Mechanical: Bent rapid rise derailer cage

[Eric Marth]

Hey hey hey everyone. I recently picked up a Shimano XTR rapid rise mech, the M951. When it came in the mail all seemed good to go. Nice and clean! But I went to install it on my Appaloosa and found the cage is out of alignment. Picture attached. The pulley wheels are not vertically aligned with the cogs of the cassette.

I had a 2021 Deore rear mech on the bike when I started, it was working fine. I ended up putting a XTR M952 on the bike and it works great! So the issue is definitely with this rapid rise XTR. 

Can anyone recommend a fix for this? I wanted to check with the group, seek some wisdom, before I mounted the mech in my bench vise and started torquing. 

Thanks!

[Joe Bernard]

Is it bending like this under all the cogs? I'm wondering if the problem is simply that you need to unscrew the limit screw at the big cog. 

[Eric Norris]

Have you tried putting a chain on it? Maybe placing tension on the derailleur will bring it into alignment?

--Eric Norris
campyo...@me.com
Insta: @CampyOnlyGuy
YouTube: YouTube.com/CampyOnlyGuy 

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[Joe Bernard]

Oh, Eric has the better plan. I didn't notice there's no chain, my question doesn't make sense 🙃

[Jon Dukeman]

Can't tell by the picture..

Have you checked your derailleur hanger alignment

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[Bill Lindsay]

Also on the checklist of things to check: the bolt for XTR rear mechs is aluminum.  If a previous installer cross threaded it, it's pretty easy for the steel of the dropout to kind of rethread that bolt in that crooked orientation, if the previous installer was pretty ham-handed.  If that were the case, the "bend" would be in the bolt, and "bending" the cage in the bench vise would be a case of two wrongs trying to make a right.

BL in EC

[Daniel MacPherson]

Any sign of an accident? Maybe a bunch of scrapes along the pulley cage. If it’s that bent you would expect some visible damage. But i would exhaust all other options before trying to straighten the pulley cage. I’ve never done it. It strikes me as very difficult to do it without damaging the rest of the derailleur.

Daniel M 

Tallahassee Fl

[Patrick Moore]

No need for a bench vise for the necessary torquing. I recall fixing a similar problem on a RD whose make and model I've long forgotten (tho' 8-sp XTs have long be a favorite) by sticking a 12"-long screwdriver into the cage the shoving it in the right direction. The RD worked fine after that.

As always, proceed at your own risk.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Eric Marth]

Thanks all for your replies and insight. I took another look at the cage and there's no play between the cage plates and the main body, it won't change alignment when it's under tension with a chain installed. Also eyeballing the cage it's definitely out of square with the derailer body and the hanger bolt. 

@Joe Bernard: Yes, it's out of alignment in all positions. 

@Eric Norris: There's no play in the cage, if I add some tension with a chain it pivots but it's still out of alignment. 

@row2nowhere: As two other derailers work just fine on the same bike I am fairly confident it's not the hanger. 

@Bill Lindsay: I had a similar thought but the threads are in good shape and I was careful not to cross-thread when I installed. 

@Daniel M: No evidence of an accident as far as I can see. Some lite scrapes and scuffs you might expect on a derailer from 1997. 

@Patrick: Yes, it might be time to try some gentle persuasion if not finesse!