Can an axel mount be bent back into shape? (steel) (walmart bike)

[Singleton]

So adventures in repairland. I go to replace deraliur because i want to put a better low gear on. Chain breaks. I go buy a new master link (because the included one was apaprently of the non-undoable variety.)

Old deralliur is bent a bit. 'Huh thta explains things."

I get the new deraliur on and i see a few mill gap between the claw and frame at the low side. 'Well that explains a thing or five.'

how do I bend it straight? Y'know since in their infinite penny pinching wisdom companies decide that it's OK to have an integrated hanger in the frame. so. Break out the vice and hope it pops back into shape?

 

[deorman]

I've straightened steel hangers and dropouts with a Crescent wrench. Don't go too far, back and forth will weaken it.

 

[Singleton]

Crecent wrench. GOOD.

I'll update as I can. it's LITERALLY a couple mill out of line which is making the everything ELSE act wonky.

 

[us56456712]

look up “aligning a derailleur hanger without special tools”. There is a special tool you can buy for this, or you can make a homemade one or use an old wheel that has an axle that threads into the hanger. It doesn’t matter if the wheel on the bike is out of true or if the wheel you threaded into the hanger is un true. The hanger has to be perfect up, down and front and rear. It may not be able to work right if you bend it back with vice grips if it’s bent just a little in more than one direction. It’s easy to do if you have an old wheel with the right axle. Trying to use a wrench to align hangers can be frustrating. If the crescent wrench fix doesn’t give you good shifts then you need some kind of tool to use as a 360 degree gauge, like a wheel.

 

[Singleton]

At mental low ebb because I just don't get how this could have happened. my folks are 'why aren't you coming to us for help why is it even messed up to begin with' and like..

it's a simple freaking thing. if i can't take care of my own things i shouldn't have them and wha'ts simpler than a bike? All i wanted was to replace the deraileur so i couldp ut a better freewheel on for hill climbing. I'm not performing rocket surgery why isn't any of this just...

Why.

 

[clamdigger]

http://www.rjthebikeguy.com/videos/straightenalign-bent-derailleur-hanger-without-special-tool/

 

[Singleton]

Pictures of the problem in question. I have no idea what i"m doing but i know what is there ain't right. i'm frustrated and aggravated and i feel like i'm being kicked in the teeth because 'yuaay bike this is straightforward I can do this. it will get me out off my duff and my family will be happy and supportive and... why is everyone frowning at me second guessing literally everything I'm doing and why is it even simple things like putting screw into a hole seemingly beyond me?! WHY?!'

Edit: The thing by itself is the old derailleur.

 

[us56456712]

I see no built in permanent derailleur hanger on the bike dropouts. it appears to be the older standard mount type to the dropouts. It appears that it might be mounted wrong, but it’s hard to tell from pictures. The slotted bolt that the derailleur bolts to fits inside the dropout wheel axle slot, behind the axle. It looks like it’s on the back side and not in the axle slot?

Direct mount example. This is what I thought you were talking about when I suggested using an alignment tool.

Itappears you have the older standard mount system.
C slides into A with the wider part behind the drop as shown below.

 

[Singleton]

Can... it REALLY be that f'ing simple....

I feel dumb.

Edit: I think what tripped me up was the fact the axel dropouts are both the same length. So . 'duh. claw goes here. and there, a hole that's spaced right for a screw' and just shoved the screw in one of the rack mount holes.

 

[us56456712]

Can... it REALLY be that f'ing simple....

I feel dumb.

Edit: I think what tripped me up was the fact the axel dropouts are both the same length. So . 'duh. claw goes here. and there, a hole that's spaced right for a screw' and just shoved the screw in one of the rack mount holes.

Sometimes someone else puts stuff together wrong and you assume it’s right. Then you have a problem as you have to learn what’s right.

 

[Singleton]

Now to deal with the very real fact i may not have enough cable. when i pulled it tight the shfiter wasn't making all the gears. so i've got this ugly pigtail that has no tension on it but the shifter seems to be going through the full range but since there's no tension on it. I have a very unsafe situation even if by some frakking miracle it's indexed right (hint, it probably isn'tl.)

I am... BEYOND annoyed at the moment. beautiful weather this week and my bike's in the garage til I can sort this mess out.

 

[us56456712]

Sounds like an incorrect cable tension. Put the chain on the smallest rear cog. Make sure the shifter is also in the that gear. Make sure that the cable barrel adjuster on the derailleur is almost all the way in. Put on the cable and stretch the cable tight and then tighten the cable clamp on the derailleur. Make sure the cable housings are tightly seated everywhere in their stops. Then look up on the net on how to adjust the indexing. Is your rear cable housing too short for the new derailleur?

 

[Singleton]

As it turns out I had been tensioning the cable right, but I was attaching it wrong (has to be) since in spite of cranking down there was still cable slip. Worse still, the cable slip seems to be stuck so I can't loosen it proper 9the nut holding it in place comes off just fine but the bracket itself isn't moving)

And the cable has frayed apart.


So til I get a replacement shifter I have used the tensioning screws to force my bike into one of the middle gears so it's rideable while I try figuring out both how i messed up, and if i can unstick the mechanism so whenI get a replacement shifter, I won't tear it apart.

 

[RustySprockets]

When you finally get a replacement cable and are ready to install it, here is a procedure that I have adopted. The limit screws and the cable tension influence each other, so I isolate them and make adjustments separately. I first set the limit screws with the cable unattached, moving it inboard with my thumb while pedaling. The derailleur should travel far enough to reach the largest cog, but no further. It should also seek the smallest cog, but no further, when released.

Once that that window of operation has been defined, you can follow us56456712's recommendations above to set the cable tension/indexing. New cables arrive with their end soldered, so they will not be prone to fraying until you cut them to length. I avoid cutting them until I'm fairly assured that everything is functioning as expected, just in case I need to re-route them. A single wayward strand can be the cause of a very frustrating day.

 

[Singleton]

So, Good news. Ish.

After giving a stubborn pinch bolt the hammer to knock it loose so I could better thread cable, I was able to do some adjustments on my bike. So I now have a few gears.

Bad news:
I don't have all my ears and the cabling is super janky. I do not like it. Will need to get a replacement shifter 9because the cable is integrated into the shifter)

However... that does mean my bike is a little more useable than it was this morning.

It's just... VERY Jank at the moment. So like... Not great feeling in spite of the progress due to basically my attempts at this all starting from 'oh hey just swap the deraileur out so I can get a better low gear cogset down the road' and it just... parade of me hitting every metaphorical pothole along the process to the point i literally sat there screaming in aggrivation because literally 'thread wire through. tighten.' And like...

'this is a simple thing. I have seen tutorials on how this is done.'

Granted I am working with two sawhorses and boards rather than a 'proper' stand (because working on bike upside down just... too many headachs.) And my vision is pretty crappy, but at the same time.... Just that feeling of not being able to grasp what is demonstrably simple.

Learning experiances.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Can you show pictures of the shifter? The cable should be removable somehow, never seen one that isn't

 

[nevin]

do we have a good article on how to adjust the derailleur?
this part can be tricky if you're not sure what's what. there are usually adjustment points once you get it in place and cable set (tight).

 

[AndyA]

Singleton:
Here's a homemade tool to straighten out a derailleur hanger. All you need is a piece of pipe, a bolt that fits the hanger, and a few washers and nuts. Size of the pipe is not critical, in this case, it's a 16' length of 5/8" pipe. To use, you thread the bolt into the hanger, pivot the pipe so it's pointing forward and pull or push until the pipe is parallel with the bike frame. Pivot the pipe so it's pointing up and again, pull or push so that it's parallel with the frame in that direction. You can check in other directions as well. Have fun!

 

[us56456712]

So, Good news. Ish.

After giving a stubborn pinch bolt the hammer to knock it loose so I could better thread cable, I was able to do some adjustments on my bike. So I now have a few gears.

Bad news:
I don't have all my ears and the cabling is super janky. I do not like it. Will need to get a replacement shifter 9because the cable is integrated into the shifter)

However... that does mean my bike is a little more useable than it was this morning.

It's just... VERY Jank at the moment. So like... Not great feeling in spite of the progress due to basically my attempts at this all starting from 'oh hey just swap the deraileur out so I can get a better low gear cogset down the road' and it just... parade of me hitting every metaphorical pothole along the process to the point i literally sat there screaming in aggrivation because literally 'thread wire through. tighten.' And like...

'this is a simple thing. I have seen tutorials on how this is done.'

Granted I am working with two sawhorses and boards rather than a 'proper' stand (because working on bike upside down just... too many headachs.) And my vision is pretty crappy, but at the same time.... Just that feeling of not being able to grasp what is demonstrably simple.

Learning experiances.

Take it to the local bike shop.

 

[Singleton]

Take it to the local bike shop.

The two closest ones are an hour out one way in opposing directions and getting a ride is... VERY unlikely.

Payday is this week and since i wanted to do it anyway (I mostly just wanted to get some use before that point) gettign a replacement shifter and grips (stock grips are hard rubber, very not fun.)

mostly just annoyed at how dodgey something that was supposed to be simple turned out to be. Then again the whole point of me doing the install now before getting the shifter was to walk through and see just the sort of clusterjank I'd be getting myself into.