Blew a derailleur hanger in 40 miles, then fixed it with a zip tie and a park tool

I was doing a century ride outside Denver last month and around mile 40 my rear derailleur took a hit from a stray rock and the hanger snapped clean off. No spare hanger on me, obviously, and the nearest shop was like 15 miles back. I had a multi tool and a handful of zip ties in my saddle bag, so I just zip tied the derailleur to the frame at a middle gear and pedaled the rest of the way with my chain basically fixed in place. It felt insane, but shifting was over, so I just stood up on every hill and coasted when I could. Got back to the parking lot and the whole thing held, even though I was expecting it to shred every time I hit a pothole. Now I keep a spare hanger taped under my top tube, but has anyone else done a janky fix like that that actually got them home? What's the weirdest temporary repair that worked for you?

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caleb_thomas9323d ago

Man, that brings back a memory. A buddy of mine snapped his chain on a gravel ride and somehow rigged it with a shoelace, limping the last 8 miles in his easiest gear. It held up just long enough to get him to a gas station where we could call for a ride, and honestly I still don't know how it didn't explode. Sometimes the janky fix is the only fix, you know?