Agree that a straight hanger is key to a proper shifting rear derailleur.
Once it is straight though, how often have you needed to use the tool or have taken it to the LBS to have them do it?
Once, twice in a bike’s lifetime?
Once a month? Once a year? Less?
Every time you put the bike on a bike rack?
If not used for straightening, is it a worthwhile measuring device for hanger straightness?
Thank you in advance for your answers and experience.
You only need to use the tool if there is a shifting problem that won’t go away after trying conventional tuning.
If you crash the bike hard on the right hand side or if you tear the derailleur off you have to replace the hanger generally you’ll go and get it straightened. If you do a lot of cyclocross and mountain biking perhaps owning a hanger tool would be a positive but for general road use probably not
If you are not a mechanic I recommend using the front wheel trick.
Take the rear derailleur off
Take the front wheel off
Take the nut off of the front skewer, put the end of the skewer through the derailleur hanger, put the nut back on and tighten. You may need a few washers.
Use the front wheel attached to the hanger to check alignment.
Only needed if shifting isn’t working and cables/housing are perfect or if obviously bent.
how often
When there’s a reason to do it. If the shifting is fine and the drive side of the bike hasn’t been banged into anything recently, I don’t worry about hanger alignment.
How often? Never. I’ve been riding and racing for decades . . . mountain bike, gravel, road, TT, triathlon . . . and I’ve literally never needed to use a derailleur hanger tool. I HAVE had a derailleur hanger torn in two before, but I replaced the hanger and had no need to align the new one. I do all my own work, I own a ton of bike tools, but I don’t own, and have never needed, a derailleur hanger tool.
How often? Never. I’ve been riding and racing for decades . . . mountain bike, gravel, road, TT, triathlon . . . and I’ve literally never needed to use a derailleur hanger tool. I HAVE had a derailleur hanger torn in two before, but I replaced the hanger and had no need to align the new one. I do all my own work, I own a ton of bike tools, but I don’t own, and have never needed, a derailleur hanger tool.
I use mine quite a bit. E.g. once or twice per year. I think my bikes have pretty soft hangers, though.
Road and tri bikes - When building it and then only (again) if the shifting is off. Basically very, very little.
Mt bike - probably ever season. They get bumped.
Cyclocross bikes - a few times per season. They constantly get bumped. And every time I have to replace a hanger. I have broken one almost every year on one CX bike.
I’m not sure I understand your last question.
I don’t even own one. In 25 years, I’ve never even borrowed one. But, I also can’t remember the last time I crashed or even dropped my bikes on the drive train side.
How often? Never. I’ve been riding and racing for decades . . . mountain bike, gravel, road, TT, triathlon . . . and I’ve literally never needed to use a derailleur hanger tool. I HAVE had a derailleur hanger torn in two before, but I replaced the hanger and had no need to align the new one. I do all my own work, I own a ton of bike tools, but I don’t own, and have never needed, a derailleur hanger tool.
+1. Once upon a time during a weight-weenie craze, I replaced the upper steel RD pivot/mounting bolt w/ an aluminum one, and some time later sheared it off in a mishap when the bike fell over (not even a moving crash). The hanger appeared a little bent (not a removable one), so I just bent it back straight enough using a big-ass crescent wrench so that the parallel jaws were vertically flush w/ the hanger. Perhaps a bit ghetto, but it’s really not a high-tech process anyway. Worked just fine for such an infrequent application.
If you crash the bike hard on the right hand side or if you tear the derailleur off you have to replace the hanger generally you’ll go and get it straightened. If you do a lot of cyclocross and mountain biking perhaps owning a hanger tool would be a positive but for general road use probably not
I agree with this.
Also remember that the typical cost of ONE hangar adjustment by the bike shop nearly equals the cost of the tool itself.
Still if you never adjust your derailleurs yourself, you can skip this tool and pay for the lbs to do it. I love mine though but I only use it like once per year or even less. You absolutely need an correctly aligned hangar to start working on it.
Road and tri bikes - When building it and then only (again) if the shifting is off. Basically very, very little.
Mt bike - probably ever season. They get bumped.
Cyclocross bikes - a few times per season. They constantly get bumped. And every time I have to replace a hanger. I have broken one almost every year on one CX bike.
I’m not sure I understand your last question.
The last question is that once you put the tool on, I think you rotate it to know where and by how much you need to straighten the hanger, if at all. Would it be useful to see how far off/bent that hanger is?
Grateful for the answers so far. Seems like a tool a roadie may not need if they are going to use it very little and with no experience behind them to guide them.
There’s not really an objective measurement on the tool itself. There’s a number in the instructions (that you would have to measure with something like a hex key), but once you have it to the point that it looks close, it’s going to shift pretty darn well. A couple times that I was adjusting my cx bike, I was amazed at how bent the hanger was for still shifting fairly well.
If you have one, you’ll use it. Hopefully it will be because you’ll notice that straightened hanger shifts noticeably better than a slightly bent one that still shifted fine. Again, hopefully you won’t end up using it a lot to justify the purchase. That’s terrible logic.
For me…each new bike gets a check. Usually they are close, but I make em perfect. Through the season, I will check them if shifting goes wrong. On the mountain and cross bikes, I’ll even check the hanger before touching the screws since those bikes are constantly taking hits. The road and TT bikes will get a b-screw adjustment before I try the hanger.
Maybe once a season, I’ll check and tweak all the bikes…between me and my wife, that’s over 10. Friends also use it occasionally, so it gets screwed in probably 20 times per year. The $70 original purchase price is now defrayed to a couple bucks per adjustment.
Yes, you use the DAG to align the hanger as well as measuring how far it’s off. At least that’s what I do with my DAG 2.2
There is a tool?
Road and tri bikes - When building it and then only (again) if the shifting is off. Basically very, very little.
Mt bike - probably ever season. They get bumped.
Cyclocross bikes - a few times per season. They constantly get bumped. And every time I have to replace a hanger. I have broken one almost every year on one CX bike.
I’m not sure I understand your last question.
The last question is that once you put the tool on, I think you rotate it to know where and by how much you need to straighten the hanger, if at all. Would it be useful to see how far off/bent that hanger is?
Grateful for the answers so far. Seems like a tool a roadie may not need if they are going to use it very little and with no experience behind them to guide them.
It’s shocking how often my cx bike needs an adjustment. I do a quick and crude adjustment to get it in the range of where it should be. No need for fine adjustment, it’ll shift fine and I don’t want to strain the hanger - a new one will cost $45.
I checked my road and MTB bikes and the hangers were clearly off, but shifting was still fine. Will probably leave it until May and my major races before I make any adjustments.
I’ve had an LBS mechanic adjust before and he made so many repeated tweaks to make it perfect it made me very nervous.
If you are not a mechanic I recommend using the front wheel trick.
Take the rear derailleur off
Take the front wheel off
Take the nut off of the front skewer, put the end of the skewer through the derailleur hanger, put the nut back on and tighten. You may need a few washers.
Use the front wheel attached to the hanger to check alignment.
Only needed if shifting isn’t working and cables/housing are perfect or if obviously bent.
I made a tool 25 years ago before, I got the park hanger tool
That’s a great Hack
Wish I thought of it.
JB