Tightening jockey wheel bolts?

Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home, one
of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.

I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other than
getting a singlespeed)

--
-BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

"BB" <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote in message news:b8hr3l$a36qp$2@ID-130844.news.dfncis.de...
> Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
> with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home,
> one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
> I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> than getting a singlespeed)

Are you sure you didn't lose something? (A small bearing or sleeve or...???) My only experience
w/j-wheels was years ago, when I bought blue ones (Carmichaels?) for my infamous pimped-out
Catamount. Seemed to me like the bolts tightened normally (in my case, over-tight is norm and the
wheels just kept on a-turnin'.

Bill "oh, God, now I'm gonna go check my freaking jockey wheels; it's on your head, Bauer!" S.

In article <b8hr3l$a36qp$2@ID-130844.news.dfncis.de>, BB <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote:
>Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
>with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home, one
>of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
>I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
>turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
>than getting a singlespeed)

No if it binds when you tighten it then something is wrong, probably you are missing part of the
jockey wheel's bushing assembly.

--Paul

In article <0q_qa.11834$Eu1.718735@twister.socal.rr.com>, sorni@biteme.san.rr.com says...
> "BB" <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote in message
> news:b8hr3l$a36qp$2@ID-130844.news.dfncis.de...
> > Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike
> > (MTB with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from
> > home, one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one
> > jockey-wheel.
> >
> > I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> > turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> > than getting a singlespeed)
>
> Are you sure you didn't lose something? (A small bearing or sleeve or...???) My only experience
> w/j-wheels was years ago, when I bought blue ones (Carmichaels?) for my infamous pimped-out
> Catamount. Seemed to me like the bolts tightened normally (in my case, over-tight is norm and
> the wheels just kept on a-turnin'.
>
> Bill "oh, God, now I'm gonna go check my freaking jockey wheels; it's on your head, Bauer!" S.
>
>
>

Curious, either my news server dropped Blane's post, or it is an old thread that i simply missed.

But i'm with Bill here. i checked my el-cheepo's and they had a sleeve inside a bushing. they were
quite snug and the jockey turned with ease.

If all else, try some lock tight when you get the bolts tightened just enough. should at least keep
it in place.

~Travis
--
travis57 at megalink dot net

travis5765.homelinux.net, Primary Administrator TF Custom Electronic, Owner/Founder/Developer
(current project: Automotive exhaust flame-thrower)

Use locktite on the threads and you don't need to crank it down that tight. "BB"
<bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote in message news:b8hr3l$a36qp$2@ID-130844.news.dfncis.de...
> Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
> with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home,
> one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
> I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> than getting a singlespeed)
>
> --
> -BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

"BB" <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote in message news:b8hr3l$a36qp$2@ID-130844.news.dfncis.de...
> Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
> with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home,
> one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
> I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> than getting a singlespeed)
>
> --
> -BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

Your observation that you can't tighten the j-wheel bolt down too much lest it stop turning is not
correct. At least, that's not the designed behaviour. The steel sleeve that forms the bearing in the
j-wheel along with the two cover plates at each end should prevent the bolt from binding against the
j-wheel itself. That is you tighten up the plates against the bearing sleeve but the wheel should
still have some float. I suspect you either have mismatched wheels/parts or they are assembled
incorrectly.

Cheers,

Scott..

<< You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't turn...but if you don't tighten them down,
apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? >>

Loctite?

"BB" <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote in message news:b8hr3l$a36qp$2@ID-130844.news.dfncis.de...
> Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
> with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home,
> one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
> I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> than getting a singlespeed)

Huh? If they turn with difficulty when you tighten the bolt, you left something out or assembled it
improperly. It is a good idea to lube pulleys ( anything will do, oil or grease) but do indeed
tighten the bolt well!

--
Andrew Muzi http://www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

BB wrote:
> Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
> with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home,
> one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
> I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> than getting a singlespeed)

Actually, you _can_ tighten them down "much", limited only by the risk of stripping the threads.

When yours fell out, you must have lost the metal bushing that goes in the middle! Either that or
you have a seal out of position.

Sheldon "Time For New Pulleys" Brown +--------------------------------------------------------+
| There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. | But there is no evidence of any sort
| against it. | Soon enough you will know, so why fret about it? | --Robert A. Heinlein |
+--------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton,
Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts
shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

"BB" <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote in message news:b8hr3l$a36qp$2@ID-130844.news.dfncis.de...
> Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
> with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home,
> one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
> I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> than getting a singlespeed)

I think Zinn is wrong (as he is so often). You can tighten down the wheels in a rear derailer, if
you don't they'll fall off. I commonly tighten all mine when they're new, since one fell off a bike
of mine on the first ride.

<< A couple miles from home, one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get
home on one jockey-wheel. << but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off.
Any advice? (other than getting a singlespeed)

The design of pulleys allow the bolts to be tight w/o the pulleys binding. Something is amiss..Also
take any rubber o-seals outta the pulleys, like the ones in many shimano ones, that will help them
not falling off(A shimano tech tip directly from Wayne S.)

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

On 28 Apr 2003 00:03:01 GMT, BB <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote:

>Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
>with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home, one
>of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
>I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
>turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
>than getting a singlespeed)

There's something really wrong if tightening the bolts causes the wheels to not turn. You don't say
what kind of derailleur you have, but most have a sleeve on which the wheel spins. This sleeve is
wider than the wheel, so you should be able to tighten the bolts to the point of stripping and the
wheel/sleeve friction should be unaffected.

My only other thought is that perhaps you still have the rubber seals and have them installed in the
wheel's grooves backwards, so that the outer washer's rims instead of riding in the seal's grooves
press firmly against the rubber, binding the wheel.

I throw these seals away, as they cause (IMHO) undue drag. I regularly disassemble, clean, and oil
my jockey wheels so excluding dirt isn't a big problem.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

BB <bbauerAtitude@freeshell.org> wrote:

> Finally a day without rain, but its way to wet to ride trails here. I took the semi-road bike (MTB
> with roadworthy tires) on a trip to the library (roads, paved paths). A couple miles from home,
> one of the jockey wheels fell off. I jury-rigged the derailleur to get home on one jockey-wheel.
>
> I sought wisdom from Zinn, but no luck. You can't tighten them down much, or the j-wheel won't
> turn...but if you don't tighten them down, apparently the bolt can fall off. Any advice? (other
> than getting a singlespeed)

There should be a bushing that's a bit longer than the thickness of the jockey wheel, so when you
tighten the screw it clamps the sides of the derailleur cage against the bushing, rather than
against the jockey wheel. Maybe your bushings aren't matched to your jockey wheels, in which case
replacing either or both should do the trick. Could the cage be bent so it hits the wheel before
bearing on the bushing?

As a last resort, there's always Loctite.

--
Ray Heindl (remove the X to reply)

l have the same problem l just use a little loctite