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Rear derailleur ate a stick on the Greenway and I limped it home with a zip tie
I was about 4 miles into a ride on the Bellingham Greenway on Saturday when a stick kicked up and got sucked into the rear derailleur. It bent the hanger and snapped the chain into two pieces, so I sat on the grass for a minute just staring at it. I pulled out a zip tie from my saddle bag and tied the derailleur up against the chainstay so it wouldn't drag, then used my quick link to run the bike as a single speed. Got home 3 miles later with one gear and a lot of standing on the pedals. Has anyone tried straightening a bent hanger on the side of the trail or is that just asking for a worse break?
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christopherw3417m ago
Man, that zip tie trick is a classic save. I remember reading on a bike forum somewhere that bending a hanger back on the trail is a real gamble because aluminum gets weak once it bends, and if you flex it too much it can just snap clean off. The trick those guys talked about was using your rear quick release or a multi tool to slowly work it straight, going a tiny bit at a time and checking the alignment by eye with the wheel. Problem is if it snaps you are totally done, no derailleur at all, so some folks say just do the single speed limping thing like you did. Sounds like you made the right call honestly, getting home beats risking a broken hanger in the middle of nowhere. That Greenway has eaten a few parts of mine too, those sticks come out of nowhere.
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