Which Parts to Replace

This page is intended to help you determine which parts to replace. If you still have questions, we recommend to consider our mail-in rebuild service, or to send us an email at support@madronecycles.com. Also be sure to check out this page on deciding to rebuild.

Common Scenario

We find that about 90% of used or semi-functional (but not destroyed) derailleurs are brought back to 100% shifting quality with the Madrone links and super shims. This is because these 2 products eliminate play in the bushings and ensure you have straight, stiff links. Play and deformation in these areas of the derailleur are worse than a bent cage, and are quite common due to the whole derailleur assembly being like a complex lever arm.

Shifting Issues

If your derailleur "sort of" works, has inconsistent behavior, makes mystery shifts, delayed shifting, requires frequent adjustment that never seems to work perfect, or has "gremlins" of this nature, there is a very good chance you have one of the issues below...

Bushing wear: If your derailleur works, but not all the time or as it did when new, there is a good chance that you have worn out bushings (either in the mounting bolt or the parallelogram links. We find this on most derailleurs we rebuild, even very new ones.

Parallelogram link bends: Another common issue is having a slight bend in the parallelogram links. Usually its not clearly visible, and was probably caused by a small crash, or even just having your bike tip over. These small impacts can often deform the links, affecting shifting. If you have significant scratches on your outer link, there is a decent chance your links are deformed.

Other common mystery issues: The SRAM derailleurs are very sensitive to the B screw adjustment, so make sure that is set properly. Also, a bent derailleur hangar can be a common culprit that people avoid addressing. You can consider getting a new hangar or aligning it with a hangar alignment tool. Lastly, an overly-worn chain or cassette will also contribute to mystery shifting issues.

Links

We recommend our links as the main product to consider when rebuilding your derailleur. The links come with new bushings as well. The Madrone bushings and links are machined to very tight tolerances, which is critical for good shifting performance.

Super Shims

The super shims use a shim and a wave spring to eliminate the play in the mounting bolt of SRAM derailleurs. More info and compatibility notes are found here. These are a very low cost solution to improve shift performance, to a very common problem. This short video shows you how to install them. 

Pins

New pins are not necessary unless they are bent or pitted. Bent pins can occur with larger impacts but we do not often see them. If you are in doubt when ordering, go ahead and get the pins. They work great!

Please do not order pins without the Madrone links. The SRAM derailleurs are extremely difficult to rebuild without special tools. Furthermore, the Madrone tools do not work with the SRAM links (they only fit the Madrone links).  The reason for this is that it is difficult to diagnose and correctly replace just one part in the SRAM parallelogram link and bushing assembly. The best way to ensure 100% shifting performance again is to replace the parts as a set, and the Madrone links are designed to be easy to rebuild once installed. Thus, if you order just pins planning to swap them when you rebuild with SRAM links, you will be in for a very frustrating experience, and even if you complete the rebuild, your shifting will likely not improve.

Cages

The Madrone cages are a good choice when you have a bent cage, and are looking for a durable and stiff cage. They are designed to keep debris from getting caught in the lower pulley. They also have additional material in the right places for a lot of extra stiffness. As such, they will add weight compared to the stock SRAM cages (SRAM GX, X01, and XX1 all have different materials/weights). The Madrone cages are CNC machined, anodized, and etched.

Pulleys

The Madrone pulleys are a good choice when your stock pulleys are worn out (teeth or bearings). They are machined from 6061-T6 aluminum and anodized. They have a smooth outer surface to prevent things from getting caught in them, and it also makes them easy to clean.

Battery Contact Pins

If your battery contact pins are stuck down or don't make contact, we can fix that for you with our mail in rebuild service. We remove the old pins and board, solder new pins to the wires, and then bond them into a 3D printed frame. They function as good as new and restore the electrical contact to the battery.

Battery Latch

If your battery latch is broken or stretched, unfortunately we do not have a solution for this. However, if you are open to more significant modifications and live in the US, we can try to repair it with the mail in rebuilds.

SRAM Clutch

The SRAM clutches are not rebuild-able or adjustable. They are manufactured as a closed sub-assembly and molded into the plastic housing that they are in. If your SRAM clutch is not working, we recommend getting a new derailleur.