wheelreason

You do you. I take my (monogramed) HAG, check all around, align to where the readings require, and seldom have to tweek any further, 12 speed, yeah, a couple of nudges maybe.

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

Redbullet

Those tools do not work every time. To work well, the bolt of the tool should be perfectly straight and aligned perfectly perpendicular (by construction) to the hanger. Then, the mounting and cage bolts of the derailleur should also be perfectly perpendicular (by construction) to the surface of the hanger. Those conditions are not always met, because all the above have their errors (tolerances) in manufacturing.

A few years ago, I changed a perfectly shifting SRAM Force derailleur with a similar new one (longer cage for bigger cogs range). The new one had poor shifting and it got even worse after aligning the hanger with a new alignment tool. It finally took me almost one hour to re-align it by eye, then it worked perfect for tens of thousands km (still works with almost zero failure or noise). I bet that if I go back to the old derailleur, I will need to do the same procedure by eye to get it perfectly shifting.

mpetry912 

here's an idea that I had not thought of. 10X1.

not much leverage but might work in a pinch

/markp

smd4

Inspired.

smd4

Purchased. Thanks for the recommendation!

veganbikes

They may not work every single time but if you know how to use the tool, it is less likely to be an issue. A lot of people end up not doing it right and having issues. Pick one spot on your rim and use that spot each direction you are aligning in so you have a much much better chance of fixing the problem.

dedhed

Cheater pipe

maddog34

5 to 12 speeds, bent in multiple directions, and sometimes in more than one place, about 100 a year checked, most get straightened, a few need replaced....

and i just opened vegan's post... I've only owned a Park DAG, bought used for $20, along with a WAG and aFAG, also at $20 each.... I wasn't aware that some other manufacturers called DAGs HATs and HAGs.. I'm now thinking i prefer the HAG tag, since that is what the tool aligns, eh?..
i'd put an o-ring on the HAG.... and set the drag with a dab of permatex B after ensuring the tip of the set screw was properly radiused and burnished.

Redbullet

Yes, I'm sure it works many times. But I think it is good to know that, apart from possible wrong manufacturing of some tools, it may happen that 2 similar derailleurs, otherwise of very good quality, may need different alignments of the hanger in order to work properly. I guess it is the case for derailleurs that happens to be manufactured at the opposite limits of alignment tolerances, or maybe out of the tolerance. For such cases (not many, I assume), the only solution is visual alignment of the hanger. This might lead to very good results, otherwise not possible with the tool.

veganbikes

It sounds like in your case you were using poor tools and possibly a poor derailleur. The tools I listed are pretty high quality tools, although possible for "wrong manufacturing" highly unlikely and if that were the case I would warranty the tool and get a new one. Abbey and EVT (and Shimano since the tool is similar due to EVT holding their patent) are super high quality tool manufacturers and the Park Tools have always been good and in the few cases I have warrantied stuff from them it is usually after some heavy usage but I have not personally used the new DAG 3 but know some folks at the shop who have used it and one of them who owns it and it is a quality tool. Cannot speak to usage on the WTC tool but it is from all I have heard a quality tool and having used other WTC parts and tools I know they are worth recommending.

Obviously yes if you have derailleurs that are bent then a hanger alignment tool is not going to really help on that front and conversely if you have a cheap tool that is poorly manufactured then it might not do you much good but if you use quality stuff again this is much less likely to happen.

Camilo

I have an inexpensive (~$35) one that looks very similar to the one pictured above. Mine is "XTools" but it's kind of a generic model with different brand labeling. It's a very solid tool and works perfectly.




Take a look around just get one the looks like that. Yes there are more expensive models that might work better for regular usage. But for occasional home shop use, the inexpensive ones are fine.

I also recommend strongly to pre-emptively get a spare hanger for all your bikes. It's quite likely that in the process of adjusting alignment, the hanger will crack. They are designed to be kind of "sacrificial" to break rather than bend or brake a more expensive part. It is even more likely to break if you align it more than once and espeically if you have to align it after a fall in which it gets bent.

The spares are usually available at the frame manufacturer's website and also at places like derailleurhanger.com. Sometimes you can't find the exact one for an older bike, in which case you can get a reasonable replacement at that sort of place based on the shape and attachment of the one you're trying to replace. But get one sooner rather than later because you want to have it the instant you need it and if you wait too long, you might not be able to easily find one.

smd4

It’s not an x-ray machine or a grand piano. It’s probably one of the simplest bike tools you can get. The $25 Amazon one will be fine. It’s not necessary to get the hanger aligned within two micrometers…

veganbikes

Please re-read the back and forth between myself and RedBullet. Then you can understand why I said what I said. They had issues and were talking tools and I explained everything. I never said anything about micrometers so not really relevant to what I wrote.

cpach

For occasional personal use the Park DAG 2 series is fine. You might ask your local shops if they want to sell theirs —I know my shop will get rid of ours as soon as we can source a Dag-3

smd4

It’s a unit of measurement. Apparently “micron” is outdated. The point being, bending a bent hanger doesn’t have to be microscopically precise.

veganbikes

Yes I know that...what does it have to do with what I said? Did you read the back and forth between myself and RedBullet? I don't think I once mentioned being microscopically precise and that wasn't really relevant to what we were talking about.

smd4

Never mind.