Had an old Campy derailleur explode on me mid ride yesterday

I was about 10 miles into a group ride near Boulder, Colorado, just cruising on a flat section, when I heard this horrible grinding noise from my rear derailleur. Next thing I know, the thing just snapped in half, the jockey wheel flew off into the ditch, and the chain wrapped itself around my cassette like a python. Turned out the b-link bolt had been loose for who knows how long, and I just never checked it because I got lazy with my maintenance schedule. Had to call my buddy to come pick me up in his truck, which felt pretty stupid standing on the side of the road covered in chain grease. Whole ride fell apart because I skipped a simple bolt check before heading out. Anyone else ever had a derailleur let go like that out of nowhere? I'm trying to figure out if it was my fault or just old age on the part.

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa510d ago

Oh man, at least your bike gave you a dramatic exit instead of just a slow leak! I had one lock up and strip a derailleur hanger so bad the shop guy framed it as art.

margaret9910d ago

My buddy Dave had a pedal just snap clean off mid-climb once. He was going up this steep gravel road, stood up to push hard, and the whole pedal body separated from the spindle. One foot hit the ground, the other jammed down on the empty crank arm, and he just toppled over sideways into a bush. Took him twenty minutes to walk the bike back down because he forgot to bring a multi-tool that day.