Got called out for skipping threadlock on derailleur bolts

Last month a mechanic I respect watched me install a new derailleur and asked why I wasn't using any threadlock on the bolts. I told him I'd never had one come loose on me, but he said he'd seen three customers come back with derailleurs hanging off their frames after a few hundred miles. So I started putting a tiny drop of blue Loctite 242 on each bolt, and honestly it takes maybe ten extra seconds. Has anyone else had a derailleur bolt back out on a customer's bike, or am I just lucky so far?

2 comments

2 Comments

skylerg171mo ago

A buddy of mine had a derailleur come loose mid-ride on a gravel trail. He said his shifting just went totally slack and he had to walk 2 miles back to the car. He'd never used threadlock either.

nora5351mo ago

no way he just raw dogged it like that and hoped for the best lol. those bolts have so much vibration on gravel it's basically asking for trouble if you don't use threadlock. i feel bad for him but that's a lesson you only gotta learn once.