Normal for older road bikes?
 

My rear derailler attaches in the dropout directly where the wheel does. The bolt for the rear wheel is what holds the derailler on. This makes it pretty annoying to change the rear tire. It almost takes more than 2 hands to simultaneously hold the derailler (keeping tension on the spring), holding the rear wheel straight, and tightening the bolt.

I've gotten pretty good at it, but I'm wondering: is this the way the bike was designed, or am I missing a part? I don't see anywhere else the derailler hanger could bolt on.

Got a photo? I'll bet you're missing a small bolt.

When I rebuilt a Schwinn Sprint my neighbor gave to me, I was thinking the same thing. It turns out there is a small bolt along with a piece that fits into the dropout holding it on. I hope these pictures make some sense:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...g?t=1248457292

My camera focused on the grass, but that's where the piece goes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...g?t=1248457404
Screw goes through the dropout, not a screw hole, into the piece on the other side of the dropout.

This is/was normal on cheaper bikes. A better quality frame will have a hanger integrated into the dropout.

Mondaycurse, what does the "piece" look like? Is it connected to the frame, or is more like a nut that holds the screw from the back?

I had that screw originally. The first time I took of the rear wheel, that screw fell on the floor. I saw roughly where it went, but I just couldn't find a way for it to connect. Maybe I unknowingly lost that piece, but if it's any bigger than the screw, I think I would have seen it. I don't remember seeing any unidentifiable pieces of metal laying around, but maybe I did lose it.

In the attached exploded view, Item 13, "Bracket retainer bolt and nut", retain the bracket to the dropout when the skewer isremoved.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...80P-A22-03.jpg

Ah, thanks Scooper!

I have the bolt but I must have lost the nut. Maybe I'll stop by the hardware store and see if I can rig up a replacement. Maybe I can get a new nut and botl from Suntour, but it's probably not worth it. Really it only needs to be sturdy enough to hold the derailler for the 10 minutes the wheel is off.

It seems to me it's only an annoyance while trying to put the wheel on. Hopefully it doesn't pose some sort of safety risk that I don't know about. The wheel skewer is pretty tight and I don't think the derailler is in any danger of popping off while riding. I am somewhat disappointed that I lost the nut though. I remember thinking it was weird when the screw fell off but didn't attach anywhere.

As you can see from the illustration, it's a special nut with a head large enough so that it won't pull through the dropout slot.

Loose screws carries replacements that should work.

Awesome, thanks!

Go to a bike shop with that illustration, they will probably have one in their old parts bucket. It has a special shape to the head

+1 Lower end bikes did not have a direct frame mount for the rear derailleur. Its one of the easy quick tips that a bike is low end.

So its really not about vintage bikes, its about lower end bikes.

+1 Retainer bolt does make the derailleur stationary even with the wheel removed.