Poor rear shifting, worn out Jockey Wheel?

[GoatBeard]

Got an Ultegra rear mech. On the outer Jockey Wheel there's some lateral play, and I'm wondering if this is causing my shifting to be a bit hit and miss in the mid range. I can dial it on the barrel adjuster perfectly, but once I'm on the big front cog things get pretty indecisive.

New mech time or is it possible to refurbish the Jockey Wheel?

 

[DCLane]

You can replace jockey wheels easily, rather than refurbish.

 

[Noodle Legs]

As @DCLane said, replace rather than refurbish jockey wheels if you must - there’s nothing to refurbish on them anyway!
Should be no more than a 5-10 min job tops to replace them.
I’m having bad shifting issues on my cube (105 10spd). Cleaned chain, cassette and jockey wheels, new cable fitted as old one was frayed, but can I get it to index properly? Can I b0ll0x! Need to start all over again as if it were a new mech.

 

[Moodyman]

On Shimano derailleurs the upper jockey wheel is designed with slight play as it helps shifting.

Not sure if this is what you mean by 'outer' jockey wheel.

By the way, jockeys last several thousands miles typically.

 

[raleighnut]

^^^^^^ wot e sed

Shimano upper jockey wheels have about a mm side to side 'float', I've heard it's so the chain sideplates don't ride up on top of the sprocket teeth.

 

[Cycleops]

Would have thought the play would need to be very significant to make any real difference to the shifting. Don’t Ultegra have some high grade bearings in the jockey wheels?
Give it a try anyway and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Apollonius]

Your problem is much more likely to be a dodgy cable. Jockey wheels do make a difference, but not as much as a "sticky" cable.

 

[Ajax Bay]

As others have said, play in the upper (guide) jockey wheel is there by design.
As far as 'how long should they last?' a dirty chain and generally abrasive road detritus/sand conditions will reduce their life, as will gratuitous cross chaining (tension wheel), but my last lot did 20,000km - images:
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/jockey-wheels-bearing-or-not.260779/page-2#post-5987512
In fact read that thread. Replacing them, as @DCLane says, is easy. I recommend threadlock on both screws, and btw, 3Nm is the torque for jockey wheel screws.

 

[screenman]

When did you last have your rear mech alignment checked? I can guess the answer.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Didn't even 'page you' @screenman

 

[bruce1530]

I bought a nice second hand bike once. Genuine seller, he said that he had always had trouble with the (Shimano 105, 11sp) shifting, but could not work out what was wrong..

It took me a while to realise what was wrong. The jockey wheels were in the wrong way round - the “loose” one was at the bottom, and the chain was skipping on it sometimes. Swapped them over, and all fine.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Although in this case (to avoid misleading the OP), the top (guide) jockey wheel has "some lateral play" so right one in the correct place.

 

[Globalti]

When was the last time you changed the cable outer at the derailleur? If you're using the bike in wet salty conditions the cable needs changing every six months because it gets rusted and crudded up and shifting performance suffers. Your best investment would be some cable cutters and a couple of metres of cable outer, failing that get your LBS to cut up a metre into the right length and keep the bits in a safe place.

When you change it you'll be amazed at the improvement in shifting.

 

[Broadside]

Didn't even 'page you' @screenman

I know it’s a bit of a laugh but @screenman is right about this. I bought the alignment tool and all bikes I have used it on needed some hangar adjustment, it does fix a host of gear issues and noisy rattly transmission.

 

[faster]

I took my Ultegra 6800 mech apart yesterday for maintenance - there is no play in the upper jockey wheel.

If you are having trouble with shifting and the cable hasn't been replaced, check/replace asap. The inner cables fray at the shifter and it can be very, very difficult to get all of the broken strands of cable out of the shifter (also done yesterday!).

The cable can be an absolute mess before it has a big impact on shifting and from experience goes from working well to being totally jammed in a few miles.