Warning: My brother's 'quick fix' on my derailleur cost me a new hanger

I learned that family help with bike repairs isn't always a good thing. He tried to adjust it and bent the hanger badly. Now I have to wait for a replacement part to come in.

4 comments

4 Comments

sethm581mo ago

What exactly was he trying to fix when he bent it? I'm picturing him just cranking on the limit screws with the wrong tool, or maybe trying to straighten it with a pair of pliers... those hangers are so soft they bend if you look at them wrong. It's always the 'quick adjustments' that turn into the biggest headaches. I feel your pain waiting for the part to show up.

robin8961mo ago

Pliers? Tell me he didn't actually grab a set of pliers to fix it. Those things are made of the softest aluminum known to man, you can practically twist them with your bare hands. That's a guaranteed way to turn a simple indexing problem into a full replacement.

brian_hart18d ago

Yeah, "softest aluminum known to man" is no joke lol. I've had luck bending a slightly tweaked hanger back with a big adjustable wrench, but you gotta be real gentle. If it's bad, just order the part and save the headache.

matthew_walker1mo ago

Ugh, reminds me how often the 'I know what I'm doing' attitude, like sethm58 said about soft hangers, just makes things worse.