How To Clean and Lubricate a Rear Derailleur

For easier access to the top (jockey) pulley, shift your chain into the largest cog. This opens up the derailleur body and rotates the pulley cage forward, exposing the jockey pulley.

Remove the wheel for easier access to the sides of the derailleur pulleys facing toward the bike (the inboard sides). Shift the chain into the small cog, open the brake so that the tire clears the brake pads, open the quick release lever, and tap the wheel so that it comes out of the frame dropouts. Then shift the derailleur back up, as if to the largest cog, to open the derailleur body, just like you did with the sides facing away from the bike (the outboard sides).

Don’t worry if you pick up grease with the brushes and smear it on the derailleur. The degreaser you’ll be using in the next step will strip it off. However, be sure to always clean off your brushes before your next cleaning task. Remove dust, dirt, and debris by brushing them vigorously against a hard edge like a concrete step, then swirl them around in a container filled wth a degreaser that you know is safe on plastics, like Finish Line Multi.

This is also a good time to go over the pulleys again. First spray down the jockey pulley with Speed Clean while turning the crank, then take your rag, hold it between your thumb and forefinger, and pinch the pulley while continuing to turn the crank. Any dirt that didn’t come off on the screwdriver blade will come off on the rag. Repeat with the bottom pulley. This is most effective if the pulley is still moist with degreaser when you run it through the rag. Because Speed Clean dries so quickly, ensure this by spraying down only one pulley at a time, so that the bottom pulley doesn’t dry before you’re done with the jockey.

Don’t worry if you don’t remove all of the excess lube when wiping down the derailleur. Although it wasn’t originally developed as a surface coating, Dry Teflon Lube makes it easier to wipe off dirt after a ride.

To make sure that you lubricate all of the moving parts of the derailleur, begin by looking at the top of the derailleur body in which the spring is housed (the parallelogram). Lubricate the pivots at the four corners of the parallelogram by injecting Extreme Fluoro directly into the spaces between the surfaces of the parallelogram. Then look at the bottom of the parallelogram, and do the same. Once you’ve taken care of the pivots, lubricate the derailleur pulleys by injecting Extreme Fluoro into the space between the centers of the pulleys and the metal plates that hold them in place (the derailleur cage), remembering to do this on the outboard as well as the inboard sides of the pulleys. Last, lubricate the large pivot where the derailleur cage attaches to the derailleur body, and the large pivot around the bolt that attaches the derailleur to the frame. You can find additional points of friction by holding the derailleur in your hand and gently moving it in all directions, up and down, front and back, and side to side. Inject lubricant into any space where parts of the derailleur are moving relative to one another.

Shift through your derailleur’s full range of motion, beginning with the derailleur in the lowest position, with the chain where the small cog would be if the wheel were in, then shifting up to the highest position, with the chain where the large cog would be if the wheel were in, then back down again. Do this a couple of times. It will allow the lube to work its way into the pivots, and at the same time drive excess lube out of the pivots so that you can wipe it off in a clean, controlled environment before riding.