Is it normal for them to be out from new?

Have spent the last few days trying to dial in a new rear derailleur at the large cog, it’s been dangerously close to spokes to the point of clipping them under load…up a climb if I wrestle the bike side to side.

Yet when I move it in just a touch it won’t stay on the large cog.

Just checked it and it needed a little tweaking…

It’s certainly a regular occurrence, though with varying frequency.

I had that, hanger was well bent, new hanger, fixed

Yep its one of the things a shop should check during the PDi. Easy to adjust with the correct tool

Take it back to the shop & get them to check it

It’s all sorted, I bought an alignment tool in the week and did it myself this morning.

Just surprised that they’d be out but on reflection I guess there’s always going to be a discrepancy across multiple frames.

I replaced the hanger a while ago, had been fine but new derailleur was a bit close for comfort…it’s an eTap so really didn’t want that ending up in the spokes!

I hate them. I replaced the derailleur on my daughter’s bike last week and forgot to set the H screw. First driveway test saw the thing straight into the spokes bending the hanger and the derailleur. Luckily I found an “alignment tool” in the toolbox. Twatted the shite outta them both for a bit and all is now well. Hateful things.

Hateful until you hit a rock with your expensive bike and it saves the frame by breaking instead of the dropout/chainstay/seatstay

Hateful until you hit a rock with your expensive bike and it saves the frame by breaking instead of the dropout/chainstay/seatstay

Well said rocketdog – or when your on a trip abroad and you break it and you’ve no spare.

Trip abroad without a spare is surely lack of foresight? 😉

I bought an alignment tool a couple of years ago, it felt a bit of an extravagance at the time.
Now with eight bikes in the garage it gets used quite regularly(first step in every gear set up imo) and has paid for itself several times over.

I got an alignment tool for Xmas and it is very useful, but it has a fair bit of play in it so it’s a bit of a faff to set the hanger up correctly. Any decent one’s out there?

I prefer the Xtools one I have at home to the Park one I use at work.

Got the Park one after see LBS use it. It’s a god send as my road bike mech hanger seems to bend In strong breeze, let alone getting hit with anything.

I use the park one, exellent tool bit not cheap

Not normal but as above, common.

If you’ve got an old cup and cone rear wheel or axle, the thread on the axle is usually the same as a mech thread- so you can put a suitable straight line (I use a bit of random threaded bar) through the dropouts, thread the axle into the hanger, and get them parallel- dead easy.

Yep its one of the things a shop should check during the PDi. Easy to adjust with the correct tool

Indeed! We’ve recently taken on a new budget brand and our young bike builder told me today that he’s had to straighten nearly every one he’s built so far. (He’s a young lad but a bloody good bike builder)
I find the Park Tool alignment tool s one of the most frequently used tools in the workshop. I probably use it on more days than I don’t.
I’ve got one at home too.

Yeah as wilburt says, alignment tool should be first step in setting up the rear mech. Think the stress of repeated shifting is enough to put a hanger out of alignment, especially with Di2, and this does seem to be the case based on my experience. I got the lifeline one from wiggle, does the job.