Blew out my rear derailleur pulley wheel on a group ride yesterday

I was about 15 miles into a saturday morning ride with some guys from the local shop when my shifting just went to hell out of nowhere. Loud grinding noise and then the chain started skipping bad. Pulled over and saw the upper pulley wheel on my Ultegra derailleur had basically shattered, like three teeth just snapped off. Had to call my wife to come pick me up with the truck, felt like a total idiot standing on the side of the road. Got it home and took the derailleur off, the bearing inside the pulley was completely seized up and rusty. I ride in the rain a lot here in Portland and I guess I never thought about greasing those little bearings. Anyone else ever had a pulley wheel explode on them? What do you use to keep yours running smooth?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor66827d ago

I mean, is it really that big of a deal though? Idk, seems like a pretty minor thing to have to call your wife over.

michaelchen27d ago

Yeah but have you actually been in that situation before?