The Alivio rear derailleur.

I broke my bike a couple of weeks ago, and since all the derailleurs available on the local store where over a $100.00, I decided to get it over the net.

My knowledge of bike parts is quite limited, so first I checked the Trek web site.

There was not much information there. So I limited myself to read what derailleur had each bike.
Mine (a Trek 4100) came with an “Acera” derailleur. The next bike model, the 4300 had an “Alivio” derailleur.
I searched for that at Amazon.com, and found it.

“A new sleeker design for 2001. 11t pulleys. 30t max cog. Advanced light action design. 8 speed. Black. 306g”.

That sounds cool. I had no idea what 11T or 30T meant, but sure sounds cool, and for $20.00 it was a good deal.


Last night I was sitting on the floor, the bike in front of me, without the seat and seat post, and upside down.

I had replaced successfully the derailleur hanger, and was on the way for the derailleur itself.

I screw it to the hanger, and attach the wire to it. I start cranking the bike, and shifting gears.
But it seems to be way to tight on the lower range gear.

I lean back a bit, and reach for the instructions pamphlet (always the last to read). And I noticed on the specs one more time, “30T max”. Quickly took a look back at the bike, and I saw “Mega-Range 34T”… OOPS!.

Well, now I know more about bikes. I know what the 30T, 11T, 14T and 34T stands for. Funny.
Also I did manage to make the Alivio derailleur work. It has like 2mm gap between itself and the cassette, and not so light action on that shift.

Nevertheless, it gets the work done. Soon I will find out if it is good enough for muddy trails or not.
And if it breaks, I’ll replace. And for $20.00 I think it was a good education on derailleurs.