Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 45 total)
  • I need a mech hanger alignment tool ……
  • oscillatewildly
    Free Member

    Is the park tools 2.2 worth it over the lifeline one on wiggle?

    It’s something I’ve always wanted to do myself as the amount of times shfitings gone to pot and it’s 9/10 times down to the mech hanger being slightly out

    Are they easy to use? Never attempted it before

    thepurist
    Full Member

    I got the Park one – it’s a sturdy bit of kit but I only got it because various discounts meant it more or less matched the price of the Lifeline etc ones and I’m sure they do the job just as well.

    They’re a doddle to use, you just need the right combination of bravery, force and sensitivity when making the adjustments.

    fadda
    Full Member

    I’ve got the lifeline one, and it’s absolutely fine. There’s a little bit of flex (it’s basically just a metal bar, after all…), but you can just allow for that – it’s not really an exact science, anyway…

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    TheBrick
    Free Member

    I use a bit of angle and some bolts. Works fine.

    dirkpitt74
    Full Member

    You can use an old cup & cone rear axle screwed in from behind too.

    timbog160
    Full Member

    Park Tools one is good. Worth the extra? No idea! What you need is somebody who has both!

    orangespyderman
    Full Member

    I’ve got the Park one. It’s good. There are a lot of ways of doing without, but it’s easier with. Depends how much it’s worth to you.

    Worth the extra? No idea! What you need is somebody who has both!

    Yep.

    timbog160
    Full Member

    Either way I would highly recommend you go for it. It is one of those odd things I never really thought about before I bought it, but it has massively enriched my life (well, my mtb life anyway!)..

    Watty
    Full Member

    Park Tools one here. Worth every single penny.

    oscillatewildly
    Free Member

    Ok thanks I’m sold on getting one I expect I will use it a few times a month just to keep on top of it, I’ve had so many issues with shifting and eventually after trying everything I take it the shop and they say the hanger is slightly out

    So it is a sound investment thanks for the replies sounds like both will work fine and park one is a little better or at least quality wise as you’d expect

    I have no issue whacking at it as I’ve got spare hangers it’s just figuring out how to use the thing scares me more in terms of lining it up etc

    stevious
    Full Member

    There are some cheap Chinese ones on eBay/amazon. I have the ztto cylindrical one. It’s ok but I wish I’d spent more on something less fiddly

    oscillatewildly
    Free Member

    Yeh I’ve read about that one being a bit hit and miss prefer just spend once and get it right for the park one or lifeline one

    jeff
    Full Member

    Can’t comment on Park Tool version, but my cheapo lifeline one sorted out the shifting on an 11 speed upgrade here.

    joshvegas
    Free Member

    You can use an old cup & cone rear axle screwed in from behind too.

    Are we just leaving the obvious inuendo hanging?

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    I bought the Lifeline one and thought there was too much ‘slack’ in it.
    Still worked ok but rather than send it back I took it apart and fitted a shim.
    A bit annoying that they didn’t make a better job on a critical part of the device.
    Should have just made my own,it would have been awesome 😉

    james-rennie
    Full Member

    oldest son bought a park tool one, very sturdy, easy to use. He sorted out his cheesey frame, then re-sold the tool, IIRC in total he was only £4 out of pocket at the end

    tagnut69
    Free Member

    I bought the park copy off ebay, it is the same as the park one but around £20 cheaper, having used both the park one isnt worth the extra£
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-Bicycle-Derailleur-Hanger-Alignment-Gauge-for-MTB-Road-Bike-Cycling/402557995240?hash=item5dba5388e8:g:xacAAOSw7TNfse5w

    b33k34
    Full Member

    One argument for buying Park is that it will always be worth something if you want to sell it, whilst the others won’t be.

    stormtrooper
    Free Member

    Have a go at making one yourself first, nothing to lose. See RJ The Bike Guy’s vid DIY derailleur hanger adjustment tool

    granny_ring
    Full Member

    CRC have the Lifeline one for £36 at the mo. It’s worked well for me.

    Poopscoop
    Full Member

    @fasthaggis
    Full Member
    I bought the Lifeline one and thought there was too much ‘slack’ in it.
    Still worked ok but rather than send it back I took it apart and fitted a shim.
    A bit annoying that they didn’t make a better job on a critical part of the device.
    Should have just made my own,it would have been awesome

    I’ve got the same one, yep, works fine but definitely a little bit fiddly due to the play.

    What did you do exactly to make the shim?

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    ^^Made the shim from a bit of Fever Tree tonic tin,other tonics are available 🙂

    devash
    Free Member

    ^^Made the shim from a bit of Fever Tree tonic tin,other tonics are available 🙂


    @fasthaggis

    Interesting approach to sorting out the play. How did you remove the grub screw that holds in the axle / screw part? On mine it is jammed in solid and I don’t want to put too much pressure on it in case I round it off and / or break the tool.

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    devash
    At first (without taking it apart) I pushed some shim in from the hanger end and it helped take up a lot of the slack.
    The grub screw was solid/fixed,I think they lock in a set position when it’s built,but me being me I drilled it out,took things apart,re-reamed the main holder,fitted longer shim and a new grubscrew. 🙂

    devash
    Free Member

    ^^^^^^^ Awesome, will have a fiddle with mine next time I’m in the garage.

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    Close the door first 😉

    Oh, and make sure the nose of the new screw is close to the same shape as the cut out in the main shaft.
    You will also want to fix the new grub screw in position ,I used a bit of thread tape and a second grub screw to lock them up.

    I am sure the Park tool has all this detail covered already ,but I like doing this kinda stuff and it has been loaned out to my bike club mates a lot since. 🙂

    granny_ring
    Full Member

    Sounds beyond my capability so will just take the slack up when measuring. 😂

    allyharp
    Full Member

    I’ve got the Lifeline and it does indeed have a lot of play. I regret not spending a bit more on the Park.

    Poopscoop
    Full Member

    Cheers @fasthaggis, I’ll try your initial approach but I won’t be going “full haggis” and drilling out the grub screw or anything.

    I think that would end badly if I try it.😂

    Jordan
    Full Member

    It’s not hard to negate the play while using the lifeline one. Just very lightly pull on the end of the arm while checking each position just enough to take up the slack without bending anything and that is accurate enough.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    They’re a doddle to use

    My Lifeline one really isn’t, in my opinion. You have to continually adjust the pointer bar thingy and it’s sort of slow and annoying. Aligning threaded bar in the derailleur mount with one through the axle would be better, IMO. Are there any off-the-shelf tools that do that?

    EDIT this is what the Wolf Tooth one does, but it’s not cheap.

    rackri
    Full Member

    Has anyone tried the Wolftooth alignment tool?
    https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/pack-hanger-alignment-tool

    endomick
    Free Member

    I bought one of those ztto ones off Ebay, works fine with a slight change, replaced the grub screws with slightly longer M4 socket cap bolts, minimal play imo and the head with the thru rod no longer rotates once you swap the grub for a bolt and nip it up.

    Jordan
    Full Member

    Never seen the Wolftooth one before. Looks quite a good idea!

    kimura54321
    Full Member

    Bit of a thread resurrection, the Shimano 105 10-speed has started to be too fussy on my Cross Check even with new cables and a few goes at adjusting the gears.

    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.

    Worth a punt on a Chinese eBay Park DAG-2.2 copy or using Bicycle Hero (ships Taiwan/US), open to other suggestions? Haven’t got a decent local bike shop anymore and the less local good ones are super busy.

    https://www.bicyclehero.com/gb/parktool-dag-2-derailleur-hanger-alignment-gauge.html

    https://ebay.us/Dyb20b

    mrdestructo
    Full Member

    Hmm, that ebay copy is £17.50 if you live in China. After my GF faceplantd last she bent in her rear mech. I gave it two bends by hand and it appears to be shifting correctly, but I guess this is worthy investment to make sure, and going forwards.

    I’ll buy it and try and remember to post back how it functions, play,etc.

    boblo
    Free Member

    Hmm, that ebay copy is £17.50 if you live in China.

    Moving to China is an expensive way to save £20… 🙃

    I have the Lifeline one and it’s a faff to use. I align with the valve at 12 o’clock and spin the wheel so it’s at 3/6/9 o’clock to check there. The alignment prong has to be pulled out of the way to clear the chain/seat/mudguard stays so mark it with a felt tip pen to reposition before continuing each time… Unless I’ve missed something obvious…

    dickyhepburn
    Free Member

    I have the Lifeline one and I put a small rubber ring on the measurement rod (on the non wheel side) so I can move the rod out the way to get round the wheel and yet still know the right length. All my friends comment on how perfectly my bikes shift 😂
    It’s great, see no need to replace with more spendy Park tools one (which I have with other tools)

    antigee
    Full Member

    One of those tools never considered until had a very obviously bent hanger following bike falling over….used a few times since when shifting not indexing and been surprised and then happy at outcomes…Park tool because was available no experience of anything else.

    mrdestructo
    Full Member

    Now I know where the factory is they come from. Alway a giggle when I read these places. And people think Wetwang is hilarious.

    Edit: even the Halo sweatbands come from a similarly named city, with the same first 4 letters as the tool.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 45 total)

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