More on the pro/con of the different methods later. The end result is the same, but the manner of getting there is different. Alignment is achieved by eyeballing the differential between the hanger handle and the indicator rod, and bending into the hanger handle until it is visually aligned with the indicator rod from both above and behind. Instead of an index arm referencing off the rim and a big long bender bar, the P.H.A.T utilizes a dummy axle with an indicator rod that extends out of it, and a separate handle that threads into the derailleur hanger. The Wolf Tooth P.H.A.T goes about things differently. Rotate tool, bending as you follow the rim, adjusting until the index arm is consistent with the rim. Everyone else, from the ubiquitous bike shop Park DAG-2 to the beautiful but somewhat ostentatious Abbey Hanger Alignment Gauge (to say nothing of the scads of Chinese knock-off tools available on Amazon), works basically the same way: big long arm pivoting around a bolt that threads into the derailleur hanger, with some sort of index arm that you reference against the rim of the bike's rear wheel. It is unlike all the other hanger alignment tools out there. This is the Wolf Tooth Pack Hanger Alignment Tool for bikes with thru-axles. Okay, now we have that out of the way, let's see what we've got here. Individual customers, well, refer to points 1 through 4. The vast majority of "my bike won't shift right" customer complaints can be chalked up to buggered/dirty cables or derailleur hangers that got knocked out of plane by something ("I swear, I was just riding along when that tree came and punched me right below the rear axle."), and not all hangers are replaceable. They are an integral part of fixing bikes. Bike shops NEED hanger alignment tools.People who have not spent some time in shops learning the ugly way how much is too much, well, every once in a while they might find themselves snapping a hanger clean off. About that bending, it's very easy to use too much force.Most bike and/or replaceable hanger manufacturers will likely warn against trying to bend a derailleur hanger back into shape, because hangers (especially the replaceable ones) are generally made out of aluminum and aluminum does not take kindly to repeated bending.This tool may be packable and portable, but it is still several orders of magnitude larger than a replaceable hanger. This is a review of a packable, portable, derailleur hanger alignment tool.Why not? Well, for the price of this tool (119.95 US), you could purchase three or four replacement hangers, since most bikes these days have replaceable hangers. This is a review of a derailleur hanger alignment tool.They must be addressed before we can move on. The second I started to type the intro to what should be a pretty easy to parse product review, my brain went into vapor-lock.
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