Derailleur-freewheel misalignment? Or am I dreaming?

[Ugo51]

Hi guys,

My quest to understand what's wrong with my bike is never ending.

I have the impression that in lower speeds there is more friction than in higher ones, as well as more noise coming from the chain.
I noticed that the freewheel and the derailleur seem not aligned. I took the picture to show what I see:



So in lower speeds, with the jockey wheel tucked up closer to the freewheel, the chain approaches the freewheel cog at an angle, and it rattles.
Is this normal?
Is it a problem with the derailleur?

Oh, I probably should point out for clarity that the wheel is well aligned in the frame, so that's not the problem
Unless the frame is bent. I use the chainstays as reference. It's bang on centered.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Get the derailleur hanger checked - very common for them to be out of alignment.

 

[mattr]

chainstays are quite often misaligned to the seat tube.

As above, get the hanger checked.

 

[Ugo51]

chainstays are quite often misaligned to the seat tube.

Damn :facepalm:
I can imagine they are not extremely accurate, but they are the best I've got to align the wheel. I used to aligned it the seat tube (by eye) but I no longer can since I mounted the mudguards. I use the hole in the chainstay bridge as a reference.

Anyway, I'll get the hanger checked. I might go to a bike shop for that. The tool is quite expensive and I don't have the material for building myself one

 

[Ippikin]

Re:

If the derailleur is a 1980's stamped metal Huret (it looks like it is) the mech cage could be twisted (at the spring housing). Has the bike had a recent knock or fallen over at all? These mechs are not the strongest. Sheldon says it better than me!
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html