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Ways To Protect The Derailleur


cp101

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get a freshproducts tensioner.

Mate for some reason I'm not totally convinced. I've been toying with the idea of buying one for a long time seeing as I sidehop to my right (same as you). *But*, my chainstays are a bit of a b*****d length and my chain doesn't go really short, so my tensioner would be out at an angle from the stay. Surely twatting that on a wall would bend the shit out of it, force it into my stay and damage it?

I've no idea though. Advice?

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There aren't any trials specific deraileur protectors out on the market (other than some Onza thingy that looked to me like it helped stop hanger bending more than anything else). Even if there was it'd probably be pretty pointless, there's usually alot of weight goin onto the mech when you fall and land on it so it would have to be very strong and therefore heavy/made of good material which means lotsa £££s

Your best option is as James has suggested a singlespeed tensioner such as the Fresh Products one which is £28 I think which you'll be much less likely to hit/damage/destroy than a lump of a mech.

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Thing is, if you land really harsh on something bolted to the side of your bike, shit is going to go down. Whether it's the mech, the hanger or some little cage you've bolted on, there WILL be unpleasantness. The whole idea of mech hangers is that they're a sacrificial part, so if you land on your mech it won't rape your frame. If you're specifically bolting a stiff structure to your frame to resist bending your mech/hanger, you're putting that force into your frame.

That can't be good?

Why not just get a short cage road mech, then set it up as close to the stay as possible, I guess. Less hangage = less bangage, afterall...

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Thing is, if you land really harsh on something bolted to the side of your bike, shit is going to go down. Whether it's the mech, the hanger or some little cage you've bolted on, there WILL be unpleasantness. The whole idea of mech hangers is that they're a sacrificial part, so if you land on your mech it won't rape your frame. If you're specifically bolting a stiff structure to your frame to resist bending your mech/hanger, you're putting that force into your frame.

That can't be good?

Why not just get a short cage road mech, then set it up as close to the stay as possible, I guess. Less hangage = less bangage, afterall...

Yeah but with a tensioner surely there's gunna be less leverage on the frame due to them being closer to the frame and therefore less shit that can go down?

Some people who sidehop to the left bang the shit out of their left hand chainstay and they don't seem to come off too badly...?

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True, but if it's a bare stay, you don't have a big lever pivoting off the dropout, do you?

Well with a tensioner it's not really a "big" lever although yes it will mean there's a higher force being put on the frame.

Just another thought - with a tensioner isn't it more likely that the force is going to go straight up into the frame due to it's more regular square on shape rather than get pulled out away from the frame? On a mech there's more to catch on the object as you slip off etc surely?

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gallery_683_363_1104508263.jpg

i did this to my bike and it worked for ages and is now on someone elses bike (who sidehops to the right) the mech and all!

It survived loads of cocked up sidehops to thin things and the guy that runs it now and has given it some hard slams.

i know people are gonna say, it may harm the frame, but for me it worked! its your choice

or you could make a thin steel hanger, that will bend when being landed on, but can easily be bent back

mike

Edited by leedstrials
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I used those mech cage things like you find on kiddy bikes for a while. They did take the impact away from the mech and just bent out themselves. You could then easily bend them back as they are steel. But eventually they come away from the mounting point which is a flat piece of steel with two holes in. Then they are useless and you need a new one. Only £5 but I couldnt be arsed with them any more. Plus if you hit the mech directly up, then it could bend the hanger aswell anyway. I think the best idea is make one out of steel so you can bend them back easliy.

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I'm using a surly singlulator. I find the springs useless on them, so I've got zipties holding it tight. If I ever hit it, it usually bends the hanger, but because it's running so close to the chain, it will usually still run, but rattle a lot. Then when I get home, I just bend the hanger back with a wrench.

Besides, if you are landing side hops on the front wheel, you can usually tell if your gonna land on the mech and bail before hand (Y)

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I did exactly as leedstrials has done above....and people that know me know that i HIT the mech sometimes (sidehop right). I have had it for ~8 months...never even bent it, and i don't think it has harmed my frame significantly at all.

My frame has snapped at the downtube...

cheap as chips- i did it at school.

adam

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I did exactly as leedstrials has done above....and people that know me know that i HIT the mech sometimes (sidehop right). I have had it for ~8 months...never even bent it, and i don't think it has harmed my frame significantly at all.

My frame has snapped at the downtube...

cheap as chips- i did it at school.

adam

Sounds like it could work. However, I've hit my singulator before and not only bent the hanger, but bent the arm. By strenghtening the hanger, you are just more likely the bend the mech.

Just because your frame snapped at the downtube, doesn't mean that this didn't contribute to it. If that particualar area of your frame is fairly strong, it may well just shift the force along and usually affects the weakest point.

Not to put anyone off what you've done, just playing devils advocate (Y)

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A great tensioner if you are running SS is a rennon. You can get them at phatmoosecycles.com.

I have one on my street bike and if you can get the chain slim enough that you can run the tenioner pushing up on the chain instead of down, it works really really well.

If you are going gears there were a few company's that would make protectors for the hanger but not much for the actual derailure. Best bet in that case is to get a short cage.

Dylan

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I can almost guarantee James'll say it'll be fine.

yes i will say it will be fine cause it will be.

i have been using one for a good few months now, ask wheeler or goddard. i ride with them quite a bit and they know ho wmany mech hangers i have gone through.

since having the freshproducts tensioner i have had the same hanger and it is still perfect after running it for 2-3 months, which is amazing for me.

the thing is, when you land on the tensioner it is normally just pushing it straight up, all this does is move the tensioner up and just makes the chain go slack (if you run it tensioning it down.) so there isnt really any sideways force going on it to break a chainstay or what ever off, i have landed on my countless times and the only thing that bent was the actual "arm" of the tensioner but that wasnt alot and i just pushed it back inline.

i hate the way people do this, yes i freshproducts did give it to me, yes that makes me want to help him out by trying to promote thier stuff. but i will be honest with you, if i thought it was shit i wouldnt have posted in here telling others to get one. if you dont believe me on that one fair enough, but im sure others with the tensioner, fatmike, stan blah blah will give you the same.

i havent tested and other tensioners but i hear nothing but problems with all the other tensioners people use so i can only go from that to say it has to be the best tensioner on the market.

oh and i did the thing with the steel plate making the hanger stronger and that did work very well too, but i still bent hangers.

the freshproducts tensioner is the best and only way to cure the problem

Edited by James_Porter
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