jackcoke

I have a steel frame that took a beating when my derailluer got hung up in the cassette and bent the dropout badly. I had it straightened but in doing so the hole the derailluer screws into was distorted a bit, had to tap it, but it's still not very good, screw does not go in well. I could leave it, it works. But, I'd like to know if it could be fixed without having a whole new dropout brazed on. I tour with it and would hate to have a problem on the road someplace remote. Are there inserts available where I could drill out the hole and fill it with a threaded insert?

Thumpic

bite the bullet; get a new drop out; why risk it failing out in the boonies?

HillRider

Yes, there are threaded inserts that are used to restore a damaged dropout hanger. You drill out the existing 10 mm hole with a 15/32" drill bit and put in one of the inserts that is threaded M10x1 just like the original hanger.

Bike Tools Etc. sells what you need and you can do the entire job for less than $20 in parts, including the drill bit. Here is the URL for their web site page: https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi

You should still have the hanger aligned professionally before using the bike.

jackcoke

Hey..thanks. I already had it aligned. I'm just concerned about the threads.

Retro Grouch 

Next time that you need to straighten a dropout, leave the derailleur attached and you won't have this problem.

HillRider

Can you? I suppose if you bend it back by hand and align it by eye the rd (or what remains of it) can be left in place. However, doesn't a proper dropout alignment gauge thread into the same hole as the derailleur?

Retro Grouch 

It's possible to clamp a BIG crescent wrench around the dropout and derailleur and eyeball the dropout into line. The more rear cogs you have, the less likely eyeballing is going to be accurate enough.

The proper dropout alignment gauge threads into the same hole, keeps the hole round, and makes it possible to align the dropout much more precisely.

jackcoke

I watched the guy do it. I was in Italy and I found a shop with a good mechanic, he had all the tools. The first shop I took it to the guy pulls a pre-WW2 pipe wrench out of his tool box and I passed on that opportunity. The proper tool screws into the hole, you use it as a lever and it also spins around so the handle is used to measure if it's the same distance from each part of the rim. He also took the wheel off, checked to make sure it was straight as well. Problem is he had to run a tap through the hole to be able to screw the deraileur in. I took it out for two long rides this weekend and it seems to work good. I'm just concerned because the screw just doesn't seem to torque down right. The guy didn't speak much English but when he screwed it down he looked at me and had the "not so good" look on his face. Maybe the pipe wrench wouldn't have damaged the hole, but I don't think you would ever get it straight by eye.

jgedwa

Go back in time, and keep the derailleur attached so that the threads are not distorted in the rebend. Or, go into the future and drill out the threads and put in an insert.

jim