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Andy Verrall's Top Tips: Check the hanger · 07/01/10

Sticking to the bad weather theme and particularly ice which can lead to the odd fall!

Most falls on ice are because of the camber of the road, which tends to put you down on your right side. Falling on ice doesn’t normally do that much damage to rider or bike as you will slide along, but when the bike lands on the right it often bends the rear mech hanger.

Once you are back up and dusted down look at the hanger to check it is straight. Run through the gears holding the bike up to ensure that the mech isn’t pulled into the spokes. I have seen – on numerous occasions – that after a rider has fallen in a race, when they reach the foot of the next steep climb and change into the largest sprocket, they find the rear mech gets pulled into the wheel, causing a lot of damage to the bike and the rider to fall again.

Once you are home you can fit a new hanger as you already have a spare – well I hope you do!!

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