Bent my derailleur hanger on a pothole yesterday

Was cruising down a bike path near downtown Austin around 6pm and hit a pothole I didn't see. Heard a nasty grind and my shifting went straight to garbage. Got home and pulled out my alignment gauge, hanger was bent at least 5mm out of true. Spent an hour trying to straighten it but it's aluminum so I just ordered a new one for $12. You guys replace these on sight or try to bend them back first?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_bell1mo ago

Respectfully, you might be overthinking this. For $12 and an hour of your time trying to fix something that's already bent, I'd say just replace it every time. Aluminum hangers don't bend back nice and true like steel ones do, and even if you get it close, the shifting will still feel off. A new one is cheap insurance that takes five minutes to swap out. I'd rather spend that hour riding than fighting with a part that's already compromised.

dylan_bell1mo ago

Have you actually tried bending one back yourself? I did once on a ride, got it close enough to shift but it never felt right again, always had that vague clicking in the lower gears. For the price of a new one, it's just not worth the headache.