Derailleur gear control cable effort compensator, e.g. for bicycle gears with several chain wheels and=or sprockets - has at least one return spring between fixed stops on bicycle and cable

摘要

The compensator has a cable (32) with one end fixed to the derailleur mechanism. The other end is fixed to a control lever and slides inside a sleeve (34). The derailleur has a return spring (28) which is compressed when the chain is on the largest chain wheel or sprocket. At least one compensating spring (46), which operates in the opposite direction, is located between a fixed stop on the bicycle and a second fixed stop on the cable. The compensating spring is relaxed when the derailleur return spring is compressed, and vice versa, and is located coaxially with the cable. It is of small diameter, with a large number of relatively weak coils, and can be integrated in an extension of the gear control lever. Where the chain wheel and sprocket derailleurs are controlled by a single lever there are two separate springs, each acting on a corresponding cable.