My Ultegra pulleys have become a non-freely-spinning pile of shit. Please advise on some decent yet not crazy expensive replacements. Would bearings last longer? The current ones only got 2k miles or so.
Have you tried cleaning them?
you can remove the pulleys by unscrewing the allen bolts that hold them in- then you can degrease and re-grease them. I think the best oil option is a light oil like 3-1.
you can get ceramic bearings for them, but they are $$$
I just had a Force derailleur do the same thing. Funny thing is that I have another with 15k miles and it’s working just fine.
OEM is the smart/least expensive way to go with pulleys. But, if you want to have some fun, Token makes ceramics that aren’t too expensive.
Pulled and cleaned 200 miles or so ago. Hoping it would wear back in. It’s better, but still stiff. As for ceramics, I’m not spending greater than the cost of an Ultegra RD for new pulleys. Performance sells some pulleys w/ bearings for $20. Those did the trick on my old 9-speed, but the 10-speed seems more finicky (and doesn’t last as long). Plus, it’s my roadie/training bike. Durability>bling in this case.