Gadget Diaries: Avid Rollamajig

[Christopher Brunsdon]

I've been struggling with shifting on my rear derailleur every since I got my bike. The shifting will work fine for a while and then all of sudden I can feel its no longer crisp and then I begin to struggle to find certain gears. Everytime I look into it I see a kink in my cable by the housing that meets up with the rear derailleur.

 

Replace cable, and then all is well for a while.

 

So I read up that the Avid Rollamajig may be the solution due to the fact that it removes the "bend" from the housing where kinks are known to occur. Its less than R80 from our friends at CRC, so I get one and had chance to fit it today. As I anyway need to replace the cable and housing I though what the hell, let me give this gadget a go a really see if it works.

 

So here is the normal housing with its loop that runs into the rear derailleur:

 

 

 

And here is the end result:

 

 

The result. Well its too early to say but the crispness is back and its better than before. Was it worth the R80 odd randts I spent, considering that cables cost me R30 a shot, I guess it will pay itself off within the year if only to reduce the number of cables I replace.

 

The process of installing is a very interesting task and I do believe this is where the crispness of the device is either gained or lost. The following threads explain what I did, I did have to refer to many other posts on other forums / blogs to get it right.

[Christopher Brunsdon]

First I had to cut the cable where the kink was, you can see how close it is to the derailleur and this is in the housing causing friction.

 

 

Next you can see how much housing I need to cut off as the Rollamajig needs to be horizontal:

 

 

And a trick I read somewhere was to use an old piece of cable to make it easier to check the length your housing needs to be. It really makes a big difference:

 

 

All I did is that each time I need to cut the housing, I move the cable through the housing, cut and then push back up again. Its very quick and easy this way.

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Here you can see how much cable needs to trimmed from a different perspective and gives you a rough idea of what it achieves:

 

 

Thats quiet a bit of housing I'm removing and remember this is all fricton here. I don't have the dosh for frictionless housing and inner cabling.

 

 

After cutting a conservative amount, I check and you can see that I still need to cut some more as the rollamajig is not flush with the derailurer:

 

 

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Here you can see I got the length right but I'm still using the old cable, took me less than 2 minutes to trim this way:

 

 

Now I got my 3rd hand helping me with the proper cable, sadly I had to cut it too short so it was a trick to get right (need to replace the cable):

 

 

All done and here is a shot from the rear to give you a better idea of how it works:

 

[MoreTrails]

Not everyone is a fan of these. I like 'em, have used them for years. JUST DON'T LOOSE THE LITTLE PLASTIC BALL... That part i don't think is available for sale anywhere.

[The Drongo]

These things work 100% if you Install them correctly.

 

They add to Shimano what SRAM have already built into their rear derailleurs.

 

For the small cost, it will feel like a new rear D.

 

I put a small spot of light machine oil on the ball after every wash. Once the ball wears, shifting issues arise, and the unit needs replacing.

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Not everyone is a fan of these. I like 'em, have used them for years. JUST DON'T LOOSE THE LITTLE PLASTIC BALL... That part i don't think is available for sale anywhere.

 

Actually the ball is just a "bead" that you will find in any children's bead set. I use to do beads and trinkets so I immediately saw it was nothing special, just check your local craft shop and you can easily drill the hole bigger with a dremel or hand drill (use to do it when beading pearls). I read from quiet a few other guys experiences that "DO NOT LOOSE THE BALL" and I nearly did this afternoon

[Christopher Brunsdon]

These things work 100% if you Install them correctly.

 

They add to Shimano what SRAM have already built into their rear derailleurs.

 

For the small cost, it will feel like a new rear D.

 

I put a small spot of light machine oil on the ball after every wash. Once the ball wears, shifting issues arise, and the unit needs replacing.

 

Thanks for the advice, was thinking about it myself but will do so in the morning. Also the newer Rollamjigs now use metal washers on the inside which apparently makes them more serviceable and more durable than the original ones (apparently this was a big thing in the past as on one forum the guys where jizzing in their pants about the metal washers)

[DawieO]

Been using o0ne of these for many years. A fantastic, simple, clever little device!

[Christopher Brunsdon]

I also read a couple of guys use V-Brake pipe instead of the rollamjig. I think thats also a cool idea but I had no extra pipes to try it out.

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Just some feedback from my commute this morning that involved some rather steep uphills, my shifting has never been better than before and it was crisp and clean that I actually stopped a few times to make sure I was in the intended gear, and was each time.

 

My rear derailleur is an OEM Shimano ALTUS so I can without a doubt say that it was no in the head

[AndreZA]

For starters, that housing in the first pic is way too short.

 

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech/images/TTOL/r_der_housing.jpg

[Wyatt Earp]

I also read a couple of guys use V-Brake pipe instead of the rollamjig. I think thats also a cool idea but I had no extra pipes to try it out.

Stay away, very far away.

[andretraut]

Is this bike fitted with a side stand?

[Christopher Brunsdon]

For starters, that housing in the first pic is way too short.

 

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech/images/TTOL/r_der_housing.jpg

 

Thanks for that post Mampara. I was actually wondering this morning if that might also have been the case and you confirmed it.

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Is this bike fitted with a side stand?

 

Yes, its my commuter and that stand comes so handy at the office and when loading little Hubber into his bike seat.