How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hanger?

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cavebear2
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How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hanger?

Postby cavebear2 » Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:11 pm

Talking to a guy at a local LBS he reckons that if you ride a lot and have an alloy hanger then it needs to be straightened as much as every 3 months to maintain perfect shifting. (This not only includes forceful impact, but also DTD riding) I reckon this is OTT as I've got a RB that has done 42+K and has never had the hanger straightened. OK shifting isn't 100% perfect so it may be a little bent but I'm still happy to ride it and I'm pretty fussy about poor changing. On the other hand, I have a RB that has done 44K and I've just had the hanger straightened because it was quite bent, I think mostly from direct impact in crashes.

Based on the LBS cost to straighten I've just purchased a Park Tools guage for $80
Last edited by cavebear2 on Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby toolonglegs » Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:28 pm

Check it when I am installing a new one... Check it after having and shifting issues. I only straighten them once or twice then bin them.

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Ross
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby Ross » Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:58 pm

Sounds like a load of manure to me. Never had a bent hanger unless I crash or otherwise knock the derailleur. If you lean your bike against a wall or lay it on the ground then make sure the deraileur is facing out.

Park Tools have a tool for checking the alignment - http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-hel ... -alignment" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby jcjordan » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:00 pm

Quite a few people whom I know use Di2 have problems with the rear hanger. Something to do with the force of the shifting
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby jules21 » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:26 pm

220mm long M10 bolt from the hardware store!

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby Mulger bill » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:50 pm

jules21 wrote:220mm long M10 bolt from the hardware store!
Wanna expand on that please Jules?
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby jules21 » Sun Jan 06, 2013 10:09 pm

Mulger bill wrote:
jules21 wrote:220mm long M10 bolt from the hardware store!
Wanna expand on that please Jules?
just thread the bolt into the hanger, where the RD would normally be inserted. then you have a long bolt which you can use to manipulate the hanger with. it's not as precise as the proper tool (as Ross linked to), but i've never found it necessary to be that precise - in my experience, as long as it's pretty straight it will shift OK.

the other thing is that a steel bolt will slightly strip the aluminium hanger thread, but not in any way that will harm its function. (you won't find an aluminium M10 bolt in a hardware store)

this is a bit of a 'bush mechanic' fix, but i swear by it :)

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby Mulger bill » Mon Jan 07, 2013 12:13 pm

Ahh, thanks Jules.

The other bush mechanicky bit I've heard of is to use the axle of the front wheel, supposedly the wheel rim provides good leverage for fine adjustment and makes a good gauge for visual checks.

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby jules21 » Sun Oct 06, 2013 6:16 pm

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i have improved on this. the original M10 thread turned out to have a different pitch to the hanger, with not good results - as you'd expect.

so i have 'designed' a new one - with M8 thread which does not engage with the hanger internal thread, but is clamped with two nuts and washers.
Image
this one works a treat.

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby Dr_Mutley » Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:49 am

jcjordan wrote:Quite a few people whom I know use Di2 have problems with the rear hanger. Something to do with the force of the shifting
I straighten mine every few months... I find aggressive gear changes, or the odd, inadvertent gear shift while the bikes stationary, results in the RD hanger being bent a little... It only takes 2 minutes to tune it with the park tools alignment tool, so time well spent...

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby jacks1071 » Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:06 pm

cavebear2 wrote:Talking to a guy at a local LBS he reckons that if you ride a lot and have an alloy hanger then it needs to be straightened as much as every 3 months to maintain perfect shifting. (This not only includes forceful impact, but also DTD riding) I reckon this is OTT as I've got a RB that has done 42+K and has never had the hanger straightened. OK shifting isn't 100% perfect so it may be a little bent but I'm still happy to ride it and I'm pretty fussy about poor changing. On the other hand, I have a RB that has done 44K and I've just had the hanger straightened because it was quite bent, I think mostly from direct impact in crashes.

Based on the LBS cost to straighten I've just purchased a Park Tools guage for $80
Some of them are ultra soft, many are not straight from the factory since they are generally pressed rather than machined - most require alignment from new.
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby singlespeedscott » Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:18 pm

My steel hanger is nearly 30years old and still straight :P
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rebilda
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby rebilda » Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:26 pm

Pretty sure the thread in the hanger will be M10x1.
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby jules21 » Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:29 pm

rebilda wrote:Pretty sure the thread in the hanger will be M10x1.
yeah, the thread in the cheap bolts you buy from Bunnings (as per my photo) has a longer pitch. you can get bolts with the finer pitch - such as from specialty bolt shops - but they are harder to obtain. thus my solution.

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rebilda
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby rebilda » Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:33 pm

Yeah. standard pitch is 1.5mm for M10.

Engineering suppliers or Specialty Fastener suppliers are the best bet. If you want to use it as a tool, opt for a grade 8.8 minimum.(better grade 10 or 12) The stuff at Bunnings will be pretty soft
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby Duck! » Mon Oct 07, 2013 7:40 pm

jules21 wrote:220mm long M10 bolt from the hardware store!
Use a bog-standard M10 rear wheel axle - same thread pitch as the derailleur hanger.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby jules21 » Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:44 pm

Duck! wrote:
jules21 wrote:220mm long M10 bolt from the hardware store!
Use a bog-standard M10 rear wheel axle - same thread pitch as the derailleur hanger.
oh.

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Dragster1
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby Dragster1 » Tue Oct 08, 2013 10:18 pm

I just use a steel rule against the hanger and eye it off against the bottom of the wheel and the chain ring. I Just use a shifter to bend it

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Jean
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby Jean » Thu Oct 10, 2013 12:57 pm

If you want to go to the point of buying a proper tool, the Cyclus one (from Wiggle, and elsewhere too I suppose) is half the price of the Park one and just as effective. I have one and have been very happy with it.

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OnTrackZeD
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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby OnTrackZeD » Thu Oct 10, 2013 2:53 pm

My old mountain bike always had a gear what would always skip, no matter how I'd adjust it.
So one rainy day I decided to try and make my own RD tool.

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I used the hanger bolt out of an old RD and it's perfect size for 20mm Sq. tube.
Worked like a charm, that old bike never changed so good.

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Re: How often do you measure & straighten your alloy D. hang

Postby mitzikatzi » Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:07 am

Stolen from elsewhere
The easiest cheap trick to align a hanger is to use 2 shimano rear hub axles, and make sure they are parallel

One is installed in the frame dropouts, preferably with skewer tightened as this affects hanger position on some models, and one is threaded through the hanger, with nuts on both sides of the hanger to hold it better and to center the axle in the hole, sometimes the fit is a bit loose.
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