• ⇤
• ⇽
• ≡
• ⇾
• ⇥

failed derailleur

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is how badly the old derailleur failed on my bike. The metal is .. torn. The second problem now is that when the derailleur got caught up in the chain and wrapped around the top of the cassette, it was crammed into the spokes bending some of them. This morning I rebuilt the chain without the derailleur* in a single-speed configuration but the rear wheel won't even spin freely through a single rotation due to the damage.

*I noticed to my surprise that the chain hadn't been the first part to fail. Or rather, that it didn't fail because the pin I used to build it failed - that pin is still in the bike. I think the derailleur must have just cracked. I don't recall it ever having had any impact, so I suppose it was just the many years of existing.