Installing Specialized Expedition Rear Derailleur

User-Contributed Guide

User-Contributed Guide

This guide is not managed by iFixit staff.

In this guide you will learn how to install and adjust your rear derailleur so that your gears shift properly through the full range of gear ratios.

  • Author: Travis Tonder
  • Time required: 30 to 45 minutes
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Add Note x

What’s a Derailleur?

The derailleur is your bike’s gear shifting device. When you adjust the shifter on your handlebars, the derailleur pushes your bike chain to the next gear over, and then adjusts the length of the chain to accommodate the change in gear size.

In steps 2 and 3, we adjust the high and low end adjustment stops, which set the maximum inward and outward distance that the derailleur can move the bike chain. Setting these boundaries prevents the derailleur from shifting the chain off of the sprockets and onto the axle.

By putting the shifter in the highest gear in step 4, the cable is let out as far as possible when we clamp down on it. This ensures that all slack is removed from the line.

Tools
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Add Note Edit Step 1 — Rear Derailleur  ¶ 

  • Bolt the derailleur to the mounting tab with an Allen wrench.

  • Be careful not to over-tighten the steel bolt, as this can strip the aluminum mounting tab.

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Add Note Edit Step 2  ¶ 

  • Shift the rear derailleur into the highest gear(smallest sprocket).

  • Align the rear guide sprocket of the derailleur with the highest gear (smallest sprocket), by tightening or loosening the screw labeled "H".

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Add Note Edit Step 3  ¶ 

  • Shift the rear derailleur into the lowest gear(largest sprocket).

  • Align the rear guide sprocket of the derailleur with the lowest gear(largest sprocket), by tightening or loosening the screw labeled "L".

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Add Note Edit Step 4  ¶ 

  • Shift the bike into the highest numbered gear.

  • Slide the cable through the barrel adjuster screw until the cable housing bottoms out.

  • Pull the slack out of the cable while clamping it down with the nut that is attached to the derailleur.

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Add Note Edit Step 5  ¶ 

  • Route the chain around the chain rings, cassette, and derailleur.

  • Reconnect both ends of the chain using a master link or a chain cutter tool.

  • See the chain connection guide.

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Add Note Edit Step 6  ¶ 

  • Fine tune the derailleur by tightening or loosening the barrel adjuster screw. Loosening this screw causes the derailleur to move slightly towards a larger sprocket, while tightening it moves the derailler towards a smaller sprocket.

  • Shift through each gear while pedaling. The derailleur should move the chain one gear over each time you shift up or down.

  • If the chain skips or makes noise when you are not shifting, use the barrel adjustment screw to fine tune the derailleur alignment.

  • Repeat the previous steps until the derailleur shifts smoothly and makes a minimal amount of noise.

For future adjustments it is likely that you will only need to adjust the barrel adjuster screw for fine adjustment.

For more information, check out the Specialized Expedition device page.

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