Weird Campy 11speed rear derailleur cage issue

[IJWS]

This might be too strange to expect anyone to have experience with but here goes:

The chain on the upper pulley of my Record 11 rear derailleur rubs. Only while coasting or backpedaling in a stand.

I started hearing this weird rub a couple months ago. Sometimes when I was coasting downhill, there would be a rubbing noise ONLY when I was coasting. If I pedaled it would go away. I could not figure it out.

Yesterday when I was walking my bike down the hall, the noise was VERY apparent. When I looked closely and started fussing with it, I saw that a portion of the chain was off-axis from the top pulley of the rear derailleur cage--maybe something like 20% of the chain was shifting over towards the outside (away from the bike) of the cage.

It would make that noise, then the noise would go away. After yesterday's revelation, it has been a telltale heart situation--it's all I can hear now and it stresses me out. I tried to ride today but I would hear the rubbing noise every other minute. I think something is wearing and making the issue worse.

Has anyone ever experienced something like this? I have a feeling that it is an easy fix. Something like "new cage assembly" "new chain" and you are done; but I want to know what I am fixing and maybe if I can just repair the issue instead of throwing parts at it.

Any comments/advice/experience is appreciated.

Thank you Paceline!

[Mark McM]

What is the chain rubbing against? You say that it rubs when you are coasting, but what does this mean? If the pedals/cranks are turning, the chain shouldn't be moving (nor should the cassette), so how could it be rubbing against anything?

As far as backpedaling: When in a cross-chained gear, backpedaling can cause the chain to get derailed off the sprocket to another (less cross-chained) sprocket, so that the derailleur cage is no longer lined up with the sprocket the chain is currently on. This can certainly cause the rubbing between the chain and derailleur cage. Pedaling forward should get the chain to shift back to the correct sprocket, eliminating the rub.

[oldpotatoe]

Coasting means the pulleys aren't running BUT, I wonder if the pulleys are on upside down..top on bottom position and bottom on top position.....or the cage is inside down.

[IJWS]

Mark and OP, I wanted to follow up on this even though it is a little embarrassing.

I was sure something was wrong with the derailleur cage. I looked for another derailleur here on the forum, and I ended up buying a clean cage assembly from Cycling Upgrades for like $130. It sat for a week before I decided to jump into the repair.

I broke the chain off, removed the derailleur, removed the old cage (to be fair the pulleys were very worn) and popped on the new cage. While the chain and derailleur were off the bike I did a nice clean of the frame to get the spots I usually can't reach. Also "cleaning a Ti bike by simply wiping it down is such a pleasure. (It is shocking how well 12-year-old cranks still spin btw.) I looked at the rear wheel and went to clean the cassette. The cassette was loose! Like a visible wobble. I went to tighten the cassette, no dice. The light bulb above my head slowly started to dim (emphasis on dim). I put the wheel back on the bike and when I turned the wheel to mimic "coasting" I could perfectly replicate the sound just by holding the cassette.

So I blamed 12-year-old super record with ~30,000miles on it for a simple wear item. I also signed myself up for an extra hour of work for something relatively straightforward. Oh well. Lesson learned. As in almost everything "bike", the problem you think you see isn't the problem and that "sound" is coming from somewhere else

Thanks for your responses. I have to say, seeing how well this "old" Campy stuff works just makes me want more Campy.

[thwart]

Originally Posted by IJWS

I have to say, seeing how well this "old" Campy stuff works just makes me want more Campy.

That said, now that I’ve have a couple of my bikes set up with classic 9 speed Shimano bar-end drivetrains for awhile (I know… shudder at the thought ), I’d have to say almost the same about those durable, well-built components.