Had a minor dust up on yesterdays ride. Guy in front of me touched wheels and went down. I couldn't avoid him and managed to stay upright but my bike took a tumble landing on the derailleur and bending hanger.

I ordered a new one but it won't be here until Tuesday. I adjusted the limit so I can get use the first 10 cogs. The derailleur just barely touches the spokes in the smallest cog and I cannot get into the 11 cog with the limit screw backed all the way out.

Anyone know a way to straighten it without the buying the $150 Park DAG-2.2? I can live without the 11 cog for a few days, but the rubbing spoke issue concerns me a bit. the hanger is held on by two tiny screws so I don't really want to pull on it. I was thinking about taking it off, put it in a vice and give it a couple taps with a hammer.

Why not just adjust the low limit screw so that you can't get into the biggest cog? I'd imagine the hanger is slightly weakened by your fall and tapping it with a hammer may weaken it further and increase the likelihood that it'll snap off mid-ride, though I know my mechanic has bodged hangers back into place before without issue, including the one I have on my bike now. He does check the alignment carefully with a tool, though, he's not just eyeballing.

The #1 thing is to avoid the pulley cage catching your spokes. That'd be an insta-wreck at speed.

You'd effectively be running a 9 speed bike without an 11t and whatever your big cog is, but unless you're planning on epic climbs you should be fine until the new hanger arrives.

Use a spare rear wheel

Take it to your favorite shop and see if they will bend it back for you right there and then. It only takes a couple of minutes. It's also a fun tool to use that should get used more often, so the mechanics might very well be happy to do it for you

Also, $150? Try $60
Park DAG-2.2 Derailleur Hanger Alignment Gauge

Bent the hell out of mine in a wreck, took it off the bike and whacked it a few times with a hammer against the anvil on my shop vise. That got it straight enough to ride to the LBS, where a mechanic straightened it completely with the Park Tool, in about 2 minutes.

I'd imagine the hanger is slightly weakened by your fall and tapping it with a hammer may weaken it further and increase the likelihood that it'll snap off mid-ride, though I know my mechanic has bodged hangers back into place before without issue, including the one I have on my bike now. He does check the alignment carefully with a tool, though, he's not just eyeballing.

The #1 thing is to avoid the pulley cage catching your spokes. That'd be an insta-wreck at speed.

You'd effectively be running a 9 speed bike without an 11t and whatever your big cog is, but unless you're planning on epic climbs you should be fine until the new hanger arrives.[/QUOTE]

that was my plan. that would leave me with a 12/24. Not great for some of the hills here, but doable with a little huffing and puffing.

None of the shops near me can take a look at it right away. I'd likely get it back early next week.

Not everyone lives in the US. Local shop that has it wants $130 plus tax. I'll get my hanger long before a package from the US arrived.

Just jam an allen key into the hanger bolt and give it a bend back as well as you can, then adjust the rear der. It'll keep you riding but if it's off even a small amount it'll make noise and auto-shift.

That's the way I do it.

If you have a hex bit and a long ratchet wrench it's even easier...

Steel and Ti are reasonably forgiving about being bent and re-bent to a certain extent. Al not so much, carbon not at all. So whether it's advisable to try bending your hanger very much depends on what material it and your stays are made of.

hex key in the RD bolt or adjustable wrench. don't let them scare you, it's already busted, no harm in trying to bend it back at this point!

But using a spare rear wheel to bend it means you can actually do a decent job of checking it it's straight instead of guessing.

How on earth do you use a wheel to bend a derailleur hanger?

You make sure there's no play in the bearings, unscrew the derailer, and screw in the wheel. Now you have a big lever and a point of reference relative to the wheel in the dropouts to see if it is straight.

You learn something new every day. Wish I had a wheel with a threaded axle to try this.


I've blocked out the largest cog and will wait for the new hanger.

I had problem adjusting my RD hanger.
I have tired spare wheel. Tried threaded bars diy tool. Tried to do it by sight. But nothing worked.

Finally I got the tool and it has fixed my problems in 5 min.
wiggle.com | LifeLine Derailleur Hanger Alignment Tool | Workshop Tools

Now I see how you use a wheel, the axle on the wheel has the same thread as the derailleur so you can screw it on.

This fellow made a homemade alignment tool using a bar of metal and an old axle.

$56 on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-DAG.../dp/B010T6L22E

Op has a replaceable hanger, which is aluminum.

And of course, remembering to only bend the hanger with the wheel installed!

bend it the opposite direction of the direction it's bent in

Many times, depending on severity of how bad it's bent, you stand a high likelihood of breaking it off. I've had some success bending a little at a time, slowly and easy. Since it's already bent (damaged), you don't have much to lose. For my Mtb's, I just carry a spare and I've never bent one on a road bike.

Or even $34.82 for a functional equivalent:



Wiggle | LifeLine Derailleur Hanger Alignment Tool | Workshop Tools

Thread the rear axle into the hanger and use the wheel as a lever to bend the hanger.

+1 to the various "bend it back" posts. However, bend it "just enough" and double check before bending more. Over bending may result in breaking it, then you are stuck until getting the replacement. So, clumsy-types may want to stick with the limit-screw adjustment until getting a replacement.