How to straighten claw type hanger built into RD?
10-28-19, 09:03 AM
#1
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How to straighten claw type hanger built into RD?
Can anyone here suggest a good method of straightening a bent hanger on a rear mech like this one?
If you're familiar with those you'll know the claw hanger is built-in/non-removeable making it impossible to use a hanger alignment tool since there's nowhere to thread it on. I actually have 4 of these mechs in my parts bin (3 Falcons, 1 Tourney) from various salvages and all of the hangers look bent to different degrees.
Any tips? Maybe mount them in a vise or something?
If you're familiar with those you'll know the claw hanger is built-in/non-removeable making it impossible to use a hanger alignment tool since there's nowhere to thread it on. I actually have 4 of these mechs in my parts bin (3 Falcons, 1 Tourney) from various salvages and all of the hangers look bent to different degrees.
Any tips? Maybe mount them in a vise or something?
10-28-19, 09:52 AM
#2
Really Old Senior Member
Just buy a new Tourney. I toss Falcons.
10-28-19, 09:58 AM
#3
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It is very tough to do. Perhaps clamp the dropout portion of the claw in a vise and try to fit an adjustable wrench on to the part closer to the derailleur body. Otherwise toss and buy new. Those are like $12 new.
10-28-19, 11:05 AM
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7-speed, right? The nice thing about 7-speeds is they are less picky about perfect alignment than 9-speed cassettes and above.
I leave the derailleur on the bike and shift into a gear combination that makes the derailleur arm point as nearly straight downward as I can. Then I stand the bike as upright as I can and look at the derailleur arm from the back of the bike. If the derailleur arm seems to be pointed in toward the rear tire, I try to bend it straight which I can usually do with just my hand. If not, I clamp a big crescent wrench onto the derailleur and bend it until it looks straight to me. I've always found that to be adequate for 7-speed drivetrains.
Couple of other points:
1. Can you/do you want to ride it the way that it is? If the answer is no, you have nothing to lose.
2. It's a Tourney derailleur. If you muck it up, even a brand new one won't set you back much.
I leave the derailleur on the bike and shift into a gear combination that makes the derailleur arm point as nearly straight downward as I can. Then I stand the bike as upright as I can and look at the derailleur arm from the back of the bike. If the derailleur arm seems to be pointed in toward the rear tire, I try to bend it straight which I can usually do with just my hand. If not, I clamp a big crescent wrench onto the derailleur and bend it until it looks straight to me. I've always found that to be adequate for 7-speed drivetrains.
Couple of other points:
1. Can you/do you want to ride it the way that it is? If the answer is no, you have nothing to lose.
2. It's a Tourney derailleur. If you muck it up, even a brand new one won't set you back much.
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10-28-19, 11:20 AM
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+1. Some of your parts bin RDs might even have been purposefully bent to align properly on the bikes they were taken from. 
10-29-19, 08:55 AM
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To answer the OP's question directly, it would take a pretty good eye to do it. Look at the hanger to see how its bent. Put the tip of the claw in a vice. Use a couple of adjustable wrenches (you may have to use one adjustable wrench to apply force to the other) to bend the hanger into submission. That's how I'd try to do it.
10-29-19, 07:46 PM
#7
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Thread Starter
Ok thanks for the advice I'll give it a shot sometime soon. Since I have so many of these and don't really care if I wreck them I'll try each method and see what kind of results I get.
10-29-19, 08:01 PM
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I straighten most der hangers when the der is on the bike. Since it's the cage, Not some gage that aligns the part that's many links removed from the cage. Why the cage being my reference? Because that's where the chain runs. Do I ever use the DAG (or N tool years ago)? Sure, sometimes when I feel it's called for.
Al hangers are easy to bend with a hex wrench in the bolt and often with a flat bladed screwdriver behind the hanger. Steel takes more effort and these I'll use the "proper" tool more often. Eyeing cage alignment is fairly easy to do after you've done a few hundred/thousand. BTW I also shift into the most middle ring/cog combo when not using the DAG as to average out the often miss machined der mounting bolt threading (as well as the cage pivot bolt also often having some non axial aspects to it's threading/cage locating).
For ders with a plate hanger (what is so poorly called a claw these days) the channel locks come out and I'll grab the B pivot (not always a "bolt", often a rivet actually) and do much the same. As RG said most of the bikes with these types are pretty sloppy in there construction and lots of improvement can be had quickly, certainly more then the rest of the der's "precision". Andy
Al hangers are easy to bend with a hex wrench in the bolt and often with a flat bladed screwdriver behind the hanger. Steel takes more effort and these I'll use the "proper" tool more often. Eyeing cage alignment is fairly easy to do after you've done a few hundred/thousand. BTW I also shift into the most middle ring/cog combo when not using the DAG as to average out the often miss machined der mounting bolt threading (as well as the cage pivot bolt also often having some non axial aspects to it's threading/cage locating).
For ders with a plate hanger (what is so poorly called a claw these days) the channel locks come out and I'll grab the B pivot (not always a "bolt", often a rivet actually) and do much the same. As RG said most of the bikes with these types are pretty sloppy in there construction and lots of improvement can be had quickly, certainly more then the rest of the der's "precision". Andy
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