bean4158

I was out for a ride yesterday and my rear derailleur come off of the hanger and was destroyed in the rear wheel. It is a long story, but I had three mechanics look at it today and none of them could come up with a reason for the failure. When it came off, it bent the hanger and stripped the threads. All three mechanics were in the same store and all stated that they believed that Trek is one of the companies that does not have a replacable dereailleur hanger. They said that the frame was shot and would need to be replaced. They suggested that I take it to a Trek dealer and see about a frame replacement. Have any of you ever had any experience with this type of problem with a Trek bike?

Mike

bac

Hi Mike. I had a very similar issue with my carbon Trek 5200. Long story short, my RD hanger was trashed. Trek was able to replace the hanger (even with a carbon frame) for a charge of $125. That's a heck of a lot cheaper than a new carbon frame.

Talk to your Trek peeps, and they should be able to hook you up - unless there is more damage than just the RD hanger. Good luck!

... Brad

R900

The dealer needs to send the frame to Trek. Trek can pop in a new hanger. Did it unscrew or was it not adjusted correctly? Trek charges $47 plus shipping, and whatever your dealer charged to tear down and rebuild the bike. Takes about 10 - 14 days including shipping.

bean4158

Hi BAC and R900,

Thanks for the information. That is a load off of my mind. I just had the new Dura Ace put on in June and had put 1850 miles on it. I was shocked when I heard the crunch and saw the derailleur in the rear wheel and stuck to the chain. I really like the bike and did not want to have to hassle with a new frame. In reviewing the derailleur, there is nothing to indicate that it broke off of the hanger, nor was there any evidence that it got caught in the rear wheel. One hypothesis by the bike shop was that the rear wheel may have shifted after fixing a flat a few miles before. I don't know what caused it, but I'm just glad to hear that there may be a fix for the frame.

By the way BAC, I see you are from PA. Where in PA do you live? I was raised in Hollidayburg, which is right beside Altoona and about 40 miles from State College.

Thanks again,

Mike

bac

Hey Mike, I'm near Pittsburgh, so not too far away!

FYI, my chain broke - that is what started the chain reaction at 30mph that destroyed my Dura Ace RD - Dura Ace Cassette - RD hanger - and all the drive side spokes on a rear Ksyrium SLs. The rear wheel locked, but the only thing that got hurt was my wallet.

... Brad

R900

Wow, cassette too. I lost my brand new DA RD and chain. But mine was a screw up by my LBS. However the Bontrager RaceXLite wheel, took the blow and didn't miss a beat. I have a slightly bent spoke, but after another 3,000 miles I've not had any problems.

bean4158

I was lucky to be going about 16 mph. We had just stopped to pick a guy up for the ride and were cruising along talking when it happened. I wasn't standing on the pedels or pushing hard. I also had Ksyrium SL weeks and was fortunate to have only one bent spoke.

BAC, I went to IUP for undergrad and PITT for grad school, so I know western PA pretty well. I love that area and get back there every chance I get.

Thanks again for information!

Mike

dkrc

It has been a while since the referenced tread was initiated, however I am interested in finding out how the hanger replacement went with Trek. The exact same thing just happened to me yesterday. At first I feared the worst, but this thread gave me hope.

Your follow-up would be much appreciated.

dkrc

nitropowered

Trek will pop out the dropouts and put in new ones, or you can get these

https://wheelsmfg.com/content/view/502/55/

hao

i've seen this happen personally.
anther reason not to buy a trek.

R900

The new hanger will be as good as new.

ls01

Be sure to get the estimate in writing. Include shipping in the estimate. I popped a dropout out of the chainstay on my 06 madone and was quoted a price of $120.00. When I went to pick up the frame the cost was $170.00 , and they chipped the paint! Believe me I am still pissed about being taken for a ride by Trek. Even with a written estimate he still wouldnt give me my frame until I coughed up another $50.00 " for shipping". never again.

RacerOne

My 2010 Madone 6.5's hanger is attached with 2 allen bolts, I'm sure I could replace that myself.

Fleabiscuit

Yep, the older Trek Madone bikes prior to '10 do not have replaceable hangers, the new ones (like yours) do. Replacing your hanger is very easy. Replacing one of the older ones...not so much.

R900

Sounds like a dealer problem.

^oZ

Another reason to adjust your derailleur properly

Metzinger

... and to avoid riding in places where road debris can flip up, catch in the spokes, and ruin a perfectly good RD hanger.

wanders

He ended up selling it to waterrockets. There's another thread somewhere around here on that.

dkrc

Thanks, I have seen these dropout savers. The hanger was bent pretty bad. I will first see if I can straighten the hanger good enough to put in a dropout saver. If not I will fork out the $150 to get it replaced and then buy the dropout savers for emergencies in the future.

dkrc

The next bike I buy will for sure have a replaceable hanger.

RacerOne

I'm glad it's a 2010 then!, sometimes you learn something on BF.

Fleabiscuit

My answer was not correct. They started in 2009 with the replaceable hangers, not 2010. I've got an '08 Trek CF bike and it still has the non-replaceable variety. I've ridden mountain bikes for years and my aluminum C'dale has a replaceable hanger that, thankfully, is still original. I always assumed these types of issues were rare but really bad when they happened. I hope to never know this first hand!

Dr.B.

I am the originator of this thread (formerly bean4158). The fact is that Trek can indeed pop out the hanger and put in a new one. My story is much more interesting. I sent my frame back to Trek and didn't hear anything from them for months. When I pushed my Local Bike Shop to contact them, Trek said they found the frame and it was in the process of being sent back. When the bike shop called, they said that I would be very happy when I came by to pick up the bike. The fact is that they gave me a new frame, that was actually the newest model (at that time) which was an upgrade. My frame was one of the older ones with the fin on the back of the seat tube. The model that they sent back was the one produced just prior to the redesigned model. Apparently they lost my old frame and painted up a new one at no extra cost. It has been so long ago that I can't remember what the cost for fixing the fame actually was! Needless to say I was not very thrilled by the delay, but I was thrilled with the new frame. Unfortunately, I rode that new frame for about 8 months before hitting a rock in the road and crashing hard and fast on my side. The pedal hit the ground so hard that the area around the bottom bracket cracked. That frame now lies in repose in a bike themed Pizza Shop in St. Pete Florida (Tour de Pizza). A fabulous Pizza Shop if you live in the St. Pete area.

Dr. B.
Westminster, CO

BikeWise1

Bad/lazy dealer. We Trek dealers are able to check the status of warranty/repair claims through the dealer site in a matter of seconds. As a matter of fact, I check them several times a week and if something isn't moving along, my next phone call is to my rep who gets things moving.

Gerry_co

I recently had my Trek Madone derailleur hanger break (the frame piece the replaceable hanger screws into). The derailleur shattered, went into the wheel and shattered the carbon fiber seat stay. Trek stated that the it must have been bent or adjusted incorrectly. I had previously checked the alignment it was not bent.

I did find, however, that the bolts holding on the replaceable derailleur hanger were loose and I believe that this caused my disaster. I then checked a brand new Trek Madone at a shop and, SUPRISE, the two bolts holding the replaceable derailleur hanger were loose on it: ON A BRAND NEW BIKE!

If you have a replaceable derailleur hanger on a Trek bike I would make sure that these two bolts are tight.