Help - Broken return spring on 2005 SRAM XO rear derailleur

[abikerider]

So my wife is riding her bike today and suddenly she can't shift up a gear on her rear derailleur. I look and I find this, a broken spring for the parallelogram mechanism that pulls the shifter toward high gear. (circled in red in photo)

I know, I know, the cable end is really frayed. I've never seen this type of failure before. Anyone out there have this happen or know if I have any chance of finding a replacement spring? I can't find anything online. Maybe they still use the same springs on newer derailleurs? Maybe I can order a spring out of an online catalog? I really can't afford a new derailleur right now. I'll try to contact SRAM on Monday to see if they can help but somehow I really doubt they will be of any help. Any help from this forum would be greatly appreciated.

[AlexRandall]

I've heard of this part being sold separately in the past, however you'll still need to contact a distributor as they'll really be the only hope for something this esoteric. They may well have parts like this from warranty derailleurs or just as spares.....good luck!

[wschruba]

Strictly speaking, that's considered a non-replaceable part. In reality, you can do it (with a spring from just about any modern SRAM derailleur of the same speed) but it is both a pain to remove and a pain to install.

[abikerider]

MTBR member Kroe says he has a used one he can sell me so I think I'll be OK. I realize it will be a bit tricky to replace but I'm good at that kind of stuff. I'll let everyone know how it works out.

[pinkston32]

Yeah it's a pain. I'm almost certain the stock X.0 one is Ti as well (making it more fragile than spring steel). I bought a lot of RDs off eBay and one X.0 had the same issue. I bend the old spring to make a new loop to go over the pivot. It ended up about a loop shorter, increasing spring tension. But I managed to make it work and it's held up for the last year or so. I also have a ghetto short cage setup since it had a snapped carbon cage as well, but that's a different story.

I'd spray it down with some Teflon or Silicone lube too after cleaning it up.

[abikerider]

Well I replaced the spring. I didn't realize the linkage pins were press fit in. It was even more of a PITA than I thought. I had to get creative using a vice with a 16p nail and a small socket to press the two pins out. Getting them back in was even worse. I hope I don't need to do that again. I will lube it with some teflon grease but the plastic bushings in the linkage move freely and the derailleur is back on the bike and working perfectly. I did not even realize the spring was titanium but I checked the old one and it's nonmagnetic. Maybe I should have gotten a steel spring for reliability. Oh well.

[006_007]

Well I replaced the spring. I didn't realize the linkage pins were press fit in. It was even more of a PITA than I thought. I had to get creative using a vice with a 16p nail and a small socket to press the two pins out. Getting them back in was even worse. I hope I don't need to do that again. I will lube it with some teflon grease but the plastic bushings in the linkage move freely and the derailleur is back on the bike and working perfectly. I did not even realize the spring was titanium but I checked the old one and it's nonmagnetic. Maybe I should have gotten a steel spring for reliability. Oh well.

Ti is plenty reliable.

Nice work on the DIY job. I was gonna offer you one of my spare X0 I have sitting in a box.

[AlexRandall]

The movement of the spring is slow and measure, as it tends only to move when shifting. This sort of stress is fine for ti

[pinkston32]

Yep good job! I personally did not take out the linkage pins at all. I just bent the spring back around the pivot with some long needle-nose pliers. Hope it lasts for you.

[agoura_biker]

Yep good job! I personally did not take out the linkage pins at all. I just bent the spring back around the pivot with some long needle-nose pliers. Hope it lasts for you.

I have this exact problem on my X0 of the same vintage. I didn't think it was salvageable, though I've kept it just in case. I'm not sure about doing the swap with the pressed-in pins, but it might be worth it if I could get a spring. On the other hand, the idea of just making a new loop on the old spring and not having to take out the linkage pins sounds good, too! I'm going to try that! I wonder if it will last, though.

[pinkston32]

Found my old thread. Looks like I did take one of the pivots off, but it was not press-fit on the X.0. It is actually held on with a circlip, and the pivot slid out pretty easily with the circlip removed.

For Any Physics People Out There... Derailleur Return Spring Rate

Still holding up perfectly.

[agoura_biker]

Found my old thread. Looks like I did take one of the pivots off, but it was not press-fit on the X.0. It is actually held on with a circlip, and the pivot slid out pretty easily with the circlip removed.

For Any Physics People Out There... Derailleur Return Spring Rate

Still holding up perfectly.

Thanks! I checked my derailleur and the pins aren't pressed in, either; they are held on with circlips, so that should make it easier to get off. I haven't tried bending the spring, not sure how easy that is going to be.

In that thread you talked about still trying to buy some replacement springs. Did you ever do that?

[pinkston32]

Nah I never did bother to get more springs. The X.0 spring is still fine even after being significantly shortened. Pieces of the spring snapped once or twice when I tried to reshape it, but it worked out eventually with a more gentle bend.

The X.9 I have with same issue is just being used for parts. Plus X.9 and lower derailleurs have riveted pins instead of the removable ones on the X.0.

The spring rate numbers should still be good. Amazon and other online hardware suppliers have the right kinds of springs if you're interested.