Replacement jockey wheels

pete54

I bought a set of Tacx T4000 jockey wheels to replace the ones in the 8-speed Sora long cage mech on my Specialized Sirrus hybrid. They are described on the packaging as Shimano 7- & 8-speed compatible, but they are smaller in diameter than the existing wheels and have 10 teeth rather than 11 (see image below, existing jockey wheel on left, new Tacx on right). Is it ok to run these on my setup?

Many thanks,

Pete

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gkerr4

10-tooth is usually the campagnolo standard - while Shimano / SRAM are 11 tooth.

Sounds like they have send the wrong ones, although they will probably work fine.

Obviously you can't fit a shimano 11 to a campag mech as the wheel is too big - but i would imagine it will work fine the other way?

Mister W

Shimano 7 and 8 speed jockey wheels do have 10 teeth (the same as Campag 8, 9 and 10 speed). However, Sora is the exception and uses the same as Tiagra, which is 9 speed and has 11 teeth.

keef66

Is it just me, or do the holes in the middle look different sizes?

pete54

Thanks for the advice. It looks like I'm going to have to send them back, although I'm not sure they'll take them as I've removed the four plastic centre bits and fitted them to the jockey wheels (they come on a thing that looks like an Airfix kit).

Could anyone point me in the direction of the correct replacement wheels, Tacx or otherwise, please?

Pete

maddog 2

the 10 tooth wheel will still work okay.

if you must have 11 teeth then just buy the 9spd versions.

Monkeypump

I'd recommend getting Shimano replacements. They have a small amout of float in the top wheel, which I believe is protected by patent and therefore not present on jockey wheels from anyone else.

They're not too expensive, although I don't know how much you paid for the Tacx ones...

pete54

Thanks all. Why isn't anything straightforward in the bicycle maintenance world?

I paid £8.45 including postage for the Tacx wheels. I went for them as they have sealed bearings and my Haynes Bike Book indicated that they would run more smoothly and require less maintenance than the Shimano equivalents.

The teeth on the original jockey wheels don't look too worn, but there seems to be a fair bit of play in the top one (not just side to side, but 'twisting', if that makes sense). I am having trouble getting the rear mech to shift smoothly (slow shifts sometimes) and have tried the usual such as new cable (with Rock 'n' Roll cable lube), adjusting cable tension etc. I thought new jockey wheels might solve this.

If I stick with the new Tacx 10t wheels, might I have to take a link out of the chain as they are of a smaller diameter?

Pete

Mister W

These are what you need - http://www.cycle-ops.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b36s313p926

pete54

Thanks, very bling!

gkerr4

^^ Ha ha - i nearly posted a link to these myself - very cute they are too!

Mister W

They're my favourite bike accessory. Totaly pointless but oh so pretty

maddog 2

the Tacx ones shift a bit better IMO, but the cable and setup need to be spot on, especially for 10spd, as there's no float to mask any misalignment.

You won't need to take a link out. Just fit them and ride the thing 8)