or it would have been spit take city.
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Old 05-23-19, 05:12 PM
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Originally Posted by katsup
If only they made a piece of plastic or something to help prevent this....
I'd rather risk replacing the spokes. Or risk walking home 20 miles.

YMMV

(OTOH, it's been a while since I've even been in the lowest sprocket, so I wouldn't be risking much)
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Old 05-23-19, 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
Yes and no. I haven't come across that many campy steel derailleurs. Three, I guess. But you're right. Unless they're campy or suntour, the steel bits go in the trash.
Ha ha! Steely good Suntour Honor, Nervar cranks, and a dork disk. Yeah, baby!

@Aubergine, sorry to hear about your limit screw up. I nearly did the same thing once. Only caught it as I checked the shifting in the stand before I set out. Hope you get things squared away quickly.
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Old 05-23-19, 05:35 PM
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Originally Posted by ryansu
I am sorry for your spoke shearing incident, early in my bike fiddling days I "adjusted" my RD to accommodate a bigger Cassette (yes before I went full on C&V) and ended up trashing the derailleur hanger which fortunately was replaceable. I have to say your Nyah Nyah retort made me laugh out loud, just glad I hadn't taken a drink or it would have been spit take city.
Ha. Well, I figure that arguing over C&V equipment shouldn’t become too serious. :-) I like Suntour dérailleurs a lot as well — I have a VGT on Old Peugeot #2 — so I actually would have been content to use one on the Motobécane if it had had Campagnolo standard dropouts.
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Old 05-23-19, 06:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Aubergine
Ha. Well, I figure that arguing over C&V equipment shouldn’t become too serious. :-) I like Suntour dérailleurs a lot as well — I have a VGT on Old Peugeot #2 — so I actually would have been content to use one on the Motobécane if it had had Campagnolo standard dropouts.
I love Suntour friction era derailleurs a lot, never met a VGT, AR, or ARx I didn't like. Never had issues with them. Shifted impeccably every time. Run one on the Rolling Stone (my 1982 Bridgestone Spica, aka the $20 wonder).
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Old 05-23-19, 06:49 PM
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Originally Posted by tiger1964
I'd rather risk replacing the spokes. Or risk walking home 20 miles.
I've always wondered why the hate. I like the look as long as they are not oversized, faded, or broken.

In my opinion, compared to a helmet and lycra, a spoke protector is low on the dork scale.
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Old 05-23-19, 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
I take that back. Don't do that. I had to count 'em. 86 times. 86 drinks will kill a man. No matter how clunky your derailleur, you shouldn't have to die for it.

I think he says "there" about half as many times, but I didn't count.
to add another layer to your game, or if you're just bored, use youtube's speed up/slow down feature to put rj at half speed and he sounds just as drunk as you're going to be playing the "here" or "there" game
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