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4th Ride a Bummer..

2K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  amor587 
#1 ·
I thought I was through with my stories but sorry guys. I went to our local "All Mountain" area today to try to push the 575 a little harder than the XC trails. It was impressive. I was climbing as well as a guy I normally couldn't come close to and jumping bigger jumps than I've done since I was 13 (I'm 44).

The bad news is that about 2 hours into the ride and at the furthest point from my car something twisted in the chain and I broke the derailleur hanger and slightly bent the RD. I ended up walking about 4 miles to the car. The RD can be fixed but I'm out of commission after less than a week. A bikeshop employee about an hour away may have a hanger and I might just go get it. I've promised the wife and a couple of her friends that I'd lead them on a ride tomorrow.

That doesn't curb my enthusiasm about the 575 a bit. I just need to carry a hanger. Is this a common problem with the 575 or SRAM? Or was I just unlucky?
 
#2 ·
Well you had better luck that I did... on my first ride one of the hanger screws backed out and got lost in the trail... so had to wait over a week for my 2nd ride....

I guess it was just luck.. I now have an extra hanger, but I have never needed to replace one (I think I just jinxed me)

Anyway, i hope you get back riding soon...
 
#4 ·
order up a couple spares from Yeti web site

they'll probably arrive faster and cheaper than driving to this bike shop hoping they have a spare hanger. Oh... and to answer your Q about the bike or SRAM.... Certainly not the bike. I finally had to replace my original hanger on my '05 575 after two years of usage. Mind you.... I don't ride the easiest trails either:p
 
#5 ·
I had a run of bad luck and snapped/bent 3 hangars in the space of a month. I finally bought an aftermarket one from BETD. It has been perfect. I think the stock Yeti ones are (or were) a bit on the soft side. I know they are supposed to be the 'weak' link but it was beginning to piss me off a bit!

Rich
 
#6 ·
Well after living wrong this morning I'm living right this afternoon! I checked at a bike shope 70 miles away. They don't carry Yeti's but 2 of the employees ride 575's. Thought I'd see if they would sell me one. One guy had one he'd sell but it was at home and he couldn't get it until 8:00 tonight which couldn't work for me.

So I looked on the web and found a link to the BETD hanger for the yeti (https://www.betd.co.uk/product_list.asp?CategoryID=147). I also noticed that the same hanger works for K2 Bikes. No K2 dealers in the area either, Crap! Then I remembered that the guy I ride with the most used to have a K2. I gave him a call, "Sure, I have an old hanger in my toolbox, it's yours". Picked it up and ran to the LBS, it needed a tiny bit of trimming with a file and and I was good to go. A little tweak on the RD and a new chain and it shifts like new. I can take the wife on the ride I promised her tomorrow and I have a couple of Yeti RD hangers on order.

Sometimes things just work out. And the K2 trick is good to know..
 
#7 ·
VaughnA said:
That doesn't curb my enthusiasm about the 575 a bit. I just need to carry a hanger. Is this a common problem with the 575 or SRAM? Or was I just unlucky?
I have ridden all over Colorado for the last year on the same hanger and SRAM x.9 rear der. (knocking on wood now) with no problems. I did buy 2 spares from Yeti and carry one with me all the time, which I consider to be the best insurance against bending/breaking one. You can be assured that when you go out without one, you'll bend/break it.
 
#9 ·
VaughnA said:
Well after living wrong this morning I'm living right this afternoon! I checked at a bike shope 70 miles away. They don't carry Yeti's but 2 of the employees ride 575's. Thought I'd see if they would sell me one. One guy had one he'd sell but it was at home and he couldn't get it until 8:00 tonight which couldn't work for me.

So I looked on the web and found a link to the BETD hanger for the yeti (https://www.betd.co.uk/product_list.asp?CategoryID=147). I also noticed that the same hanger works for K2 Bikes. No K2 dealers in the area either, Crap! Then I remembered that the guy I ride with the most used to have a K2. I gave him a call, "Sure, I have an old hanger in my toolbox, it's yours". Picked it up and ran to the LBS, it needed a tiny bit of trimming with a file and and I was good to go. A little tweak on the RD and a new chain and it shifts like new. I can take the wife on the ride I promised her tomorrow and I have a couple of Yeti RD hangers on order.

Sometimes things just work out. And the K2 trick is good to know..
Glad you managed to get a hanger... good to know that the K2 ones are similar :thumbsup:
 
G
#10 ·
Had a Stumpjumper for years. Never had a broken or bent derailleur.

After riding on my 575 for just a couple of months I bent the derailleur hanger. The impact that bent it was not very strong. Luckily my LBS had one in stock. I ordered spares from Yeti and keep one in my saddle bag.

I guess a weak derailleur hanger is better than a busted derailleur or rear triangle.
 
#11 ·
The Yeti hangers are very soft and I would expect that you will bend it again in the future. It doesn't take much. Order a couple of them and keep them as part of your repair kit.

As far as the derailleur, I have had no problems at all. Any derailleur can break off in the right circumstance though. That is not a bike problem, that's a derailleur vs <something else> problem. You may find yourself riding much harder than you used to and because of that you may break or bend things you wouldn't normally have done. That could be a Yeti issue.... The bike just begs to be ridden hard.:thumbsup:
 
#12 ·
I've got them on order and was planning on carrying one every in my camelback. I am pushing myself harder than before already so I expect to scratch and bash it up a bit. It's a mountain bike! I can't stand it when someone worries about a scratch on a mountain bike, or a pickup bed for that matter .I wasn't mad when it happened, just wanting to get back on the bike! My stumpy is happily long gone and I'm loving pushing myself on the 575. I'm just glad my insurance is paid up!
 
#13 ·
I've about had it with SRAM!!

After fixing the hanger and having one ride, I had the chain go into the spokes. And yes, the mechanic had set the limit screw correctly. I watched him and I even checked it when I got home. I checked it today after it happened and the limit screw was broken! The screw is held in by a plastic retainer that had broken and made the screw useless. So in 4 rides I have broken the hanger, and a part on the RD that will have to be replaced. The mechanic at the LBS might have an old SRAM derailleur that I can use until the replacement parts come in but I'm becoming less impressed by the durability of the SRAM stuff. I love the way it works but I'm not sure of the way it lasts.

Since the RD didn't have a stick or anything else before I broke the hanger I suspect that a sticky link was enough to hang the derailleur up, break the hanger, and then force the derailleur up agains the screw and break it. I doubt a shimano would have had the same problem.

I may use an old set of Deore Shifters and XTR RD for now if we can't get this stuff to work with any reliability. Love the bike, starting to hate the Drivetrain!!
 
#16 ·
AZmtncycler said:
All other levels of SRAM is much less durable than XT,XTR stuff. SRAM rocket shifters are wayyy weak as well. Levers bend with any knee impact... Thus my total Shimano drive trains on all my bikes. And.... thus my total:D :D :D :D :D :D
Amen to that.... The 575 is my first ever SRAM drivetrain. Without any major impact, the r. derailleur pulley cage has bent so much so that if I get full travel when I'm on my biggest cog, the pulley inner cage starts hitting the spokes (and yes, I have the low limit set correctly). I need to get to the LBS to order some new pulley cages to try to rebuild it. However, if I come across some $$$, hello new XTR... Shimano does require clean cables (so I replace them every 4 to 6 months) but it is durable and if properly set up, shifts easily as clean as X0 (although not as loud).
 
#17 ·
flipnidaho said:
Amen to that.... The 575 is my first ever SRAM drivetrain. Without any major impact, the r. derailleur pulley cage has bent so much so that if I get full travel when I'm on my biggest cog, the pulley inner cage starts hitting the spokes (and yes, I have the low limit set correctly). I need to get to the LBS to order some new pulley cages to try to rebuild it. However, if I come across some $$$, hello new XTR... Shimano does require clean cables (so I replace them every 4 to 6 months) but it is durable and if properly set up, shifts easily as clean as X0 (although not as loud).
I recently got the new XT shifters and they are :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :D:D:D:D:D Dual release rocks!

 
#19 ·
AZmtncycler said:
All other levels of SRAM is much less durable than XT,XTR stuff. SRAM rocket shifters are wayyy weak as well. Levers bend with any knee impact... Thus my total Shimano drive trains on all my bikes. And.... thus my total:D :D :D :D :D :D
The RD was an X0, with X9 Shifters. Since they are going to fix it I'm going to give it one more chance but I have my spares. I figure if it breaks again I'll sell the SRAM stuff and buy some XT or XTR shifters to go with the XTR derailleur I already have.
 
#20 ·
Make sure your chain is long enough

Not a Yeti owner but I do ride SRAM, here is what may be causing your problem...

Shimano deraileurs pivot at both the der. hanger bolt and cage, but Sram's pivot only at the cage. This is why sram's are quieter, as they can't rotate upward and hit the chainstay. But this also means that sram derailuers aren't nearly as flexible when they get stretched by short chains.

So, lets say your mechanic runs the same length chain they would on their shimano bike- or you break a link and put a shortened chain back on. Keep in mind that your chainstays get effectively longer as the suspension compresses. If you happen to be cross-chained AT ALL and encounter a big hit, then your chain gets stretched out and the derailer or hanger ends up breaking.

I went through like 3 sram derailers in two years before I figured this out... then I started running 2-3 links more than I ever did with shimano- no problems since. Also- make sure to run plenty of B-tension- your derailuer pulleys should be 7-10mm away minimum from the cassette cogs at all times.
 
#22 ·
VaughnA said:
After fixing the hanger and having one ride, I had the chain go into the spokes. And yes, the mechanic had set the limit screw correctly. I watched him and I even checked it when I got home. I checked it today after it happened and the limit screw was broken! The screw is held in by a plastic retainer that had broken and made the screw useless. So in 4 rides I have broken the hanger, and a part on the RD that will have to be replaced. The mechanic at the LBS might have an old SRAM derailleur that I can use until the replacement parts come in but I'm becoming less impressed by the durability of the SRAM stuff. I love the way it works but I'm not sure of the way it lasts.

Since the RD didn't have a stick or anything else before I broke the hanger I suspect that a sticky link was enough to hang the derailleur up, break the hanger, and then force the derailleur up agains the screw and break it. I doubt a shimano would have had the same problem.

I may use an old set of Deore Shifters and XTR RD for now if we can't get this stuff to work with any reliability. Love the bike, starting to hate the Drivetrain!!
Weird. I have had no problems at all with the drive train.

Yeti will make it right though. I know for sure that they will do whatever they can to get this working for you. Possibly you got a faulty SRAM derailleur or something.
 
#23 ·
FM said:
Not a Yeti owner but I do ride SRAM, here is what may be causing your problem...

Shimano deraileurs pivot at both the der. hanger bolt and cage, but Sram's pivot only at the cage. This is why sram's are quieter, as they can't rotate upward and hit the chainstay. But this also means that sram derailuers aren't nearly as flexible when they get stretched by short chains.

So, lets say your mechanic runs the same length chain they would on their shimano bike- or you break a link and put a shortened chain back on. Keep in mind that your chainstays get effectively longer as the suspension compresses. If you happen to be cross-chained AT ALL and encounter a big hit, then your chain gets stretched out and the derailer or hanger ends up breaking.

I went through like 3 sram derailers in two years before I figured this out... then I started running 2-3 links more than I ever did with shimano- no problems since. Also- make sure to run plenty of B-tension- your derailuer pulleys should be 7-10mm away minimum from the cassette cogs at all times.
After the first incident the mechanic told me about that and added a link or two. He did the initial assembly but I'm assuming Yeti set the chain length before they assembled it. I hope that will help. I'm hoping that was the cause and all of the damage was from the first incident.
 
#24 ·
Good point. This does sound like it could be a possible cause.

My wife and I have had SRAM on many bikes (7-8) over the last 5 years and have never had a problem with breakage. I have seen it, but I bet 90% of the time it was due to someone that didn't set the limits correctly, cut the chain too short, or after the hanger has been bent and the cage goes into the spokes.

FM said:
Not a Yeti owner but I do ride SRAM, here is what may be causing your problem...

Shimano deraileurs pivot at both the der. hanger bolt and cage, but Sram's pivot only at the cage. This is why sram's are quieter, as they can't rotate upward and hit the chainstay. But this also means that sram derailuers aren't nearly as flexible when they get stretched by short chains.

So, lets say your mechanic runs the same length chain they would on their shimano bike- or you break a link and put a shortened chain back on. Keep in mind that your chainstays get effectively longer as the suspension compresses. If you happen to be cross-chained AT ALL and encounter a big hit, then your chain gets stretched out and the derailer or hanger ends up breaking.

I went through like 3 sram derailers in two years before I figured this out... then I started running 2-3 links more than I ever did with shimano- no problems since. Also- make sure to run plenty of B-tension- your derailuer pulleys should be 7-10mm away minimum from the cassette cogs at all times.
 
#25 ·
This makes sense.... on another bike of mine I switched from Shimano's RD to SRAM.... first ride out I ended up breaking my RD, chain and hanger. Really didn't know what happened, but it broke on a downhill section. I ended up making the bike a single speed to get home. The chain was the same chain setup from when I had the Shimano RD on the bike. I ended up getting another SRAM RD, new chain (setup by myself with a couple extra links), and new hanger. Never had another problem like it since. The SRAM stuff were x7 components, but I sure did like them over the previous XT stuff (just personal opinion though).
 
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