With two weeks off from work at the end of the year, it's time to catch up on Atelier projects. I've been staring and dreaming of working on this one for awhile. With some anxiety (this one's a beauty to start with), the work begins.

First, a proper derailleur hanger is desired. This was my first challenge on this frame mod. The stamped steel dropouts are rather thin compared to a forged bit. I wanted to use a horizontal dropout as a donor, I can cut these to give a rather long contact for good purchase. I have a damaged, no-name DIY project frame in the Atelier that was given to me with Campy 1010 dropouts that I'll likely never get around to repairing. Like a kidney transplant donor, it gave up part of it's body so that another could live a better life.

Here's the cut, filed square and straight bit to give me an idea of how it would fit up.



The bottom of the Gillot dropouts are rounded, so they need to be flattened to match the hanger piece. I carefully clamped the dropout in my vise and rested the other end of the frame on my bench. Hacksaw and file later, it's ready to match the hanger.



Flux, clamp with a cheap set of Harbor Freight vise grips, and brass it in place.



Next step is clean up. Note the step - the sheet metal dropouts on this old Gillott are much narrower than the derailleur hanger body. I'll build this back up with some silvered in stainless sheet metal, and cut and file it to match the curvature of this elegant dropout