I was 10 miles into a ride yesterday when my derailleur hanger snapped. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out if there was a way I could keep riding, but ended up just tying it up out of the way so I could more easily walk the bike, and coast down hills. Curious if anyone on this sub has better hacks (other than carrying an extra hanger, I'll be doing that in the future).
I ended up meeting some hikers and hiked back to their car, which was only 4 miles away instead of the 8 back to mine. Made some new friends and all turned out well, but I want to be ready next time!
by Complex_Making
22 Comments
Tape it out of the way and walk it out dejectedly
Probably the only option is to break the chain to release the hanger, put the chain back together and turn the bike into a one speed
I did shorten a chain so that the bloke could carry on in a 50-15 or something as a single speed. Bit finicky to find a gear that worked without dropping the chain but we somehow managed to do it. Wasn’t a pleasant ride for him though.
This is why I have a multitool with a chain breaker. What you can do is ditch the derailleur and go single speed by shortening the chain. Should be enough to get you where you need to go.
-If you had a small chain tool, you could have used it to resize the chain and make it into a single speed bike.
-if you could find a stick and enough tape/straps you could have rigged your derailleur, to stay in one place, essentially making it a single speed.
Here are some other tips you should learn for the trail. https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/workshop/trailside-repairs Seven trailside repairs you need to know | BikeRadar
I bring an extra hanger. They weigh nothing and it is great insurance.
I’ve ordered two spare hangers and always have one in my tool kit. It’s small, weights almost nothing
Cry.
Split the chain and pick a middle gear. Most bike tools have a chain splitter
This happened to a rider in the Tour today on a $15k-$25k bike, so you’re in good company!
After my first break I now carry a spare on my bike.
$20 and weighs almost nothing.
Of course, now that I carry one, I’ve never had an issue. I know as soon as I forget to pack it my hanger will break.
i put the spare i carry with me on and go about my ride
Long time MTB rider here who has always carried a chain tool and a quick link. Have used them twice – once on my bike and once on a friend’s to break the chain, remove the derailleur and make the bike into a single speed to get back home. Pretty simple fix if you are mechanically inclined.
Usually get the spare one out my tool wrap.
Just a small note, if you can’t find a hanger (because they are frame specific) try searching alibaba. I found a replacement for my decathlon rt 520 there when it was out of stock on decathlon site
I always have a chain breaker and a few half links so I can jerry-rig a singlespeed
Put on the spare that’s in my toolkit. Carry one ever since it was recommended when I bent mine pretty badly.
Convert to single speed. Done that before on a XC MTB
I go with some zip ties for this kinda thing. You can’t really put any watts on it, but it will get you off the mountain.
Carry a spare.
You call mom to pick you up.
Or you turn it into a single speed, depending on what the rest of the road is like