Derailleur hangers

[donkeykong]

Got some questions about these pesky little guys. The girlfriend busted one the other day which ended our ride prematurely. Looking back, I'm just glad the actual derailleur didn't explode. Luckily we were climbing for most of it so we could just coast back to the car, but it could have been much worse if we were at the bottom of a long descent.

1) What's your on-the-trail fix when you don't have a spare in the pack? Tips on singlespeed conversion?

What I did was go chainless, and duct tape the RD to the chainstay so it wouldn't get caught in the spokes.


2) How many of you ride with spares in the pack all the time, or am I just being paranoid now? Where to buy spare hangers? How to find the right size?

[Finstah]

If your LBS doesn't have what you're looking for or can't get it in a timely manner, check here : http://derailleurhanger.com/

You can often moderately straighten rear derailleur hangers with your 5 mm Allen wrench enough to get a couple of gears going for emergency on-trail hillbillie repairs in a pinch. Usually enough to get you out, then replace it when you get home.

[CDubz]

Id order two and ride with one in the pack. Easy trail repair, I always carry a spare.

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[radam]

A good LBS will have a fairly wide inventory of hangers so they can hook you up. Or, if it's my LBS, they all ride Giants and must bend hangers like crazy, so when I bent the one on my Trance last year I watched them dig through about 100 hangers only to come up empty.

If you've got amazon prime, they carry most hangers also and you can get them in one to two days no problem.

[sb]

Id order two and ride with one in the pack. Easy trail repair, I always carry a spare.

This, I know a certain Cdale rep who carries one of each hanger that they use and will gladly sell/barter out on the trail for a fix.

[scrublover]

Yep, have a bunch of spares. I have a few for each bike in the garage, and one of each rides in the pack. Also have one of these

http://wheelsmfg.com/emergency-hanger.html

in each pack for a last minute spare/help another rider out guy. One-size-fits most. Won't get all the gears, but on a suspension bike or something where you can't make it a SS, it'll at least allow you to pedal.

[rideit]

After breaking one in Peru, and my spare not making it through customs, I carry one, and often travel with 2-3.

[rideit]

Although, I should be traveling with spare front wheels, hydraulic hose, and x7 10 speed mid cage rear dérailleur, apparently. And some bactine and percosets. I'm sore today...

[gravitylover]

Although, I should be traveling with spare front wheels, hydraulic hose, and x7 10 speed mid cage rear dérailleur, apparently. And some bactine and percosets. I'm sore today...

Oops


Yup, carry at least one in the pack at all times.

[fantastic_damage]

Wife and I both got Giants, same hanger, carry1 spare in the pack. I believe they can be very specific, be sure to get one from the dealer.

She bent one pretty good on some slickrock in Moab. Straightened it out and it's shifting perfectly still even though it got comprimised a bit. The only place in Moab that had a legitimate fitting replacement was the actual Giant dealer there, so if you're somewhere remote definitely bring one that you know fits.

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[XXX-er]

Usually they can just be straightened but you could replace with a new hanger if it got really fucked and carry that bent one as a spare

Some hangers seem to be made out of re-cycled beer cans and bend real easy sometimes while honestly just riding along, if this is a problem northshore billet makes really good hangers

http://northshorebillet.com/

My kid gave me the hanger banger for a b-day ...pretty bomber
http://northshorebillet.com/products/hanger-bangers/

[BrianH]

My LBS told me that there are over 300 different hangers currently in circulation, which can make the things a bit of a PITA to get. Plus that little hunk of alum costs $25.00 which seems a little spendy.

I carry two in my pack, one brand new, and the othe was the first that was bent. It's an emergency back-up.

If you don't have a hanger and need to make a single speed, it's not a bad idea to carry a master link. If you favor a belt and suspenders approach to trailside MacGyvering, you can also carry a chain breaker, but that seems to ruin most of the modern chains. Still it's probably better then walking.

To be really safe I'd carry either a light portable frame straightener or a carbon repair kit as well as a mini-foundry.

[tone capone]

My LBS is charging me 60$ for a GT replaceable droupout/derailer hanger, is that criminal?

[funkendrenchman]

Carry a spare. I've never had any luck converting a full suspension bike into single speed (too much chain stretch).

[coldfeet]

If you don't have a hanger and need to make a single speed, it's not a bad idea to carry a master link. If you favor a belt and suspenders approach to trailside MacGyvering, you can also carry a chain breaker, but that seems to ruin most of the modern chains. Still it's probably better then walking.

To be really safe I'd carry either a light portable frame straightener or a carbon repair kit as well as a mini-foundry.

Master links are good. I believe you can shorten the chain with a tool, save the removed piece, and once you're home get a second master link and put the chain back together, eliminating the outer plate that has been weakened by use of the tool.

[donkeykong]

Nice, thanks sprockets. I guess I've been risking it, riding without a spare for all this time. But damn, at $25 each, buying two for each of my two bikes plus her's, adds up to a small fortune.

And when I say it was busted, I mean it was clean cut in half and the RD was hanging by the cable housing. I've bent mine before and it's easy enough to bend it back, but the GF thought she totally ruined her new bike. Damn beginners, aiming straight for the rocks... The LBS only had an emergency hanger available, which actually did pretty well with the shifting. That will be a good widget to put back in the pack when the real replacement arrives.

[Crampedon]

My LBS is charging me 60$ for a GT replaceable droupout/derailer hanger, is that criminal?

Yes.

I carry a hanger and THREE master links. They don't weight anything. In Co. I carry a set of disc pads too, and a tiny bottle of chain lube on epic long rides with rain, stream crossings ect.

I am of the" better to have it and not need" it school. Boy scouts did a job on me. I can build anything from a pot-hook to a two-story bunglaow out of forked sticks.

Be prepared.