The end of bent derailleur hangers?

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The end of bent derailleur hangers?
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flag Sayshell
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Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 6:57 Quote
I think this idea is good, and would make a DRAMATIC increase in how reliable mountain bikes are.

Derailleur hangers were a good idea when they came out. Snapping your frame when a derailleur snags a bush isn't fun... But they have really serious problems and as far as I am aware haven't improved their design in 20 years...

1) They are hard to find, and expensive to replace
2) They bend extremely easily messing up your shifting and causing your drivetrain to be all rickety. Nobody wants to carry a derailleur hanger straightener in their backpack, it's like a 15lb tool. Then you gotta bend it by hand which never works too well. Simply just letting your bike flop over on the right side will bend it, spinning off a jump, or a rough landing on something easily bends it too. Way too many riders go single speed because they hate these things.

So the solution I propose is a chromoly derailleur hanger held in by 1-2 plastic bolts. This solves everything and is extremely simple. It will never bend ever, the plastic bolts will shear long before it reaches enough pressure to bend the hanger. If you snag the hanger the plastic bolts shear, and it still protects your frame and derailleur. Replacing the bolts would be a piece of cake, and cost 2 cents, and you just carry a couple plastic bolts in your backpack... Then you would also never have the problem of trying to hunt down the specific hanger for your frame. Reliable drivetrain is a must! This will create perfectly precise shifting/derailleur alignment all the time under any circumstance.

Sometimes it's the smallest changes that make the biggest differences.
flag naptime
FL
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 7:27 Quote
the plastic bolts snap an your mech goes into the spinning wheel..........?
flag Sayshell
O+
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 7:51 Quote
nojzilla wrote:
the plastic bolts snap an your mech goes into the spinning wheel..........?

They would be like 4mm long, and flush with the frame I imagine. No real chance of going into the wheel. Plus it wouldn't matter if they did. It's plastic hahaha. It would just get shredded. I would be a lot more concerned with the derailleur going into the wheel.
flag naptime
FL
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 7:52 Quote
Yeah that what I said
flag Sayshell
O+
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 7:56 Quote
nojzilla wrote:
Yeah that what I said
Ahh
flag naptime
FL
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 8:06 Quote
The alloy mech hangers are designed to break before the frame does so only that needs replacing not the whole frame. As for chro mo frames the hanger can be easily bent back to shape when damaged. It's the newer 11,12 speed systems that require the hanger to be super precise alignment. 8,9 an 10 can pretty much be aligned with a gert big spanner Wink

As for chro mo hanger on an alloy frame.. I wouldn't want the stronger steel to break the ally frame when straightening, so it would need to be removed for alignment, sounds like more hassle than just replacing a spare hanger
flag the-one1
O+
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 8:20 Quote
nojzilla wrote:
the plastic bolts snap an your mech goes into the spinning wheel..........?

A hanger snaps and the derailleur goes into the wheel too.

What the OP is trying to solve is instead of replacing the hanger, which can be hard to find or buy for some frames, just replace the cheap plastic bolts that is the sacrificial part.

The end result is the same, saving the frame from damage when the derailleur gets hit.
flag GAQ
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 8:33 Quote
it might be a better option to have bike company's standardize derailleur hangers like they did with metric shocks.

so a few standard sizes would work with most frames going forward.
it would be easier for bike shops and customers that want to get back riding

i just had to switch from a shimano direct mount to a standard style hanger.
non of my local shops had the one i needed and i had to wait a week to get it.
flag Sayshell
O+
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 9:06 Quote
GAQ wrote:
it might be a better option to have bike company's standardize derailleur hangers like they did with metric shocks.

so a few standard sizes would work with most frames going forward.
it would be easier for bike shops and customers that want to get back riding

i just had to switch from a shimano direct mount to a standard style hanger.
non of my local shops had the one i needed and i had to wait a week to get it.
But that still wouldn't solve the problem of them bending and needing alignment. I agree standard would be better though, or even if there is like 5-10 generally standard shapes. I think no matter what frame design you have you could probably match 5-10 standard profiles.
flag Sayshell
O+
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 9:07 Quote
the-one1 wrote:
nojzilla wrote:
the plastic bolts snap an your mech goes into the spinning wheel..........?

A hanger snaps and the derailleur goes into the wheel too.

What the OP is trying to solve is instead of replacing the hanger, which can be hard to find or buy for some frames, just replace the cheap plastic bolts that is the sacrificial part.

The end result is the same, saving the frame from damage when the derailleur gets hit.
Yes precisely, and you get the added bonus of never having to bend/align your hanger ever, giving you perfectly precise shifting/derailleur alignment always.
flag Sayshell
O+
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 9:10 Quote
nojzilla wrote:
The alloy mech hangers are designed to break before the frame does so only that needs replacing not the whole frame. As for chro mo frames the hanger can be easily bent back to shape when damaged. It's the newer 11,12 speed systems that require the hanger to be super precise alignment. 8,9 an 10 can pretty much be aligned with a gert big spanner Wink

As for chro mo hanger on an alloy frame.. I wouldn't want the stronger steel to break the ally frame when straightening, so it would need to be removed for alignment, sounds like more hassle than just replacing a spare hanger

I do run a 9 speed. You don't need perfect alignment, but it still does have to be pretty precise. I have to align my hanger almost every ride. Sometimes twice a ride.
flag GAQ
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 10:37 Quote
Sayshell wrote:
nojzilla wrote:
The alloy mech hangers are designed to break before the frame does so only that needs replacing not the whole frame. As for chro mo frames the hanger can be easily bent back to shape when damaged. It's the newer 11,12 speed systems that require the hanger to be super precise alignment. 8,9 an 10 can pretty much be aligned with a gert big spanner Wink

As for chro mo hanger on an alloy frame.. I wouldn't want the stronger steel to break the ally frame when straightening, so it would need to be removed for alignment, sounds like more hassle than just replacing a spare hanger

I do run a 9 speed. You don't need perfect alignment, but it still does have to be pretty precise. I have to align my hanger almost every ride. Sometimes twice a ride.

wow
your hanger might be fatigued and requires replacement.
the hanger shouldn't be affected from normal riding

do you crash or bump into things every ride?
flag Sayshell
O+
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 12:28 Quote
GAQ wrote:
Sayshell wrote:
nojzilla wrote:
The alloy mech hangers are designed to break before the frame does so only that needs replacing not the whole frame. As for chro mo frames the hanger can be easily bent back to shape when damaged. It's the newer 11,12 speed systems that require the hanger to be super precise alignment. 8,9 an 10 can pretty much be aligned with a gert big spanner Wink

As for chro mo hanger on an alloy frame.. I wouldn't want the stronger steel to break the ally frame when straightening, so it would need to be removed for alignment, sounds like more hassle than just replacing a spare hanger

I do run a 9 speed. You don't need perfect alignment, but it still does have to be pretty precise. I have to align my hanger almost every ride. Sometimes twice a ride.

wow
your hanger might be fatigued and requires replacement.
the hanger shouldn't be affected from normal riding

do you crash or bump into things every ride?

I agree but normal is less fun! It's fun to throw in some spins, tech, trials, high impacts, etc... Spruce things up hahaha. I like the idea of being able to do every type of riding on a mountain bike. Modern bikes are almost there, they just need a few small tweaks. A lot of the times a person's hanger is bent they don't know it. You know that new bike feel where you would trust the drivetrain with your life? Most the time you develop small mis-shifts, or your drivetrain gets rickety it can be attributed to the hanger.
I go through like 7 hangers a year. Tried a ton of brands too. (you can modify other hangers to fit with some filing). Stock or mod, they all fail. I would ask this question, what disadvantage would this system be to a normal rider? It would be cheaper, easier to find parts for, and if you crash or drop your bike you won't bend your hanger. I see massive benefit to a large group of riders, a moderate benefit to most, and no benefit to a small minority. Everyone wins.
flag naptime
FL
Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 20:18 Quote
Sounds like single speed would be better
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