We’ve all fallen off the bike once or twice, and gotten a little bruise. If your first reaction to such a fall is to inspect your bike before you check your own body, you’d better always have a derailleur hanger at hand, together with your spare inner tube, tyre levers and pump. What? You don’t know what a derailleur hanger is? Then keep reading.
What is a derailleur hanger and how does it work?
Derailleur hangers (also known as hanger dropouts) are bike components that are screwed on the frame’s rear ends, in order to be joined to the derailleur itself. They have a very basic, and important, function – keeping the derailleur in place and preventing it from breaking in the event of an impact. Thanks to this little piece, you will prevent severe or irreparable damage to your bike’s derailleur. They are normally made of cold forged 6061 aluminium, don’t offer resistance and can be bent or broken easily with a light impact.
At Santafixie, we recommend that you buy a spare derailleur hanger together with your bike. If you hadn’t thought about it then, you can do it later. You can either find the original one or a compatible one, because most frames by the main cycling brands are produced at the same factories, and their geometries are similar.
You won’t need to buy a spare hanger made by the same brand as your frame. Nowadays, component brands such as Union make different hangers that are compatible with several different frames. The same hanger can be installed on same-brand or different-brand frames. In any case, it’s crucial that you get a compatible hanger, in order to replace your bike’s original one in case it breaks.
You don’t know where to find a derailleur hanger compatible with your bike’s frame? Don’t worry – you’ve come to the right place, as we have a specific category for hanger dropouts on our online store.
FIND THE DERAILLEUR HANGER THAT’S COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR BIKE
Their price is usually around 9 €, quite less expensive than replacing or repairing your whole frame, don’t you think? Never try to straighten out a bent hanger, as it won’t recover its original shape. If yours is bend, we strongly advise you to change it, as its resistance will have decreased and it could move around, get your chain trapped against the frame and cause a harmful fall.
To sum up, this piece that is normally looked over should be highly regarded by all cyclists. It is essential for your bike’s transmission and does ensure its proper functioning.
How to change your bike’s derailleur hangers
The hanger must keep the derailleur vertical in regard to the freewheel, in a 90º angle with the rear axle. Changing a derailleur hanger is pretty easy – you’ll only have to unscrew the old one and screw the new one on, even in the middle of a trip. You can see such a change in this video.
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Hey, Need a hanger for Lynskey Viale 2017 model – do you have it?