My derailleur hanger trick that cost me $3 instead of a new frame

3 comments

3 Comments

Honestly I did something similar with my old aluminum road bike. I snapped the derailleur hanger clean off during a group ride and was ready to toss the whole frameset. Ended up taking it to a local machine shop and had them weld a new hanger tab on for 15 bucks. The guy looked at me like I was crazy but it held up for another two seasons. Tbh it wasn't pretty but it worked fine and saved me from buying a whole new bike. Ngl I think that kind of hacky fix is half the fun of working on your own bikes.

milarodriguez1mo ago

@ryan_shah38 actually did bring up a good point about the temper issue with aluminum welding. Read somewhere that the heat from TIG welding can soften the metal right around the weld area, which is why some frames crack later on. Your guy must have been really skilled to avoid that, especially for only 15 bucks. Lucky find for sure, most shops around here won't even bother with aluminum frame repairs because of the liability.

ryan_shah381mo ago

Actually welding aluminum is tricky, most shops won't even touch it because it needs to be TIG welded by someone who really knows their stuff. Your guy must have been a wizard to do it without the heat ruining the temper of the frame. I've seen people try to JB Weld hangers back on and that never lasts more than a few miles before it snaps again. You got lucky finding that shop for 15 bucks, around here that kind of custom job would run at least 50.