I just got this '86 Schwinn Cimarron and it has a very bent derailleur hanger. The end of the derailleur cage was touching the spokes. Can this be bent back without risk of future failure? I've bent one back before but never this bad.
by Evancb91
I just got this '86 Schwinn Cimarron and it has a very bent derailleur hanger. The end of the derailleur cage was touching the spokes. Can this be bent back without risk of future failure? I've bent one back before but never this bad.
by Evancb91
25 Comments
Far
Further than that one.
Its a steel frame, bend away.
just go slow and you can get that thing straight.
I’ve never done one before but curious about this. How can it be guaranteed that when using the hanger alignment gauge, that it will bend it back at the same point that it bent initially? Is it possible it will create a new bend at a slightly adjacent spot to line it back up?
If it’s steel, which that frame appears to be, then you should be able to bend that hanger back to good. It’s best to use a purpose-built tool to do this, such as this one from Park Tool: [DAG-2.2 Derailleur Hanger Alignment Gaugel](https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/derailleur-hanger-alignment-gauge-dag-2-2). It’s an expensive tool, so if you don’t want to buy your own then you can have a bike shop do this for you for a lot cheaper. Or if there’s a bike co-op or collective in your area, you can go there to see if they have such a tool available for patrons to use.
That’s nothing, you could turn that into a pretzel and back again.
It’s steel, if you don’t have a tool for it go borrow one for like.. 10 seconds from a shop.
Since the frame is steel….I screw in another rear wheel that’s nutted. Use the wheel as leverage. And use a tape measure to see equal distance NWSE on the rear mech.
That just a scratch… easy easy. Unless the holes elongated they almost all can be fixed
A lot further than that. You’ll be fine.
Steel? Bend it back and stop worrying.
Adjustable spanner on it and pull it slow, easy.
Steel is very forgiving. Just take it slow. I’ve seen hangers with a much more acute angle than that get bent back.
If this is the first time you are bending it back you are fine.
If that happens repeatedly and you do not want to risk a real frame repair, you can sacrifice some paint by heating the dropout to a cherry glow and then basically forge the hanger back into position. That is easier on the structure of the steel and you can have a small paint repair afterwards.
Even if the hanger fails at some point, replacing the dropout is a pretty straightforward job for a frame builder. Fixing the paint afterwards is probably the bigger hassle.
Just depends… Are ya feeling lucky?
’cause ya should be. it’s looking like you got steel to bend. The alloy ones are where you run into issues.
Only one sure way to find out
Not so much how far, but rather, how many times. Heat it with a butane torch before you bend it and let it cool slowly when you’re done. That way you won’t have to worry about the metal “tearing”. That last step isn’t necessary if this isn’t something like a mountain bike where you think you may have to do that more than once.
I went through this a few weeks ago. Bring it to a shop and have them bend it back with the proper tool. You’ll never get the alignment right by hand.
Cost 15 bucks and saved me from a nightmare time trying to set up my derailleur.
Steel?…probably as far as it needs to go.
Make sure to brace the dropouts with a hub or some kind of axle substitute. Also , thread something into the derailleur bolt hole, so you don’t accidentally distort the threads.
It’s made of steel so should bend back no problem, just use slow and even pressure, a little at a time. Done this many a time over the years.
I seen a steel hanger bend back after the hanger went into the cassette and blocked it from turning.
Steel bike = crank on that thing. It has many more incidents ahead of it.
They have a tool for that!