Bendy Shifty

This Cannondale Six came in for a valet and some erratic gear changing behavior. Some gears fine – others jumping about. TOP TIP – gear changing should always be consistently bad or consistently good (the bad we can sort out with some adjustment). If it’s not, then something isn’t right. It could be a worn chain, or, as in this case, it was a bent derailleur hangar (the chappie on the right). These are made to bend if they have a bump – they sacrifice themselves to save any damage to the frame or to the derailleur. In some cases, they can be bent back with the right tools but often snap. So, I’d advise sourcing a replacement. The bad news is – there is no standard so there are 000s of different shapes – they may even change on different years of the same make and model of bike! If you need to change one – buy at least two so you have a spare (some people tape one under the saddle so they won’t be caught out with knackered gears after the bike has fallen on the gear side). Maybe buy a couple anyway right now!