Best rear mech - sandy/wet conditions

[Sheepy1209]

Hi, this morning I had a bit of a rear mech disaster; something jammed, the retaining bolt sheared and the derailleur went flying round the wheel.
I don't know what caused it, which is a worry, and it happened on the first revolution of the crank. I rode the bike yesterday in dry conditions, everything was working just fine, so why it would go belly up this morning I haven't a clue.

Anyway, I've got to fix it and need a new rear mech (the hanger looks OK, I've got the old bolt out, and the bike came with a spare anyway).

The bike has to handle wet sand much of the time - I keep it as clean as I can but it'll never be perfect; the jockey wheels in particular soon get clogged with a thick sandy paste.

Is there any rear mech which is likely to cope with these conditions better than any other? For example, is anything easier to clean than the current Alivio?

My budget's pretty tight but I'll upgrade to Deore if it's worth it - equally, if I can save a few quid by going down to Acera I will. I'm not bothered about weight but durability and frequency of adjustment are important to me - I commute when I can, typically about 60 - 80 miles a week.

[EDIT: Also, do new rear mechs usually come with a new mounting bolt?]

The bike, by the way, is a 2007 Fuji Absolute DX. It's done about 1600 miles from new.

Thanks

 

[PpPete]

I can only sympathise...
Had a similar incident recently, still havn't figured out cause. Could be chain "whiplash", could be mech body failure, could be a limit screw problem.

Sand is going to kill any mech I would have thought.
Go for the cheapest and replace frequently?

 

[shouldbeinbed]

it may be worth paying out the once and upgrading to a hub gear.

 

[Steve Austin]

Sand will kill all mechs. I would get a deore at least, but no mech will like sand.

 

[Sheepy1209]

Thanks all - pretty much what I thought - I did consider going for a hub gear when I got the bike but I didn't expect to have to contend with quite so much sand! (It's not as if I ride the thing on the beach........). I think n+1 could involve hub gears.

I should add it's not sand that caused this as far as I can see - in fact the previous weekend I'd given the drivetrain as thorough a clean as I could without taking it apart - it's just that I thought this might be an opportunity to upgrade to something tougher/easier to clean.

Ta