Jockey Wheels

DeVlaeminck
DeVlaeminck Posts: 8,744
edited April 2020 in Workshop
In all my years riding I've never replaced the jockey wheels on a mech. I've taken them out, cleaned them etc but the old ones have always gone back in.

Having just ordered a new chain, cassette, cables, bar tape etc for my race bike (I should really stop using the word race as an adjective as I haven't raced in a few years) should I have added jockey wheels to the list of parts that need replacing ? I'd struggle to tell you how many miles the bike has done as while it's maybe 5 years old I've probably not been riding as many miles for 2-3 of those years due to a bad crash and then spending more time coaching football - and when I have ridden a lot of it has been pootling on my Croix de Fer rather than this bike - maybe ~10k miles?

And if I do replace them stick with ultegra or something else ?
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]

Comments

  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,152
    The only need replacing if the teeth look like a ripple in a pond rather than a cog.

    You can get resin (e.g. Tacx) or Aluminium (e.g. KCNC) ones with cartridge bearings which I like because they seem to spin more freely than the Shimano ones.

    Shimano ones come with some "float" in the bearing which allows some sideways movement which reduces noise (and wear). The aluminium ones that I have used don't have this and are noisier, but I've only used them on a mountain bike so it's not noticeable.

Categories