Derailleur alignment tool recommendations?

[PH]

Have you considered hiring?
https://fatllama.com/rentals/london/hir ... l-20792076

[DevonDamo]

Worth a punt on a Chinese eBay Park DAG-2.2 copy or using Bicycle Hero (ships Taiwan/US), open to other suggestions?

My experience is that the cheapo copies do the job. The only problem I've noticed with mine (http://www.superbiketool.com/prod4.asp? ... 17&pid=244) is that there can be some play in it, i.e. the long torque arm can angle in and out by a few millimetres, rather than being locked rigid to the thread in the dropout. For all I know, this could be the same on the expensive tools, and it's not bad enough to stop you from doing the job - you just take any range of play into account when deciding whether the tool is telling you the hanger is straight or not. I've used the tool to perfectly straighten a badly distorted hanger as well as to check the alignment on good bikes to rule that out as the cause of shifting problems.

Depending on what problems your bike has, you may also need a tool to check the alignment of the frame. This was a problem on a second-hand bike I bought which had obviously been crashed, so (thanks to Brucey) I made a little tool to get that checked and straightened before using the hanger alignment tool. It was just an old rear axle broken in half with some large washers and nuts to turn it into two 'pointers' to show that the holes in the frame were parallel and pointing towards each other. There's a YouTube video of a guy making one here, although his is a lot more elaborate than mine. Again, it did the job and I got the bike shifting faultlessly without too much effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUVvtZmbhYQ

[Northern_Monkey]

Might give the super-b one a try, not too fiddly if you can always tell it deflects a set distance because of the pivot.

I’ve had the bike from new and it’s never been crashed so would be very surprised if the frame was out of whack by that much. More likely to be a combination of the 130-135mm dropout spacing and wheel/derailleur alignment pushing it just past the “acceptable” range point.

[rogerzilla]

If you strip the back end, a long (24") steel rule and calipers can be used, with a big adjustable spanner for the actual tweaking. I did a very bent Kona Cinder Cone hanger using these tools. Set the vertical by eyeballing it against the seat tube, and set the skew by measuring vs the BB RH shell face.

[scottg]

Most places seem to be out of stock for non-super expensive alignment tools, bad timing as Park have now released an alloy DAG-3 as a replacement to the cheaper steel older model but it’s ~£130 and not in stock.

Park is making versions of Abbey tools, Park has versions of the Abbey cassette and BB tools.
Imitation is the sincerest form of lazy product design.

https://www.abbeybiketools.com/products/hag

[Vorpal]

similar topics merged

[keyboardmonkey]

... Most places seem to be out of stock for non-super expensive alignment tools, bad timing as Park have now released an alloy DAG-3 as a replacement to the cheaper steel older model but it’s ~£130 and not in stock...

I have a Park Tool DAG2.2 - not without its critics - and was for quite a while the most expensive piece of kit I owned. Its replacement is twice the price, and although I steer clear of cheap tools it’s probably not one I’d buy if my old one went missing.

How about the Unior Hanger Genie if you have a significant birthday approaching? Around 100 notes - cheaper if you shop around - but I would hope you’d never need to buy another.

https://www.lordgunbicycles.co.uk/unior ... enie-16025

Nice fancy box, too.

[scottg]

For a different style tool, the Wolftooth, for those with well calibrated Mk1 eyeballs.

https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/col ... nment-tool

[philvantwo]

Good link for Lordgunbicycles!
Thanks.

[Northern_Monkey]

How about the Unior Hanger Genie if you have a significant birthday approaching? Around 100 notes - cheaper if you shop around - but I would hope you’d never need to buy another.

https://www.lordgunbicycles.co.uk/unior ... enie-16025

Nice fancy box, too.


BC8A12AC-A46C-434C-9656-7A487301C5F0.jpeg

That looks pretty good to be fair, is lord gun based in Italy? Couldn’t tell if they were a UK business or not, just from a post-Brexit shipping issues perspective really.

[keyboardmonkey]

How about the Unior Hanger Genie if you have a significant birthday approaching? Around 100 notes - cheaper if you shop around - but I would hope you’d never need to buy another.

https://www.lordgunbicycles.co.uk/unior ... enie-16025

Nice fancy box, too.


BC8A12AC-A46C-434C-9656-7A487301C5F0.jpeg

That looks pretty good to be fair, is lord gun based in Italy? Couldn’t tell if they were a UK business or not, just from a post-Brexit shipping issues perspective really.

Ah, I just picked the first co.uk domain name I saw. Hmm. Perhaps keep looking...?

[Northern_Monkey]

Will do, it is a bit cheeky to have a UK web address though. Glad I read the trust pilot reviews first!

[Lookrider]

FWIW very many of the PT hanger alignment tools I see in regular use have 'lost' their pointers too. Mostly they are removed and discarded, like mine was. Some have broken.

There it comes a decent design: the sliding gauge has a round hole and a screw to hold, so you can use anything that is round and is 1/4" or 6mm. In fact, you can even use an allen key.
Indicators? , or the ones that are under the Campagnolo brake adjusters, are perfect for the job.
Can't be easier than that.

...
If a play-free tool were difficult/expensive to make or of no advantage whatsoever, then it might be acceptable to have a wobbly one (that can put the kiss of death on damaged threads too). However it wouldn't even be expensive or difficult to make the tool to a better design. As it is, it is an almost perfect example of a crap design; it costs a fortune, it is (or soon becomes) wobbly, it can cause damage where there is no need for it and the design is easily improved upon.




Use an o-ring, the ones that come with tubeless valves


Apologies first as I not sure how to get the words I want on from somebody rises post

Its mentioned about the small O rings on the park tool pointers
Where can you get these as I have split mine and also the small O rings in the gas C02 valves as I now have 2 of these needing the O rings
There not the things you can easily pick up in hardware shop and I'm not sure what you mean by the ones on a tubeless valve

Thanks
Duh.

cheers

The problem is how much play is acceptable vs strength of the tools vs cost.
So here are a few facts about the Park Tool one:
-it's made with good materials that do last many years of daily use in workshops all around the world
-the housing for the main pivot is a substantial piece of steel that won't deform
-to prevent damage in the threads, and avoid wear in the pivot housing, the pivot is replaceable and doesn't cost a fortune
-having seen and used a few, in different times and locations, the pivot will get up to 5mm play (on a 700c wheel) in no less than 5 years of daily use
-the sliding gauge is made in a way that will keep its position even after thousands of uses
-for the above, the design is made so that it can accept virtually anything that fits a 1/4" hole (in a pinch, you could even use a skewer)
-its covered by warranty worldwide
-the one that's not happy can resell it anytime, the brand helps a lot in keeping the value and making for a quick sale

I'm sure this is a tool that can be improved in many ways, and it's not cheap. Yet, it doesn't exactly cost a fortune (£61, when a shop will ask you £15 every time you want the RD hanger checked) and is proved to last years.

As always, my position is not to "defend this or that manufacturer", but to stand by logic and facts given by daily use on multiple users and scenarios.
There will always be the one moaning that something is crap while a few thousand people are happy with the same product. We all have different needs, but some are unable to see beyond this and promptly judge "crap" anything they don't like or that are unable to use properly.

[Northern_Monkey]

Decided to splash out a bit as it is my birthday coming up, so for one of the Abbey Tools fancy ones since the look easier to use and pack away so discretely.

Will try unit out and report back, just need to service my wife’s LHT a and my commuter first as they are “at the front of the queue” in terms of shed fettling time.

[keyboardmonkey]

Decided to splash out a bit as it is my birthday coming up, so for one of the Abbey Tools fancy ones...

It’s what birthdays are for