OEM Deraileur Hanger Replacement - Preventative Maintenance?

[josephr]

my derailleur hanger snapped this past weekend (insert long story here about field repair and getting back to car) and this is the second bike I've had, both Cannondale, where the hanger has popped on me. I replaced the factory with one from Wheels Mfg both times, but since its happened to me twice, wondering if its just a Cannondale thing or what....part of this question is that I'm looking at another Cannondale and wondering if I should just go ahead and replace it with one from Wheels before I get left stranded.

Thanks for insights!

[gasman]

I've had a couple of 'dales and there are ton in the wild here. Never heard of any hanger problems.

[thegunner]

is it a caad9? i have a spare if it is - just let me know and i'll pop it in the mail.

[lhuerta]

R u certain that the new replacement hangers are getting aligned, with the proper der hanger alignment tool, each time they are installed on your frame. All new hangers need to be aligned to match frame dropout. Also, make sure to never lay your bike on drive side, park against a wall against drive side, carry on trunk bike rack with drive side against car, etc....Der hangers are not that robust against a lateral forces so they ar prone to bend easy (per design). Lou

[josephr]

there's no alignment on the replaceable hanger...just screw off the old one, and screw on the new one. No...nothing really out of the ordinary for either bike. I mean, the mtn bike, yeah, its been wrecked a few times, but I do a pretty good job of staying keeping to road bike upright. :)

I'm just asking as its happened on two different bikes, both happen to be Cannondales. One is an 2010 RZ-120 (a mtn bike) and then the other is a 2013 Synapse. Both happened in this past year....just asking in case its some sort of freak coincidence or if there's something I should know about C'dale RD hangers.

I'm good right now on the hanger as I replaced the one that broke on the Synapse --- I think it uses the same one as the CAAD9 --- is yours a Wheels 110 (or that shape?) Anyway, keep that one around and I'll post here next time I need it (which, hopefully will not!).
Joe

[Peter P.]

Although the hangers are aluminum, I have never heard of them breaking without a related reason such as shifting into the spokes or an accident.

I think you just had bad luck.

It would be worth the effort to always keep a spare on hand as you may find it hard for your local shop to order replacements.

If you're really concerned, then I suggest keeping a spare hanger in your seat bag if you use one. I still think it's a freak coincidence that you had 2 break in the last year.

Also, it's not wise to try to align an aluminum hanger. Any bending whatsoever will weaken the aluminum. If your hanger is out of alignment, it's best to just install a new hanger but CHECK the alignment to see if you might have other issues such as a misaligned rear end.

[ultraman6970]

Never broke one ever.

[thirdgenbird]

I thought I recalled hearing that cannondale updated their RD hander to be stiffer/more durable.

[cmbicycles]

Cdale has had several styles of Der hangers... all designed to be stiffer, lighter, and more vertically compliant. None of them were particularly any more or less robust than other replaceable hangers. I think you just had some gremlins at work on your bike this year.
Worth keeping a spare just in case the gremlins return.

[shovelhd]

You can absolutely align a carbon bike replaceable derailleur hanger using a Park DAG tool. You would be surprised how far off they can be right from the factory.

[josephr]

Cdale has had several styles of Der hangers... all designed to be stiffer, lighter, and more vertically compliant. None of them were particularly any more or less robust than other replaceable hangers. I think you just had some gremlins at work on your bike this year.
Worth keeping a spare just in case the gremlins return.

thanks for all the advice/tips/confirmations!