I have 2 bikes, one shifts great the other has never shifted well. The one that shifts poorly tends to friction shift "Okay" for maybe 3-4 rides, then eventually will "pop" while riding along on some random gear, and by process of elimination seems to be related to derailleur hanger alignment, which was pretty bent when I got the bike. It has NEVER indexed well.

Okay, so I have the park hanger tool and have tried it about 6 times on this bike that won't shift right, and though I think I got it to mess up *less after using the tool the 1st time, it still will not index and does the same "pop" after a few rides wihch drives me ****ing nuts.

On the flip side, this crappy mountain bike shifts great....so I figure "well, I'll put the hanger tool on there and see what it reads". I put the tool on, and it actually is telling me that the hanger is slightly bent, such that the tool is too far from the rim at the bottom of the rim (near the pavement) and is too close at the top of the rim.


What the hell am I doing incorrectly? I make sure to rotate the wheel so that I'm measuring at the tube valve each time and I use the little stick and the rubber o-rings to try to get an accurate measurement each time.

Anyone else had this much trouble figuring out how to bend the hanger? Should I not be measuring this with the bike upside down like the picture or something? (can't see why this would matter)

To me, it doesn't make any sense that the bike with the bent hanger shifts great, whereas the one I've "adjusted" multiple times won't index properly. To boot, I "adjusted" a 3rd bike and its shifting went from average to worse.....so it must be my technique or something. I just can't see how though..

Thanks,