Bent dropout repair

[pfm401]

All

I posted a thread back in June asking for help with gears that would not be set correctly. To cut a long story short I tried the cable then had it checked at the Pedallers Arms in Leeds and the diagnosis is that the right rear dropout is bent inwards slightly. Neither myself nor the mechanic wanted to try to bend it back as it's an aluminium frame (Trek 1.5). The LBS had tried it but clearly not got it spot on.

Can anyone recommend a repairer in Yorkshire that may be able to fix this? Anyone know if Trek can do it?

Thanks, Paul.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Are you sure it is the dropout and not the hanger?

 

[pfm401]

Yes; sorry I should have mentioned the cause was a crash causing the bike to fall onto its right hand side. The hanger, rear mech, cassette and chain were all replaced. The LBS tried to straighten out the dropout and it seemed OK for a while. Now the hanger looks straight but the dropout doesn't.

 

[raleighnut]

Yes; sorry I should have mentioned the cause was a crash causing the bike to fall onto its right hand side. The hanger, rear mech, cassette and chain were all replaced. The LBS tried to straighten out the dropout and it seemed OK for a while. Now the hanger looks straight but the dropout doesn't.

Set the hanger correctly to the wheel might sort it.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Yes; sorry I should have mentioned the cause was a crash causing the bike to fall onto its right hand side. The hanger, rear mech, cassette and chain were all replaced. The LBS tried to straighten out the dropout and it seemed OK for a while. Now the hanger looks straight but the dropout doesn't.

If you can post a picture of the drop-out without the wheel in the bike and chain/jockey in the way I'll try and give you some better advice. No need to try and give me a photo that attempts to show the aberration, just a side-on view of the drop-out will do.

Further, to diagnose the problem properly, you need two tricks up your sleeve: 1) A straight edge.
2) Put the bike in a stand or stand it up so that it is stable. Loosen the QR on that wheel. Just undo the lever but leave the wheel and QR in. Now tighten the QR slowly whilst watching the hanger and jockey. As you tighten the lever and the jockey moves, the drop-out is bent or, the hanger doesn't sit square on the frame. The latter is easy to double check. If the hanger is nice and square and doesn't move on the frame itself when the QR tightens, then use your straight edge and figure out exactly where and in what orientation the bend is.

Send those photos.

 

[pfm401]

OK thanks for your help, here's the "answer" ...

To cut a long story short I phoned Trek who said to take it into a Trek dealer. The Trek dealer immediately identified that an incorrect gear hanger had been fitted, and filed down to fit the frame. The filing was about 1mm out which caused the gear hanger to move rather than the derailleur at when changing from fastest to next fastest cog. The frame was straight!

I guess I trusted that the LBS who did the original crash repair would have used the correct parts, so never thought it could be the gear hanger! I did go back to the guy who said he had straightened out the frame after the crash, though in truth I've lost a bit of confidence in what he says after this episode (turned out he'd also fitted an incorrect headset on another occasion).

Anyway the gears now work like a dream.

Cheers, Paul.