A bent derailleur hanger at the Copper Harbor trails taught me to pack a spare

I was up in Copper Harbor last fall helping a friend on a group ride when a guy came in with a bad shifting issue. His derailleur was all out of line, and we didn't have the right alignment tool. We tried to bend it back carefully with an adjustable wrench, but it just made things worse. Now I always throw a spare hanger for my own bike in my pack, even on short trips. What's the best small tool you guys carry for trailside fixes?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnson.adam9d ago

You ever try to fix a hanger without the right tool? It's a lost cause. I learned that the hard way too. Now I always have a multi-tool with a chain breaker, because a snapped chain is the only thing that'll really stop me dead.

patel.quinn9d ago

Snapped chain taught me the same lesson.