Jab Derailleur Development

Madrone is developing our very own derailleur! We've been working on this project since early 2024 and showed our first version at Sea Otter. It was born out of the observations developing the Missing Links for SRAM derailleurs, as well as issues we frequently encounter with derailleurs from SRAM and Shimano. At some point, we realized we could solve many of the issues we were attempting to address (and more!) by creating our own derailleur, designed around rebuild-ability, compatibility, and precision.

It is named the "Jab" after the iconic Jabberwocky trail right here in Ashland, Oregon! The Jab derailleur is built for mid-to-high-end bikes of all kinds - MTB, gravel, e-bikes, and even downhill. Whether you’re building a new ride or replacing a tired derailleur, the Jab is designed to integrate seamlessly into your drivetrain.

It’s been an incredible journey, with plenty of trial, error, and hard-learned lessons. Not every idea has made the cut, but staying true to simplicity, reliability, and durability has driven some truly innovative solutions. We’ve put the Jab through its paces - testing, abusing, and improving it with every iteration. The results? A derailleur that delivers precision, performance, and serviceability like no other.

We will be launching it at Sea Otter 2025, and availability will be around that time.

The derailleur components are CNC machined a our manufacturer in Shenzhen China. We've worked with this supplier for several years. They are high tech, have great communication and great quality.

The derailleur parts are inspected at the supplier before they ship out, and then again when they arrive in the US. They are assembled in the US, and shipped out to customers from there.

Initially, we will focus on a CNC machined version of the Jab in order to make a precise, high end derailleur where we have flexibility to modify tolerances and shapes in order to refine the design. However, we also intend to launch lower cost, tooled versions when the dust settles after the initial launch. This gives us the ability to compete with other high end cable actuated derailleurs like XX1 or XTR and deliver more benefits. We always aim to strike a good balance of value and performance.

The core goals of the Jab are:

  1. Serviceability - you can rebuild it easily with common tools.
  2. Precision - confident, crisp shifts even after a lot of use.
  3. Compatibility - shifts flawlessly with different 1x drivetrains, MTB or drop bar, 11 or 12 speed.

The derailleur is mechanically cable actuated for several reasons:

  1. Reliability. While cable actuation is not immune to failures, dead batteries are pretty common, and who wants to be worried about battery charge levels in the derailleur and shifter during an important race or ride? 
  2. Shifting speed. Fast and crisp, mechanical actuation allows you to push through multiple gears with your fingers, or click rapidly, and there is less delay/hesitation compared to the electronic options from the big drivetrain companies.
  3. Feel. Cable actuation gives the rider intuitive feedback at your fingers so you know what is going on back at your derailleur and cassette. You can tell when the shifting is perfectly tuned, or has hesitation. You can push through multiple gears. This experience is similar to driving a manual transmission vehicle vs an automatic. You are one with your machine.
  4. Development cost. To develop an electronic drivetrain that seriously competes with existing electronic drivetrains would require significant resources. Madrone Cycles is still a small company, so it doesn't make much sense. 
  5. Environmental impact. Electronic drivetrains have batteries and printed circuit boards in them. These contain hard to recycle materials and sub-assemblies. 

Version 1 (Exploratory Prototype)

Revealed at Sea Otter 2024, and tested March 2024 through July 2024.

Primary design features tested:

  • Hydraulic clutch: Eliminated due to complexity.
  • Ball bearing pivots: These made it to 2nd version of the derailleur, but we improved how they were fixed into the links.
  • Large cable pulley: Reduced diameter later because it was unnecessarily large.
  • Carbon fiber cage: Eliminated due to non-recyclability of material.

This version was made simply to see if there was any potential to make a competitive derailleur. It was clear we were on to something interesting, but it also became clear that derailleurs are deceptively complex, and need to be well tested to be reliable. Game on.

Version 2 (Refined Prototype)

Revealed at the MADE Show 2024, and tested August 2024 through November 2024. Several units were made for testing, each being updated with revised components throughout testing.

Primary design features tested:

  • Flexible cage: Eliminated due to complexity and limited benefit). We tested several cage designs on these prototypes, all with various degrees of flexibility, and shapes.
  • Ball bearing pivots: Improved over prior version, but the difficulty of replacement, as well as contamination and weight issues led us to drop the ball bearings and go with an advance bushing design for the 3rd version of the derailleur.
  • Adjustable clutch: Worked great, but further simplification was possible.
  • Ratchet mechanism in clutch: Worked well but we planned to make it tighter.
  • Nested linkage return springs: This makes the return force nice and high, even for the small cogs. This also allows us to design springs that will not fatigue and lose their effective stiffness.
  • UDH stiffener plate mount: Worked great. Overall mounting bolt internals needed to be further simplified though.
  • Multiple cam profiles: SRAM, Shimano, and Shimano shifter with e13 cassette.

This version addressed all the things we learned on V1, and also took a step forward in compactness, manufacturability, serviceability, simplification, and we made sure to steer clear of existing patents. 

We were pleased with the overall performance of the shifting and clutch. Setting the clutch up stiff is great for rough terrain. We found and addressed various small issues through testing, such as set screws coming loose, difficulty cleaning some areas, the cable pulley rubbing, and cam interference in the small cog. This version of the derailleur was overbuilt and heavy, but served its purpose well.

Version 3 (Pre-Production Test Units)

Revealed November 2024, and tested from November through present day. Many units were made for final testing, tolerancing refinement, user experience, and color evaluation.

Primary design features tested:

  • Tolerances: There are numerous critical fits, and all of them affect performance, we are refining each of them for good, repeatable performance, and tolerances that are manufacturable)
  • Bushing pivots: We have a ton of experience and hard lessons learned on the Missing Link bushing pivots that was applied to the Jab. We have our own unique bushing design, which helps maintain a good seal and tolerances. These reduced weight, give longer life than ball bearings, and still allow smooth rotation. 
  • 2x and 3x cages: Unfortunately the body of the derailleur will not support 2x and 3x, so that will need to be a different version of the Jab, which will be postponed until we catch up after the 1x launch in April. This was a very difficult wall to hit late in the development, but we had to set it aside and move forward with the 1x.
  • More cams: We now have a cool in house cam development process, and are continually adding to the list.
  • Tighter engagement angle on clutch: Down to 3 degrees which works well, and may go to 2 degrees for production.
  • Bi-directional clutch friction: If testing proves that this works well, it will eliminate the ratchet further simplifying the design. However, this is not planned to make it to production unless we gain more confidence in long term reliability.
  • Production weight: Approximately 280g to 290g for the long cage version, and the plan is to be on part with high end mechanical derailleurs from big name companies.

This version is a pre-production design, and is the culmination of all prior testing, distilled into the simplest form we can. We've had a lot of communication with our manufacturer on tolerances, machining processes, anodizing, etc. The testing at this point is more focused on refinement and final details, rather than exploring or learning new things. 

To receive updates on our derailleur, subscribe to our emails at the bottom of the page. We will send out updates on the development, release timing, colors, cost, etc.