derailleur hanger out of line.....is it a shop job.

[screenman]

I assumed a bolt-on replacement would be aligned unless the frame was bent. Certainly I've replaced hangers without a problem. They're not so easy as steel to straighten accurately without the proper tool, though.

Sometimes you can have a hanger alignment that could be improved without knowing it.

 

[Ian H]

Sometimes you can have a hanger alignment that could be improved without knowing it.

Not sure how that works. If it changes gear well then it's fine. If it doesn't then I look for reasons.

 

[slowmotion]

How about just taking it off the bike and smacking it on a hard surface with a 16 oz hammer, and repeating that until the rear mech is aligned? What have you got to lose?

 

[Salty seadog]

How about just taking it off the bike and smacking it on a hard surface with a 16 oz hammer, and repeating that until the rear mech is aligned? What have you got to lose?

The functionality of the rear mech....?

 

[slowmotion]

The functionality of the rear mech....?

It really just depends on where you smack it., doesn't it? It's only a matter of changing the angle of malleable scrap of alloy by a few halves of a degree. It's not like you are attempting to convince people that you are sending a man to the Moon, despite what the bike shop might tell you.

 

[raleighnut]

It really just depends on where you smack it., doesn't it? It's only a matter of changing the angle of malleable scrap of alloy by a few halves of a degree. It's not like you are attempting to convince people that you are sending a man to the Moon, despite what the bike shop might tell you.

Whilst that is true on a 5-6 speed in that as long as the mech ain't into the spokes it'll be fine, but by the time you've got 9/10/11 cogs on the back then fractions do start to matter.

 

[screenman]

Not sure how that works. If it changes gear well then it's fine. If it doesn't then I look for reasons.

There is fine and really fine, I would say most people on here would benefit from having the rear hanger aligned correctly. I have tested at least 30 bikes now since I got the tool, not one has not required adjustment. Now of course for 45 years I run bikes that did have hangers out of alignment and did not know it, but I sure do now.

 

[screenman]

It really just depends on where you smack it., doesn't it? It's only a matter of changing the angle of malleable scrap of alloy by a few halves of a degree. It's not like you are attempting to convince people that you are sending a man to the Moon, despite what the bike shop might tell you.

Maybe it is not the hager out of alignment but the part the hanger bolts too, by doing them on the bike you get the correct alignment as tweeking the malable hanger will take up the difference in most cases.

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

Mine got bent earlier in the year when I had an off, I bent it back by hand until it looked straight and I've never had any issues since.
Not saying this is the correct way, I am a little heathen in my antics sometimes

 

[screenman]

Mine got bent earlier in the year when I had an off, I bent it back by hand until it looked straight and I've never had any issues since.
Not saying this is the correct way, I am a little heathen in my antics sometimes

If you are happy with it as it is what does it matter, personally I like my gears bang on.

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

If you are happy with it as it is what does it matter, personally I like my gears bang on.

Tbf it's only an 8 speed claris and shifts bang on as far as I can tell. I appreciate a higher end bike and higher speed cassette would need a little more fine tuning.

 

[Globalti]

It's not malleable scrap alloy, it's brittle alloy that's designed to work-harden and break easily once bent. Don't try to straighten a bent alloy hanger, you're asking for a disaster if you do.

And on some bikes the manufacturer fits a longer hanger if there's a wider range of gears so buy a replacement and take care to get the right one.

 

[Salty seadog]

It's not malleable scrap alloy, it's brittle alloy that's designed to work-harden and break easily once bent. Don't try to straighten a bent alloy hanger, you're asking for a disaster if you do.

And on some bikes the manufacturer fits a longer hanger if there's a wider range of gears so buy a replacement and take care to get the right one.

Please elaborate, it seems that it is a common repair with tools available to diy.....what disaster may happen.

I ask in earnest.....

 

[Globalti]

If the hanger is a sacrificial alloy one, it's made from an alloy with a large crystalline structure that's strong until you bend it, when it work-hardens and snaps to protect the frame. You can straighten it but you'll be more than half way to a snap, which can send the derailleur into the spokes and a catastrophe. Better to replace it if it's had a bad bend.

A steel or titanium hanger that's part of the frame can be straightened without worry.

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

Are hangers much of a muchness or is each frame specific?