yannis

I own a vintage Peugeot bicycle. The frame has no rear derailleur hanger. The dropouts are like these. The installed derailleur, an old simplex, has a hanger. The problem is that the frame has no hole for the bold that holds the derailleur in place either. This bold is installed inside the dropout, behind the wheel axle and that leaves a gap on the other side's dropout. I think that it's not safe to have the wheel installed this way... It is also difficult to adjust. How could I mount the rear derailleur elseway? Is there any special hanger for such a situation? Thanks in advance!

JanMM

Rear derailleur adapter claw.
https://harriscyclery.net/product/var...r-claw-963.htm

There will be a gap on the non-drive side.

Grand Bois

Older French bikes use spacers behind the axle. Yours should have one on the non-drive side. You can find them online. Mine has an integral hanger, so it has them on both sides. There's nothing unsafe about not having them. They're just a convenience.

The word you want is bolt.

yannis

I already have such a hanger. I just don't know if and how could I install it without leaving the gap on the non-drive side...

JanMM

From the Harris site:
"The bolt and its special shoulder nut fit in the back of the axle slot. When normally installed, the left end of the wheel's axle will wind up near the middle of its axle slot.

This is normal. There are millions of bikes on the road using this system."

I prefer vertical dropouts but rode thousands of miles on bikes with a gap.

There have been other spacer devices available such as described by Grand Bois.

catmandew52

Hundreds of thousands early 10 speeds were sold, and ridden, with a claw type derailieur hanger clamped in the drive side dropout, and, NO SPACERS, PLUGS, ADJUSTING SCREWS, NOTHING!, in the non drive side.
Pull the wheel back into the claw hanger, snug up the drive side axle nut. Snug up the non drive side nut. Make sure your wheel is centered, and tighten both nuts. Not a big thing, really.
There will be a gap on the non drive side,but it doesn't hurt anything.

JohnDThompson 

Don't worry about the gap on the non-drive side; it doesn't matter.

neurocop

The claw hanger will leave a small gap on the non-drive side DO when the axle is in place. It's OK if you can lock your axle in place so that the wheel is centered, but you need to make sure the axle stays there and doesn't drift backwards into the non-drive side DO. The surest way to do this is to use solid bolts rather than quick-release skewers. The best solution when using QR skewers is to have the DO's drilled for screws that set the axle in the proper position. Standardized spacers will also work, but you'd have to offset them differently and srew them solidly in place to account to the space taken up by the claw.

yannis

Another solution could be to attach an identical derailleur hanger on the other side.

Kimmo

Myself, I'd be tempted to either cut and braze the claw onto the dropout to create an integral hanger or just throw the frame away. Yuk.

Or if you prefer to ignore the aesthetic travesty and would rather spend effort solving the tiny issue of your gap, you could grind off the pressed bit of the claw that sits inside the dropout, and drill and tap a hole behind the slot allowing you to mount the wheel all the way back in the slot. Which would weaken the dropout and still look fugly.

neurocop

I think the problem with that solution is that the claws are shaped to fit on the drive side DO. You'd have to do some machining
to get one to fit on the non-drive DO.

Kimmo

Not if you bung it on upside-down.

yannis

I am trying to find a way to mount the hunger without using the screw. That way it could be placed without leaving that gap on the other side.

Terfer

I use that solution for around 1 full year (bad weather , bumpy road and more) and working nice but i do one mod for my not drive side i just cut the dropout part so i just get a spacer.

fietsbob

It does not matter,, you are not in a race..
center the wheel, tighten the axle, how ever it may be fixed QR or Nut.

cny-bikeman

That gap is absolutely nothing but an aesthetic issue. There is no force on the wheel that will push it backward. The only purpose of putting something on the left side is to make it quicker to mount the wheel centered in the dropouts, mainly when using a quick release. with a bolt-on hub you just tighten the drive side, center the wheel between the stays and then tighten the other side.

Andrew R Stewart 

Grind off the nub that the hanger plate has on it's inside (and is meant to reside within the slot to better position everything) then drill a hole in the drop out's weakest point for that bolt. I've seen this done by the few who seek symmetry in their life. (Or some reason that has nothing to do with how bikes actually work). Andy (who hope all can understand the tongue in cheek that this suggestion is meant in)

nfmisso

been there, done that, works great if the frame is square. Some frames are not that good......

Here is another choice:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079HLJ2BT

cut off the hanger part for use on the NDS side.

JanMM

Zombie Thread alert. Had been asleep 6 years until 2:08pm this afternoon.

jj1091

Hey, it's Terfer's 1st post. And, already he's telling someone to cut off something.