grindher

Hi, I was wondering what you folk think about this bent derailleur hanger. Is it too far gone the be bent back and aligned?
Thanks

Crankycrank

I'd say there is a very good chance it can just be bent back. Looks like the dropout needs some aligning too.

cpach

It'll probably be fine. I might try to get it close with some flat pliars before using a proper hanger alignment tool.

CliffordK

Dang, I was up in Portland just earlier today.

I made my own derailleur hanger alignment tool. I overbuilt it, then when I got it onto the bike, wow, those things are bendy!!!

Anyway, I haven't worked on a hanger quite that bent, but one should be able to straighten it, but there are a few risk factors
..
Ultimately, unless you're planning on making a "fixie", you have very little to lose to try to repair the dropout and derailleur hanger.

Take it easy, and see what happens. The worst that could happen is you'll break your broken bike (which still may be repairable but more work).

Make sure that you clamp down anything that you don't want to bend.

dsbrantjr

Besides the preceeding suggestions I would advise removing the axle positioning screw as-is, as it looks likely to break if you attempt to straighten it, making the stub difficult to extract. . You could try straightening it after removal but I would just replace it.

TakingMyTime

+1 - That was my first reaction after reading the original post... you don't have a lot of options, go for it.

dedhed

I'd certainly at least try to straighten that. If its not real bad I use a large adjustable wrench, I have a 3" - M10 X 1.0 bolt I thread in to keep the threads straight and put a pipe on it for leverage so it can be tweakd in both directions. Final adjustment with a gauge.
As said be careful to watch for cracking at the screw hole. Maybe clean off the paint for a better look. Even that can be welded or brazed on a steel drop out if need be. Might even want to throw some heat on it before bending.

gugie 

All good advise, except there’s no advantage to heating it up that I know of. That’s a 10 minute job at an LBS. Sellwood Cycles is one place I’d recommend.

cpach

I straighten hangers every day. I'd give it a good chance, but I'd definitely inform the customer that there's a non zero percent chance that it will break with a bend that bad.

grindher

Thank you all for your advice.
Honestly I didn't realize the drop out was also out of wack until I posted the pictures here. This is a friend's bike that I do regular tune ups for. I have the Park drop out alignment tool but I don't have the hanger alignment tool. I wanted to hear what you all thought before purchasing one.
So some are saying to bend it with something other than the hanger tool first?
Also, like I said, I don't have the hanger tool yet. Do you have any recommendations? I was thinking of getting the Park one. I see cheep ones on Amazon, but I prefer to buy a quality tool ounce, and then I have it.

Rogerogeroge

If you want quality tools, I hear this one is top notch, though I've never used one. I've used the Park ones, and they tend to get slop in them quickly.

https://www.abbeybiketools.com/products/hag

Mad Honk 

Before trying to do any bends get a length of all thread material and put nuts and washers on both sides of the drop outs to hold them in place before any bending takes place. That will control the bending and hold it to just bending the derailleur hanger back in place. After the first bend, check the drop out alignment, adjust if needed and then bolt the drop outs back in place, and do a final bend of the hanger with a hanger bending tool. Chase the threads before trying to re-attach any derailleur. HTH, MH

grindher

Yes, I saw that one. A little rich for my blood. I agree with the park tool. That's why I'm thinking anything cheaper would be worse.
As I stand, I like the idea of putting a bolt through the hanger, use something to get it back into relative position, and then use the alignment tool to fine tune.
Of course I'll deal with drop out alignment first.
Thanks again all.

grindher

Great advice. I have my make shift frame spreader that will work perfectly for your suggestion. I'll work slowly. Back and forth as you suggested.

cpach

Abbey tools are nice, but a Park will do you well. The vast bulk of commercial shops in the US use the Park tool. This is a super commonly used tool so if you have an otherwise well equipped set of bicycle tools I'd recommend owning one.

davidad

You can get it close with a large crecent wrench then take a rear wheel and screw the axle into the hanger (same threads) and use the wheel as an alignment tool. I have done this on the road on a cross country tour before and it was a ride saver.

Germanrazor

You really don't have anything to lose trying. I just used my derailleur hanger tool to align my road bike RD hanger. It was a new hanger but I could never get it dialed in totally. So I had to check it and it was off. Yours may need to be re-threaded as well looking at that picture......seems a bit boogered up.

Germanrazor

I like Park Tools but there are other brands just as good sometimes. I have the Cyclospirit brand and it is just as good as PT. Now if I were truing wheels then the PT truing stand is best I have found for sure.

grindher

Thanks for the heads up. It looks pretty much like the Park tool.
I've used the park tool before and , as others have noted, there's quite a bit of play in it.
I agree about the truing stand.