Rear derailleur hanger alignment

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pdlpsher1
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Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

I just purchased a rear derailleur hanger alignment tool. I used it to check for hanger alignment on my five bikes and I was shocked that all five were way out of alignment. On my road racing bike (never crashed) it was so far off that I had to redo the shifting (Di2). Is this typical? Do hangers go out of alignment over time? I'm going to recheck the alignment after a few months as a precaution.

rijndael
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by rijndael

Make sure you're rotating the wheel around with the DAG tool, I use the valve so it's easily to spot. This is done to make sure you're not bending the hanger to accommodate a wheel that's out of true.

I check mine when I put on new cables, about every 6 months. It's rare that it needs more than 1/8" adjustment.

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bikerjulio
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Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

Had a similar experience when I eventually checked my bikes. probably 75% needed some adjustment.

One word of caution. Some hangers don't like being adjusted.

Soon after, the alloy (looks brittle) hanger that was OEM on my Fuji, spontaneously let go sending the rd into the wheel with predictable results.
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

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bombertodd
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by bombertodd

I love my Park hanger alignment tool. I've found that brand new hangers sometimes are out of alignment. You'll like the tool. Once your hanger is nice a straight you can get the gears to shift very fast and precise. I don't think I could live without this tool.

em3
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by em3

bombertodd wrote: I've found that brand new hangers sometimes are out of alignment.


ALL brand new hangers must be aligned (or un-aligned) to fit the unique angle (inconsistencies) of the dropout it is matched to. Any "mechanic" who builds a new bike or installs a replacement hanger on a bike, without checking alignment, should be taken out back for three lashings. EM3
______________

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mattyNor
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by mattyNor

Or forced to take apart and reassemble an internal geared hub.

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Rick
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by Rick

Yes, typical.
Yes they go out over time due to random impacts you may not be aware of.

As above, make sure you are rotating the wheel to a consistent point as measuring alignment.

"Perfect" may be considered with a slight inward twist rather than perfectly straight with wheel by some. But you probably can't go wrong with straight.

mattr
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by mattr

I've only had one bike ever with a straight dropout out of the box. (I've had more than 30 so far)
It was water jet cut out of a 6mm plate of 3/2.5 ti, so I'm not surprised.
I know of a couple of shops who as a matter of course will check dropout alignment on anything remotely exotic (retail of more than about 1500€, give or take) even things like top end cervelo, look, colnago, time and so on have all needed correction.
We have probably lived with it for decades, but as the number of gears increases, the robustness of the rear mech to hanger misalignment gets worse. For 20€ it's probably one of my least used, but most useful tools.

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BRM
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by BRM

pdlpsher1 wrote:I just purchased a rear derailleur hanger alignment tool. I used it to check for hanger alignment on my five bikes and I was shocked that all five were way out of alignment. On my road racing bike (never crashed) it was so far off that I had to redo the shifting (Di2). Is this typical? Do hangers go out of alignment over time? I'm going to recheck the alignment after a few months as a precaution.


New rear-derailleur hangers are often straight but its the dropout that is off. So when mounted the total thing is not straight.

Hangers become out of line most of the time by putting a bike quickly in a car orso. Laying the bike on the derailleurside, etc.

Best is to check frequently. But you need to check the condition of the hanger also frequently on cracks and other imperfections. A hanger that fails causes a lot of damage.

Be aware that when using an alignment tool it often matters with what force the quickrelease is set. You probably will notice a difference with mild vs strong tension of the quickrelease. A small deformation in that area has direct influence on alignment.

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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

Thanks for all of the replies. My hangers all 'looked' straight and then the truth was shocking once I put the tool on the bike. My lightweight road bike was so far off that my Di2 shifting wouldn't function once the misalignment was corrected. Yes I have biked for almost 30 years and this is the first time I've ridden a bike with perfectly straight hangers. The bikes make less noise now and probably less frictions on the RD pulleys, etc. The best money spent on a tool as I see the tool will last a lifetime.

Butcher
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by Butcher

I agree with the rotating the wheel so you get the same spot, but if your wheel is that far out of true, you probably do not have a hanger alignment tool. You would really have to be way out of true to make a difference when adjusting the hanger. I'm certain most of us here that post would not have a rear wheel that far out of true.

PoorCyclist
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by PoorCyclist

.. and bring the tool with you if you fly with your bike, there wasn't any apparent shifting issues when putting my bike back together, but when I shifted to the last cog it went into my spokes. I adjusted the limits and it "seems" fine to this day but to be honest I need to use the DAG tool when I get some time to work on that bike.

campagnolo321
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 21, 2013 7:17 pm

by campagnolo321

Dont even bother with leser quality hanger alignment tools..........

Just go here....... www.Abbeybiketools.com

Nuff said !

P.S. If you read this Jason, royalty's will be much appreciated ;-)

kode54
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by kode54

campagnolo321 wrote:Dont even bother with leser quality hanger alignment tools..........

Just go here....... http://www.Abbeybiketools.com

Nuff said !

P.S. If you read this Jason, royalty's will be much appreciated ;-)


i've been using the Abbey tool since i got it last month. elegant and precise.
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by Weenie


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campagnolo321
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Joined: Sat Dec 21, 2013 7:17 pm

by campagnolo321

kode54 wrote:
campagnolo321 wrote:Dont even bother with leser quality hanger alignment tools..........

Just go here....... http://www.Abbeybiketools.com

Nuff said !

P.S. If you read this Jason, royalty's will be much appreciated ;-)


i've been using the Abbey tool since i got it last month. elegant and precise.



This man knows !

Have actually found that leser quality hanger alignment tools are not that acurate so if you have 10 speed and especially 11 speed precision is a must !

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