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Anyone fixed / realigned one?
Is it doable at home? Or is it a job for the LBS / a specialist frame builder? (my 1st thought was Rourke's?)
Any suggestions or experiences gratefully received 🙏🏻 - what to do, where to go etc.
We're in S. Cheshire btw.
TIA 👍🏻
Easy enough, you need a bit of box section, a length of threaded rod the same as the derailleur screw and some nuts for the same. Basically you screw the box section on, put another length on the other end and use your (hopefully true) wheel as a datum to realign.
Like this:
Yeah, just used my homemade tool (an old rear QR hub axle- they usually have the same thread) and bent it straight. Possibly heat would be a good idea, I've never bothered though, never had a massively bent one to straighten.
Can be done at home with some ingenuity (or by eye with an adjustable spanner if you're not fussy about gears working properly), but far easier with a hanger alignment tool.
Firstly, how bent is it?
If it’s only slightly out then an alignment tool will get you back straight and everything working properly.
If it’s massively bent then the way is an adjustable spanner. Clamp the hanger between the jaws then bend back to somewhere near straight then use the alignment tool for final adjustment.
This is exactly how a LBS will do it.
@phil258 - If it is more than just a minor tweak and you end up using an adjustable wrench/vice like bigblackshed suggested then it’s worth doing a couple of extra bits as well:
1 - Length of threaded rod with 4 nuts & washers or old nutted axle hub fitted between the dropouts to brace the frame
2 - Short bolt through the hanger eye with a nut on the other side to protect the thread and keep it round
If it goes a little bit awry with the threads then you can get a nifty insert to epoxy in if required after drilling out.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/accessories/dropout-saver-threaded-insert-fits-into-rear-mech-hanger/
Short bolt through the hanger eye with a nut on the other side to protect the thread and keep it round
This tip might save a fair bit of hassle.
The extra precautions that kimura54321 suggests is top shelf advice.
I’ve always left the wheel in the frame, but I’ve never had a hanger so seriously bent that a minor tweak with an adjustable spanner then the alignment tool.
I have seen one hanger so bent that it was in the cassette.
If it's just a wee bit bent any decent bikeshop can do this for you.
(Used to be a regular problem in the good old days).
I've ripped open integrated hangers / dropouts several times. This is a job for a framebuilder.
We had to do this, on the trail, once.
IIRC, the short end of an Allen key (the largest one that fitted) was inserted into the hanger hole, and the long end had enough leverage to get the hanger straight enough for riding.
Proper straightening was done with the correct tool, later.