[KavuRider]

A few weeks ago, I ripped my derailleur out of the dropout on my Armageddon. And of course, the wheel ate my new Shadow XT

Anyways...never used a Drop Out Saver before, saw that they sell the kit or just the inserts by themselves. Is the drill bit in the kit worth the extra $30 over the 2-pack of inserts? Anyone know what size drill bit it is?

Any info/advice is appreciated.

http://wheelsmfg.com/content/view/502/44/

 

[S.n.a.k.e.]

Kavu,

RE: Drill bit: "Wheels Mfg 15/32 drill bit"

It takes a bit of force to yank the derailleur out of the dropout and feed it to the wheel. How do you know the hanger isn't twisted. If the hangar is bent, how do you get it back into alignment?

Reason to ask is that I did the same thing to my Uzzi this summer. Having a guy rebuild the hangar by welding it and wondering if I shouldnt have used the Drop Out saver...

Peace,
Marc

 

[KavuRider]

Kavu,

RE: Drill bit: "Wheels Mfg 15/32 drill bit"

It takes a bit of force to yank the derailleur out of the dropout and feed it to the wheel. How do you know the hanger isn't twisted. If the hangar is bent, how do you get it back into alignment?

Reason to ask is that I did the same thing to my Uzzi this summer. Having a guy rebuild the hangar by welding it and wondering if I shouldnt have used the Drop Out saver...

Peace,
Marc

Yeah, I caught that after I posted!

The rear dropout/hanger on an Armageddon is part of the swingarm, its super thick and overbuilt. I checked it and it didn't twist/bend at all. The threads just pulled right out. Since its such an old bike, there's a good chance that the threads had been weakened before and this time, they just pulled right out. I'm pretty sure the chain I was running was too short as well (massive chain growth on these bikes).

 

[HAB]

I just use a tapered hand reamer. If you have one handy, use that. Otherwise just find the right size drill bit, 15/32 sounds right.

 

[w00dy]

Old saint derailleurs with thru-axle mounting are a dime a dozen now. If it's compatible I'd highly recommend that system.

 

[KavuRider]

Funny this just came back up. On Monday I drilled out the swingarm with the 15/32 bit...was kind of nervous since its a big bit, but the dropout saver fit in perfectly and the new SLX derailleur I got bolted up without a problem.
One thing though (and this might just be on my frame), the insert does interfere with the chain in the smallest cog, so I had to limit the derailleur to the next size up cog.