Derailleur breaking?

[Fladdem]

I thought I would ask here because I am not a member of other forums.
On my XC bike I have gone through about 3 derailleurs now, Shimano Alivio's all of them, I want to know why I only get about 2 months use out of them, I don't have them stretched to the max, I look after them well, I'm a massive bicycle nerd I love just working on bikes for no reason.

I don't know whether I'm just too hard on them, the last one happened after doing a rolling stoppie up to the traffic lights and it bounced into my spokes so when I rode off it got chewed up and snapped off in my wheel, my fault that time.

Another time I was just riding along and then it snapped in half, no extra pressure was applied and I didn't change gear. Is it just me being too hard on the bike or is it cheap derailleurs or both? I don't know whether to go for the same one again, as when it works I have no problems with it, or go for something more expensive and hope it doesn't break. I think with the 60 pounds I have spent on derailleurs I could have got a really nice one for that.

Thanks, Adam
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[UnknownStuntm...]

Limit screw adjusters. Learn then use them

[Fladdem]

I do know how to use them, I might spend longer setting the next one up, try and get it spot on, thanks
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[UnknownStuntm...]

To be honest, you can overcome a limit screw adjuster even if it's set up spot on and you're bouncing the bike about a bit. I often hear the cage dingalingalinging the spokes when I'm going over rough stuff on a sharp climb in the granny ring.

If I was to monkey on the shifter at this point I'm confident I could write off a rear mech and a wheel (and probably an arse cheek and some skin off my shin to boot) but I know not to do that.

[KLR600]

Might be worth checking that your mech hanger is still straight too if the derailleur is ending up in the wheel. Alivio isn't exactly the best by a long shot but I would expect it to last much longer than 2 months before snapping in half under normal use.

Chain Reaction Cycles have a sale on at the moment with quite a bit off some rear mechs, might be worth a look to see if a mech for your bike is cheap enough?
____________________
Now: '00 Kawasaki ZRX1100R - Past: '84 Yamaha DT125, '89 Kawasaki KLR600, '97 Yamaha XJ600N
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[Fladdem]

Good suggestion! I never thought about the hanger, I'm a rubbish bike nerd.
It was bent up, not by a lot but stick it on a flat surface and there's a smallish kick to it about 20 degrees.
I'll have a look at chain reaction cycles as well, see if I can get a mech, any suggestions? I keep using alivio because that's what it came with, might move up a step or something.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[JonB]

Moving a step up the groupset ladder doesn't make things stronger. In fact they tend to be lighter and more fragile.

Evidently there is something wrong with your bike, take it to your LBS.
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[stinkwheel]

Nothing wrong with an alivio. The one on Mrs stinkwheels bike has been there so long I've had to replace the jockey wheels.

Your bent hanger is probably the problem.

Maybe wortth checking your wheel spindle and hub integrity too? Just in case ot's snapped/snapping and is putting everything off kilter.

SIght along the chainline and look for any problems with the setup there. It's going to be off to one side or the other with being a geared bike but it should be more or less straight down the middle when you're on the middle sprocket and middle chainring. Particularly look for twisting of the chain. Obviously, you'd have to sight along the top of the chain on your bike, this one has a very slight bow to the right because the wheel isn't in straight.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/chainline.png
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Fladdem]

Straightened the hanger out, because I'm a cheapskate, got a new alivio derailleur on the way from the internet. Anything to consider while I'm at it? I will get a new hanger, don't worry but when you are a poor student like me you learn to pick what's needed most to help the bike run. And I keep pouring all my money into the 250 now.
I was tempted to make it single speed but it's got vertical dropouts with no means of tensioning the chain. I believe it was fairly straight before it was smashed, I can't remember that well now as it was last used on the 23rd of December, I was Christmas shopping, I just used the other bikes between then and now, but I miss it, the brakes, the lightweight, the wheelying, the staircase jumping, the 4X track, blasting round the local woods, the abuse it takes is astonishing, my other bikes just don't stand up to it as well.

Thanks for everything, can't wait to get back on it.
Adam
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[KLR600]

You could have got this for probably around the same price as a new mech and mech hanger if you wanted to go single speed:

Single speed kit

I am also a poor student. I have a single speed jump bike with 1 brake and a long seat post, less to go wrong and break. I do live in Manchester (at the moment anyway) which is basically flat so it might be a bit rubbish if you lived somewhere with hills.
____________________
Now: '00 Kawasaki ZRX1100R - Past: '84 Yamaha DT125, '89 Kawasaki KLR600, '97 Yamaha XJ600N
<My Bikepics Page> <My Yootoobes> <My Websites> <My Photos>
<Take Cool Photos!>

[Fladdem]

I didn't really want to go single speed but I would have done in a heart beat just to save money if I could have done it for free.

My specialized p2 is single speed as well, with a long seat post and just a back brake, I'd imagine a similar set up to your jump bike, I have way too many bikes for my own good, 23 spread out between the garage, the shed or just leant up against the fence, mostly they are like early mountain bikes, Raleigh Marauder, Diamond Back Topanga, Specialized Rockhopper, some other stuff. My favourites the 1958 Raleigh, followed by my 1933 Raleigh, my great granddads bike, it had a custom frame due to him being 6 foot 8, I'm 6 foot 4 and I struggle to get on.
All of my bikes were either free or bare minimum, the P2 cost me 56 pounds to buy the frame, forks and bars, and I had all the stuff I needed to build it up from there, it's pretty low spec, but I wasn't sure if I was going to get into it or not.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[Entertwainer]

make sure your top jockey wheel isnt fouling the largest/smallest sprocket on the cassette. its not just the limit screws that need attention when setting up a rear mech - you need to setup the B-tension screw as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3bVgP_MNwc

[Fladdem]

I got it all set up just now, I stuck the hanger in a vice and squidged it flattish, bolted it on the frame and bodged it with an adjustable spanner, it works completely, now I need to tweak the front derailleur.

Thanks everyone, we'll see how long this one withstands my abuse.

On a side note, I won't be abusing it immediately as the rear axle is snapped, I was just checking the bike over, I was about to head out on my little 10 mile circuit, and the rear wheel had about two mm of free play, I thought it was the cones went to tighten them and noticed nothing happened, so took the axle out to check and just where the cone thing sits, the axle had snapped near the end of the threaded section and the skewer is bent. So, new hanger, new axle and new skewer next time I get paid. I think it must have been the snapped axle combined with a bent hanger that caused the last derailleur to get eaten.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[stinkwheel]

[Fladdem]

Cold setting. I'll remember that. The hanger was definitely bent, I'm going to replace it and keep it as a spare to live in the "Ride Bag" just in case I ever need a spare just to get me home.

I'll have a play tomorrow, the joys of the summer holidays, playing whenever I like, I think they might be a touch misaligned because I was checking it out earlier trying to work it out if they were straight.

[Fladdem]

More problems.

I have replaced the axle, the drop outs weren't bent, got new derailleur on and set up, or so I thought. Now it refuses to hold a gear when I accelerate hard and the chain seems to skip a lot, as if it's not connecting with the sprockets, what could be the problem now? The bike, to me is not worth a lot of money, I bought it for twenty quid off a mate who trashed it, it lived in his garden for a year and then lived in mine for 6 months, it's a Scorpion Rage, and the only things worth keeping are the stuff I put on it, Avid BB5 brakes and DMR V8 pedals.
If it needs new chain rings, a cassette and a new chain to replace the old ones cos they are worn out, this is what I am thinking is causing it, I may just scrap it and take the good bits off.
Please give me hope.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[JonB]

Either your cassette is worn or your hanger is bent. More likely the latter.
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Fladdem]

Oh dear, this is the second time I forgot about the bent hanger. I cannot believe this, I keep meaning to get a new one, but it slips my mind. This is more frustrating than anything because it should have been the first thing I checked.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[Fladdem]

the derailleur is dead. I killed it a fortnight ago on some dirt jumps I think I hate gears now, although my single speed mtb snaps chains like no ones business so I can never win. the fixie on the other hand never has anything go wrong, never snapped a chain, only problem is a flat tyre so far. after over a year of (ab)use.

Just thought I'd let you know, I think I am just doing something wrong.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[chris-red]

[Fladdem]

Hahaha, you're probably right there.
Although I have fitted many derailleurs without problem in the past, it's just the ones on this bike I struggle with, I have straightened the frame out as best I could, I got a new hanger, new axle and re-tightened the cassette. I just think the bike hates me. I admit to not being the most skilled bike mechanic in the world, but I'm not too shabby.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[JonB]

[chris-red]

[chris-red]

[Fladdem]

Currently I have 23 bikes at home and I do not know how many bikes I have built, I made my first out of bits from the local tip when I was 12, an old raleigh marauder mtb frame, it's my fixie now, 7 years later.
I have just built a jump bike out of parts I have been paid with, my mates have a problem with their bike, most recently my mates derailleur, I fixed it, it wasn't changing smoothly, he paid my with a front brake for a bmx, although it will go on the back of the fixie. I restored two 50's raleighs last summer. I'm not that bad, I don't know all the names for parts, and I don't know all the theory, and the first wheel I tried to build last week is disastrous but I'm trying. I have just had trouble with this particular bike since I got it.

I know you two are just having a laugh but this bike has got me so wound up, it's just a money pit.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.