Why you need to own a derailleur hanger tool

[youngoldbloke]

Lifeline one for me. Surprising how a really minor knock can result in a bent hanger.

 

[rualexander]

You can use a spare or old wheel as an alignment tool.
The 10mm axle thread on the wheel is the same as the derailleur hanger.

View: https://youtu.be/TnwreRrorIA

 

[freiston]

I use this - a quick home-made job, steel box-section steel donated by a neighbour, bolt and nuts from ebay, washers and plastic end-cap from my boxes of bits.
It's basic but I can get the job done with a good degree of accuracy (about a mm at the rim, I reckon). My frame is steel and the hanger is part of the steel drop-out.

 

[raleighnut]

i'd say alignment can be the biggest cause of poor shifting, or in extreme cases the mech running into the spokes (more likely with a long cage 'triple' set up) Luckily I've got a couple of friendly LBS that'll check it for me.

 

[si_c]

I got one a couple of years ago, like @DCLane it's a Lifeline one from Wiggle. I think I paid about £20 as well, in fact looking at the order it appears I bought it to get free shipping, so really it probably only actually cost me £15.

I did try using a spanner a few times and whilst I was able to get it "better" it was never great. The nice thing about a proper tool is it actually takes you only a minute or so to get it to within a mm once you get the hang of it. As mentioned upthread, it's really easy to misalign a hanger, I knocked one of my bikes over the other day taking the recycling out and the hangar was visibly bent, twisted and pushed inwards. Took me ten mins to fix, including going upstairs and getting the tools.

 

[Trickedem]

Here's mine. Works a treat and well worth getting one or making one. I had loads of problems with one of my bikes and this fixed it for me.

 

[mpemburn]

You can use a spare or old wheel as an alignment tool.
The 10mm axle thread on the wheel is the same as the derailleur hanger.

View: https://youtu.be/TnwreRrorIA

Clever!

 

[Broadside]

I’ve got the Park Tool one, it is excellent. By the time I’ve paid for the LBS to check a couple of bikes it’s paid for the tool. Plus there are over 10 bikes in the home fleet so quite a few to keep an eye on, and it’s the kids bashing them that makes them need to be checked more than the grown up bikes.

For anyone that does most maintenance at home I think these tools are not really an extravagance.

 

[Dale 1956]

I have the Park Tool one my self.

 

[si_c]

For anyone that does most maintenance at home I think these tools are not really an extravagance.

As with most tools they tend to pay for themselves if used often enough. The only tool I've so far been unable to justify has been the disc brake facing tool (Park Tool DT-5.2) as it's a workshop tool and at a touch over £400 whilst I want it, I can't see it getting much use.

 

[hatler]

For anyone that does most maintenance at home I think these tools are not really an extravagance.

I bought the https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-pro-gear-hanger-alignment-tool and thought it a bit of an extravagance at the time.

Not now (as in, I don't think it's an extravagance now). I've used it many times and always to good effect.

I'm in complete agreement with Broadside here.

 

[Boopop]

The day I got my hanger alignment tool was the day I knew I had finally finished my quest to always be able to fix bad shifting on the rear mech. It's the last thing I try but it usually solves the issue. Would not be without it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I guess it's because I ride a steel framed bike but I've never seen one (apart from pictures), never needed one, and only know they exist because of threads like this. But I suppose it's good to know that they do exist.

 

[freiston]

I guess it's because I ride a steel framed bike but I've never seen one (apart from pictures), never needed one, and only know they exist because of threads like this. But I suppose it's good to know that they do exist.

Steel framed hangers bend too and I don't think it's particularly difficult to bend one (either out of true or back into true), especially if the dropout is pressed plate rather than forged. I only have experience of forged steel hangers integrated into the dropout but I suspect that the sacrificial bolt-on aluminium hangers designed for aluminium or carbon frames are designed to bend relatively easily in order to protect the frame.

Whatever type of hanger you have, if the bike goes down and force is transferred through the RD to the frame, you want the hanger to bend before and instead of anything else.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Maybe I'll need one one day. Maybe I won't. Maybe I've cursed myself with hubris and that day will come sooner rather than later.

Are they a recent invention necessitated by indexed gears?