Ah, the derailleur hanger. A constant point of frustration for the modern carbon fiber bicycle frame. This part that secures the shifting mechanism to the frame seems like it should be of the burliest parts of the frame, but we all know that isn’t quite so. Wether or not the replaceable derailleur hanger is “designed to fail”, as some claim, cost-effective replaceability and weight certainly factor into their engineering. Furthermore, it’s easy to see why they inevitably can fail; they sit placed on a thin, countersunk part of the frame in an area of high vibration and are constantly being levered on as the derailleur moves up and down the cassette. On top of the continual wear of use, throw in a dirty chain and increased friction of dirty roads and you have even more stress on the part.
The continual wear of the derailleur hanger is what caused this accident for our customer. He stepped down hard on the pedals and the force from that acceleration caused the hanger to snap down the middle. Luckily, he kept he bike upright, but these accidents have huge crash potential as they can throw any matter of broken material into the rear wheel, locking it up and causing a slide.
As the only company that replaces dropouts completely, this repair has become quite routine for us. As always, we begin by removing all of the damaged areas so cracks cannot propagate. We then recreate the original intended layup structure of the area using the information that we gain using our ultrasound equipment.
We then use our custom-designed, CNC’d full carbon fiber dropouts and adhere them to the frame using our methods of heat and pressure. The real work begins after the structural repair, for the frame heads into extensive body work and paint to bring it back to its original context.
Often times these derailleur hanger failures can be catastrophic for both the frame and the rider. Our customer was lucky to say the least. Also, luckily he found us for repair. It is our mission and passion to give a second life back to broken carbon fiber frames, and we’re stoked every time we get to save one.
Did you recently break your frame on a training ride due to a derailleur hanger failure? Get in tough with us, the only company in the world that replaces carbon fiber dropouts completely.