Why you need to own a derailleur hanger tool
- Thread starter mpemburn
- Start date
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- Tags
- derailleur
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That's an interesting question. I would think that hanger alignment is more of an issue with 9/10/11 speed indexed gears than with 5/6 speed non-indexed gears. I have no recollection of hanger alignment tools back in the 70s/80s but then again, back then I was oblivious to many aspects and tools in respect of bike mechanicals than I am not now. I don't have any old tool catalogues to check on but I took a look at the Velobase.com site and found some such tools - but they were not dated. There were frame and dropout alignment tools from the 70s - https://www.velobase.com/ListTools.aspx
Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
Yes, that is rather the point. As we get more sprockets, in more or less the same space, tolerances become much tighter.
Which is why just doing it by hand and eye doesn't work as well with modern 10+ sprocket setups.
Dale 1956
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Caribou, Maine
This is one tool I wish I had do I need it no but I would still like to have it.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
I bought one of these as the OH's bike I could tell was out of true. It turns out it was by about 30mm in one plane. I checked my summer bike it was marginally out. Both gently straightened and back to tip top shifting.
Useful tool to have if you have 10spd plus where the indexed shifting is very sensitive to alignment. My mate recently bought a new bike, it arrived with the hanger about 50mm out of whack, the joys of mail order I guess.
GuyBoden
Guru
- Location
- Warrington
A bit off topic, but I always lean my bike against a wall etc with the derailleur facing inwards, it was a lesson learned the hard way as a teenager. When the bike falls over, as they sometimes do, the derailleur doesn't get hit.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
50mm? That would have been almost at a right angle to where it should have been! Unless it was a very long hanger.
Surprised you even managed to bend it back from that far off.
Presumably for being "left dominant", I find it most uncomfortable/unnatural to mount or dismount from the left of the bike and consequently tend to lean my bike with the drive side on the "outside" - and I can confirm that if the bike goes over, the derailleur gets hit
. I'm also aware that this puts me on the "dangerous" side when dismounting/mounting at the side of the road. There are some kissing gates on one of my routes and I have to be on the left of the bike to get through one of them; I have managed to dismount on the left but I awkwardly return to the right of the bike to get back on.I was presuming that the measurement would be taken from the wheel rim to the tool.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
50mm at the wheel rim, you daft banana!
He's definitely the only one to jump to that conclusion50mm at the wheel rim, you daft banana!
Yes definitely....Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
That makes more sense50mm at the wheel rim, you daft banana!
Still a scarily large amount to be out on delivery though.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
It was packaged both wheels off but Derailleur attached, which is a bit daft. A bigger box and rear wheel in leaves it less liable to knocks, or remove & tape the RD to the frame.That makes more sense
Still a scarily large amount to be out on delivery though.
He got me to have a look at the indexing as he couldn't sort it, and I took one look and realised what the issue was. It was well out of wonk to the naked eye
