# SRAM Force rear derailleur alignment and noise



## beactive (Jan 2, 2012)

I'm on my third Sram Force RD in 2 years and it gets noisy very quickly after proper tuning from my LBS. THe first 2 rides are nice a quiet but then after that I keep hearing noise in the rear cassette & derailleur. The hanger is straight but the angle of the Sram always looks askew. Do others find the Force RD problematic with noise? Is the Red RD any better or should I just switch to Shimano?


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## 007david (Dec 24, 2007)

Braze-on or clamp? Also do you have a barrel adjuster somewhere inline (not related to being off set, but there may be something else)?


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## redondoaveb (Jan 16, 2011)

007david said:


> Braze-on or clamp? Also do you have a barrel adjuster somewhere inline (not related to being off set, but there may be something else)?


Rear derailleur.


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## 007david (Dec 24, 2007)

Yeah, I just noticed that. I'm just so used to the front being the screwy one, and I thought the "switch to shimano" just meant the FD.

That said, on the rear, I'd check the hanger just once more to be absolutely sure, and by that I mean if measuring against the wheel use a perfectly true wheel or measure on the valve as a constant point. If it's acceptable, then I'd check the bit of housing running from the chainstay to the RD to see whether it's gunked up (checking cable tension while you're at it). If that's clean and smooth and the tension is right, then see whether there's 6mm of gap between the guide pulley and the largest cog. If all of those, then I'd make sure the housing running from the chainstay to the RD has a smooth bend (SRAM tends to like this longer than Shimano or Campag).

If all of those check out, then there's always a chain-cassette interface problem (i.e. new or old chain matched with worn or new cassette, respectively) as a possibility, or a bend in the derailleur itself. I don't think the last one is super likely since of the SRAM RDs I've messed up Rival bent and the Force broke. Both were CX crashes from behind, both bent my hanger pretty much identically, but where the Rival's plate holding the pulleys bent, the Force snapped the outer carbon section. Bending one of the knuckles (assuming it didn't come messed up) would require an event large enough you'd have memories of the thing or the medical bills from it.


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## bikerector (Oct 31, 2012)

You should not be going through derailleurs that fast. Seems like something else is amiss.

Do you get new cables with the der? If so, cables stretch pretty quickly as they wear in. some small adjustments are required during the first few hundred miles as the cables stretch/wear in. Then it should be fine.

I think sram is a bit noisier than shimano but it's hard to say how much noisier. Usually the "noisier" comes during shifting, sram is a bit more clunky than shimano IMO. Just different feels and feedback from the drivetrain.



> If all of those, then I'd make sure the housing running from the chainstay to the RD has a smooth bend (SRAM tends to like this longer than Shimano or Campag).


2nd this, it almost has to be obnoxiously long.


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## Torelli4 (Mar 1, 2005)

Had the same noise issues with a new Rival RD. Was fine for a hundred miles or so then got noisy. Did everything that the other guys suggested in this thread. Was ready to get rid of SRAM until I installed a Dura-Ace chain. That $40 made all the difference in the world. It's as quiet as my Campy Centaur now.


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