Rear derailleur torn from hanger.

slightlyoverlapping
edited August 2008 in MTB beginners
Hi folks, First post, I hope you can help me out. I took my new Giant XTC 3.5 out for the second time today to get it, and myself muddy. On powering up a slope I felt the drivetrain give with a loud pang. I looked down expecting to see a broken chain. Instead, the rear hanger had snapped off, leaving the derailleur swinging free on the chain. :shock:

Any idea why this may have happened? The shop I bought it from is closed today and I'd like to go there tomorrow with some idea. The rear mech is a shadow XT and had been ghost shifting. Could it be that it was not set up correctly?

Your thoughts (guesses) are appreciated.

Comments

  • Ciaran500
    Ciaran500 Posts: 348
    Sounds like you hit it off something or it got caught in the wheel and that pulled it off.
  • sounds like something i would do, i go through derailers a lot..
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  • chuckcork
    chuckcork Posts: 1,471
    Hi folks, First post, I hope you can help me out. I took my new Giant XTC 3.5 out for the second time today to get it, and myself muddy. On powering up a slope I felt the drivetrain give with a loud pang. I looked down expecting to see a broken chain. Instead, the rear hanger had snapped off, leaving the derailleur swinging free on the chain. :shock:

    Any idea why this may have happened? The shop I bought it from is closed today and I'd like to go there tomorrow with some idea. The rear mech is a shadow XT and had been ghost shifting. Could it be that it was not set up correctly?

    Your thoughts (guesses) are appreciated.

    I'd say not set up correctly. Had it happen to me after only owning the bike I was riding, a audax bike, for maybe 3 weeks. No joy with the shop I bought it from unfortunately, Shimano just invented a set of circumstances to say how it could have happened and decided that it did, and the bike shop just concurred, which neatly excused both of them from any responsibility to do anything about it or provide a replacement. Rather aggravating, and fark all I could do about it other than moan and suggest others don't buy from them (Spa Cycles)

    Hopefully you bike shop will be more interested in keeping your custom, I'm not going back to Spa with their immediate denial of responsibility.
    'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze....
  • kegs
    kegs Posts: 204
    Given that it was ghostshifting before hand, and it ripped off going uphill, might have been a bent mech hanger. Have you checked the wheel for any damage, as you might have put the mech into the rear wheel.

    Can't really think of any setup issue that would cause the rear mech to be ripped off, apart from not setting the stops correctly so you could put the mech into the spokes.
  • Thanks for the input, here's an update. The shop had had 3 giants back last month with the same problem. The mechanic reckons that giant have not been assembling their chains properly, meaning the linkage was not sitting flush for the whole length of the chain. Under stress the chain got caught in the derailluer ripping it off.

    Can't fault the guys at the shop. They checked the bike for further damage, fitted a new derailleur, hanger and chain while I waited and gave me a chainstay protector as a gesture of good will. Unfortunately this now means that as a loyal customer I will end up spending all of my money in there on carbon fibre dust caps and the like.