Rear derailleur rubbing on 34t cog

A reader doesn’t enjoy the grind-grind-grind of his XTR derailleur on his 2003 Enduro’s cassette. What to do?

Lee,

I have a 2003 Enduro Expert and since your an Enduro enthusiast, I thought you might be able to answer my question.

The bike has an LX chain, LX cassette, and a 2002 XTR derailluer. I adjust the B-tension screw as much as I can and the derailleur seems fine when it’s in the granny gear in the back, but when I go to ride it in that gear, and I begin to put tension on the drivetrain (like in a climb), I begin to hear/feel the derailleur grind into the largest and second to largest cog (34 tooth).

Thanks for your time,

Brian Froeber

Hey Brian.

I got the scoop from the man himself, Brandon Sloan. He’s the product manager for Specialized Enduros.

Hey!

The hanger that is on the old Enduro (and our older Stumpjumper, Epic…) in combo with Shimano rear derailleurs and 34t cassettes can produce some chain bouncing in the 34. The hanger is within Shimano requirements, but the older Shimano rear derailleurs (non-rapid rise) were designed to work best with 32t cogsets. The 34 is at the limit of the derailleur’s comfort range.

Some ideas to help would be:

– Insert the B-tension screw backwards (basically extending the screw’s range).

– Run a rapid rise rear derailleur (bad).

– Rrun a 32 rear cog.

– Run SRAM. (This is what I do. – Lee)

– Play with the chain length (a longer chain might help?).

– Live with the noise.

Brandon