47. How To Overhaul a Jockey Wheel
Removal, lubrication and installation of a standard jockey (pulley) wheel.
IMPORTANT: Nuts and bolts on your bike should always be tightened to the manufacturer's specifications.
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In this tutorial we’ll learn how to overhaul a standard jockey wheel (pulley wheel) on your rear derailleur. In a future tutorial we’ll cover the sealed cartridge bearing style found on higher end derailleurs.
Tools
For this job you’ll typically need a 2.5 or 3mm allen key. Some older models have a nutted bolt requiring a metric wrench. You’ll also need a rag and some waterproof grease.
Pulley Removal
First you’ll want to remove the chain from the front chainring to give it some slack. You don’t need to remove the rear derailleur or cable for this job, but I will for this video so we can see things a bit better.
It is important to note that the upper and lower pulley wheels are different, so they should be overhauled one at a time to avoid a mix-up. The upper wheel will often have a thicker profile.
Remove the jockey wheel’s bolt by unthreading the bolt counter-clockwise. Once the bolt is removed, the jockey wheel will slide out of the derailleur cage. There will be a cupped washer facing inward on either side. Remove these and then pull the bushing sleeve out from the center.
Cleaning
Now wipe all parts clean with a dry rag. You can use a little cleaning solvent if needed. Inspect the teeth on the jockey wheel. These ones are in good shape. If yours are broken or badly worn they will need replacing.
Lubrication & Installation
Before reinstalling, apply some grease to the bolt, bushing sleeve, and inside of the pulley wheel. Then slide the bushing back into the wheel and hold the cupped washers in place on either side while you place the wheel back into the derailleur cage. Then tighten the bolt to the specified torque: usually around 3 Newton Meters or 20 inch pounds.
Repeat the process as needed for the other jockey wheel. If for some reason both wheels are removed and the inner cage plate has come off, remember that the larger end of the cage plate always attaches to the lower pulley wheel.
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Hundreds of photos and hundreds of procedures.
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12 Responses to “How To Overhaul a Jockey Wheel”
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and oh, if you have a maintenance/repair question, please ask in the help forums.
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Hi Alex
Excellent work as always. Just one question. Do you have a recommend time frame/mileage for servicing jockey wheels? I lube mine with each chain lube but haven’t properly serviced them.
Thanks
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
There isn’t a specific mileage or timeframe they should be serviced. Check them every so often to see if they are spinning freely. Take a look inside if they’re spinning rough. Also keep an eye out for teeth that are worn (looking like shark teeth).
Hi Alex,
Very nice!!!!!! Per say I came across a crack in one of the jockey wheels, but the derailler is in excellent condition. Are the jockey wheels something that is available to replace or would it require a purchase of a complete rear derailler?
Hey Bill,
Yes, you should be able to find replacement jockey wheels. Take your derailleur down to your local bike shop or post some photos in the forums so we can help you find one.
Of course it is way easier to service the pulleys with the chain off the bike. Clean your chain while it is off the bike too. Getting the chain to run as smoothly after opening and re-closing it is a risk factor in my experience. As the pulleys are in the dirtiest part of the typical road bike, I think frequent service is a good idea. I am always amazed at how dirty my “sealed” Shimano pulleys are — on the inside. If your drive train squeaks, clicks or groans cleaning your chain and pulleys is a good place to start. I clean mine with Simple Green, rinse with water, dry, then use Tri-Flo as a re-assembly lube.
Enjoyed the video on jockey wheels but wondering what you meant by ‘cleaning solvent’ to clean them. Mine are due to be overhauled and do need a clean, will something like GT85 be adequate or not? Thanks …..
Hi Kevin,
I’ve never used GT85 but after reading the description on their site it looks like it would work fine as a cleaner for your jockey wheels. I would still use grease for lubrication.
Hi Kevin
Good vid. All the necessary details without the vid being hours long.
Any good suggestions on sites where they sell the jockey wheel bolts? Think I’ve looked about everywhere
Thanks
Alex is the one who runs the site Carsten, his videos man, I’m just an appreciative cyclist ……
Hey Alex, yet another great video. My question is, I have an XTR rear 9 speed mountain bike derailer, and when I removed my jockey wheels to overhaul them, i could not get the middle pieces out. It states right on the jockey wheel “SEALED BEARINGS”. So does this mean that I can not get them apart or not supposed to be taking them apart? Your video was great and I was all excited to do this simple service, but it turned sour when I took off the wheels and couldn’t do anything further. Thanks. ( i just gave them a good cleaning and they appear to be smooth, but they’ve never been overhauled or given much attention in almost 8 years. Teeth not worn either.)
Hi Dave,
Your jockey wheel bearings are sealed so there should be no need to overhaul them if they feel ok. I’ll do a video on how to replace these in the future!
Often folks remove their chains to clean them, but the experts say that you should use a chain cleaning machine and do it while still on the bike to avoid the remote possibility (heavy sarcasm) of putting the chain together wrong. For example, most Shimano chains can not be re joined without a three dollar re joining pin. I have used the Finish Line machine and the Park. Both are good. The FL has a upturned right hand exit portal so the juices are less likely to flow out of it, thanks to gravity.