Do Shimano rear derailleurs have built in slant? (RD-4700-GS)
When I installed a new RD-4700-GS Shimano 10 speed rear derailleur 18 months ago, I noticed that the cage was not parallel to the cogs. I use a hanger alignment tool several times per year to get it within 1mm runout to the rim, and the derailleur cage always looks slanted, like in the photos below. Are they supposed to be like this, or should the cage be more parallel?
I think the entire RD is tilted in relation to the hanger. Although the bottom pulley jockey seems to be 1 or 2 mm offset further outward than the upper pulley jockey. The jockeys themselves appear slightly tilted to the outside, and a little bit of it is due to gravity and the inherent play in the bushing, because the bike is tilting a little to the outside on the workstand. But the rest of the tilt in the jockeys is because of the tilt of the RD and cage.
They seem to shift ok, so I left it alone. Although when I shift to to the large chainring, when the cage rotates forward (extends), the bottom pulley jockey will move closer inward towards the bike, because of the slant.
I can't tell whether the upper pulley jockey stays in the same position when the cage is rotated. It's difficult to see because there is some lateral play built into the cage. It appears to stay close to the same position, but I suspect it will move a little bit, maybe around 0.5mm between full retraction or full extension.
I think the entire RD is tilted in relation to the hanger. Although the bottom pulley jockey seems to be 1 or 2 mm offset further outward than the upper pulley jockey. The jockeys themselves appear slightly tilted to the outside, and a little bit of it is due to gravity and the inherent play in the bushing, because the bike is tilting a little to the outside on the workstand. But the rest of the tilt in the jockeys is because of the tilt of the RD and cage.
They seem to shift ok, so I left it alone. Although when I shift to to the large chainring, when the cage rotates forward (extends), the bottom pulley jockey will move closer inward towards the bike, because of the slant.
I can't tell whether the upper pulley jockey stays in the same position when the cage is rotated. It's difficult to see because there is some lateral play built into the cage. It appears to stay close to the same position, but I suspect it will move a little bit, maybe around 0.5mm between full retraction or full extension.