# Derailleur Hanger



## noyade233 (Aug 17, 2012)

I have been having what I think is above average chain noise on my new 2012 CAAD10 105 going through the rear derailleur which gets loud while on the largest chain wheel upfront. Shifting has been fine except for one mid-larger sprocket in the rear that will tick very lightly since the chain starts rubbing on next sprocket up. Fixing the tick will throw off the adjustment on some of the other sprockets.

When I took the bike back to the LBS (mainly for the loud rear derailleur chain noise) the sales guy looked at it and said it looks like the rear derailleur hanger is out of alignment. He showed it to the mechanic who just eyeballed it and said that's how the CAAD 10 Derailleur hangers are. The sales guy went ahead and sprayed the whole chain and derailleur with a thick coating of lube and said its fine now. The lube did deaden the clicking a little but went back to being loud in a little over a week.

Which brings me to my question. My friend has a Park Tool Dag-2 he is lending me since he thinks the hanger might be out of alignment from the factory. I have read "Cannondale strongly advises not trying to straighten hangers by bending with a hanger alignment tool." If i do find the hanger is slightly out of alignment, is using an alignment tool to bend it a no no?


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## the mayor (Jul 8, 2004)

The "mechanic" must have magic eyes if he can tell if the hanger is slightly tweaked by looking at it.
And if you don't know how to use the alignment tool...you can bugger up the hanger.
You might want to find a mechanic who knows what he's doing.


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## noyade233 (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks. I'm not that worried about messing it up since I have seen it done in person and am somewhat mechanically inclined but if I get to it and see it might be a little more then I expected, I'll be sure to bring it to someone who knows what they are doing.

I have attached a picture of it to see if anyone else thinks this is normal for a CAAD10 hanger like the mechanic said?


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## dynomike8 (Feb 25, 2012)

I would heed Cannondale's warning about there hanger. I have straightened many hangers without any issue. I tried to straighten the hanger on my SuperSix (and it was mildly bent, probably didn't even really need it) with the park DAG and the thing snapped almost instantly. I was even being gentle since I read the same thing. 

Maybe it was a fluke, but it might behoove you to have an extra on hand just in case...

Again, not really the end of the world if it breaks, but if the LBS is out of them, you'll be without a bike for a few days.


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## ybgirnadnerb (Mar 15, 2012)

Did you crash or did your bike fall onto the drivetrain side, bumping the hanger?

I've gone through a ton of derailleur hangers on my 2012 CAAD10 w/ SRAM; they do a great job at bending instead of your frame. My girlfriend has a 2012 CAAD10 with Shimano. Your derailleur hanger, to me, does look to be bent slightly inward.

I measured the distance between my 11t cog (PG1070) and the derailleur (SRAM Red Black) hanger with calipers, and it is 4.43mm. My girlfriend's is 3.31mm; hers looks slightly bent (Shimano 105). You could try measuring that distance to determine if your hanger is closer to the gear than it should be. Mine is not bent. SRAM & Shimano might also have a technical document that describes what this distance should be.

To me, it's a part worth ordering, even if you're on the fence about whether or not it is broken. I've tried to bend them back and it worked poorly for me. Once it has been deformed, metal does not bend back at full strength without heat ...it's like bending a paperclip. Having a couple hangers around never hurts if you crash and need one that is less bent than the one on your bike.

The cheapest cannondale derailleur hangers I found were at my LBS, which has them in stock for less than $20. Or get them online at http://www.artscyclery.com/descpage-CDRDHGR2.html. If you enter the discount code SAVE15, you can get it from Art's for $16.99 + shipping.


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## noyade233 (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks for everyones help. Took the bike to the LBS last week after checking it with an alignment tool (the tool showed a 1/2" gap vertically) and had a different mechanic look at it. He bent it back somewhat to a more acceptable angle without snapping but gave me a new hanger just in case, since he said it shouldn't really be bent but replaced. I treat my bike better then I do my girlfriend so I'm positive I never let the bike fall or rest on the derailleur side.  I cant say the same while it was at the LBS before I bought it. 

I'm still wondering if it might be an out of alignment rear dropout/frame since the new hanger looks to have the same angle as my picture but Ill leave that alone until or if my current hanger snaps and the new hanger gives me the same issues.


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## kneejerk (Feb 2, 2007)

some of the cannondale hangers have been rather britttle and can break easily... although the latest one's I've seen seem to be rather flimbsy and poorly designed... I think it was an effort to address the carbon drop-out issues.... having a flimbsy rear derailleur hanger that is easily bent sucks... I pick the bikes I buy based on the integrity of the rear derailleur hangers..... cdale seems to have gone away from the rigid type to a flimbsy type...


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## ybgirnadnerb (Mar 15, 2012)

the hanger is designed to be the weakest link. better a $20 hanger bent than a $300 derailleur or $900 frame! i would accept one made of belgian waffles if it saved my frame and components in a crash.


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## De36 (Oct 16, 2012)

ybgirnadnerb said:


> the hanger is designed to be the weakest link. better a $20 hanger bent than a $300 derailleur or $900 frame! i would accept one made of belgian waffles if it saved my frame and components in a crash.


+1 

The purpose of the hanger is to bend. So your expensive comments don't. It's perfectly find to use the PROPER TOOLS to bend in back. It doesnt help that Cannondale uses some of the softest hangers. One habit that gets me is leaning the bike against the wall derailleur side. Always lean the bike on the left side. It doesnt take a lot of force to slightly tweek a hanger.


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## kneejerk (Feb 2, 2007)

ybgirnadnerb said:


> the hanger is designed to be the weakest link. better a $20 hanger bent than a $300 derailleur or $900 frame! i would accept one made of belgian waffles if it saved my frame and components in a crash.


yes, but it can be a fine balancing act getting a hanger that is stiff enough to stay straight during repeated use. Having one that is so weak that it bends when someone accidentally shifts "big big", or likes riding there is not a good thing. The recent Cdale hangers seem to be on that ragged edge. The previous one's were so solid that they sometimes snap when someone attempted to straighten them. I think I prefered the more solid one's as I could depend on them to stay straight. But, there is always trying a Wheels Manufacturing hanger, there's seem to be really good... better than the softer pot metal types some of the manufacturers use.


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