While on a night ride two weeks ago, my rear tire picked up a
nail necessitating a repair. I removed the rear wheel,
extracted the offending nail, replaced the tube, put the wheel
back together, and attempted to install the rear wheel in the
bike. Something must have happened when I removed the wheel, or
maybe when I set the bike down, because the chain was looped on
itself and all knotted up. In addition, the rear derailleur was
not behaving as it should. The light from the street light and
my own helmet mounted light, in addition to not having my
glasses with me, did not allow me to figure out what was going
on at the time. I received a ride part way home but still had
to walk and carry my bike for close to 3.5 miles.
I finally had opportunity to work on my bike and found I had to
break the chain in order to get the loop out. But when I put
things back together, I found the rear derailleur was stuck in a
full back position, it would not come forward to catch the chain
like it normally should.
I'm thinking possibly a spring broke somewhere in the mechanism
but can't locate anything obvious. My bike is a very early
Trek e/w Campi Record drive train. If something broke inside
the derailleur, can it be repaired or must I replace the entire
unit? If I do have to replace the derailleur, what currently
available equipment is comparable to the Record?
Thanks.
Dave