When replacing a chain at what angle should the rear derailleur be?

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Lauris

Active Member
Photo 1 is in biggest rear cog and front on biggest ring
Photo 2 is in smallest rear cog and front on the biggest ring.

I feel that in photo 1 the angle of the rear derailleur is a bit too much??
 

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Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
Bearing in mind that you should never be in the big/big and small/small combinations, what does it look like when it is the small/big and big/small combinations?
 
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OP
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Lauris

Active Member
Bearing in mind that you should never be in the big/big and small/small combinations, what does it look like when it is the small/big and big/small combinations?
Yeah I know that :smile:. I was just following the video on youtube from Parktool. They say put in biggest cog on rear and on the front biggest chain ring which shows at which angle rear derailleur should be.

Photo 2 is small/big combo
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
When in large/large the RD cage should be no less than 45 degrees from horizontal.
Most riders avoid large/large but will eventually go there inadvertently (in the dark say) so the chain must allow that. A chain which is too long has much less adverse consequences in small/small, and what's more it'll let you know probably on small/second smallest sprocket, prompting a change to the the big ring. Large/small and small/large are not limiting combos: in fact they're precisely the combos you'll be in when flying downhill or grinding up steep hills respectively.
 
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the snail

Guru
Location
Chippenham
Is the chain threaded through the derailleur correctly? Looks a bit odd in the 1st pic.
 
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