So I read the story on cycling news about the World Cup Race...whoops, I meant #5
http://www.cyclingnews.com/cross/2007/dec07/worldcup5_07/?id=results/worldcup5_074
Mourey AND Wellens had their derailleur snap off...which reminded me of Vervecken at Southhampton.
How does a derailleur just snap off? I haven't heard of this happening in any other forms of bike racing, save downhill. Is this a cross specific problem?

yes. very common. the rear mech gets gummed up with mud, leaves, twigs, a pulley seizes and whamo, the hanger breaks. same thing can happen up front as well. happened to me Sunday, but I felt it and quit pedaling just before failure.

Portland's course was extremely muddy and slick, with some good tight turns thrown in. I think what probably happened to many (I know it happened to one of my team-mates) is that there were at least 3 spots on the course that had people consistently sliding out on a right turn (derailleur side). When this happened to my team-mate he was in a gear in the middle of his cassette. During the crash his hanger got bent and when he went to shift into his granny his derailleur went into the spokes. Snap.

I know that between Sat. and Sun. I saw at least 6 riders who snapped their derailleurs off (I was in the pits during the B races).

I gained two spots in Portland simple because the persons in front of me had their derailleurs snap. One of them was actually pretty cool, the derailleur body went flying about 5 feet. It was on the rocky section both times. IIRC, vervecken also had a rear D. snap at Zolder in 2002.

CX racing sees more mud, sand etc. than any other cycling discipline. In DH, RDs go because they get bashed into rocks.

You'd think that someone that worked PR for a company like Campy or SRAM would like it clarified in the WC race reports that it was a der hanger that snapped and not the actual derailleur?

I read somewhere an interview with EVerveken that this happens about 2 or 3 times a year. He broke one at the UCI races in NY earlier this year, on the last lap. He did break one at worlds in 02 like Giovanni stated.

Todd Wells snapped a Sram RED der at the Boulder UCI races in 65 degree weather so I dont always think that mud is the culpret.

If anything, the hanger should go first but that is not always the case though....

You'd think that someone that worked PR for a company like Campy or SRAM would like it clarified in the WC race reports that it was a der hanger that snapped and not the actual derailleur?The hangers snap because the drivetrain components jam, so I don't think they have much to gain from picking that nit.

I counted at least 6 broken hangers and/or derailluers in the Masters 35+ and 2 more in the Elite Woments at the Saturday USGP race in Portland.

That was all within an hour of spectating. I don't recall seeing any in the mens Elite race.

I've never seen that many in such a short duration. It was crazy.

I counted at least 6 broken hangers and/or derailluers in the Masters 35+ and 2 more in the Elite Woments at the Saturday USGP race in Portland.

That was all within an hour of spectating. I don't recall seeing any in the mens Elite race.

I've never seen that many in such a short duration. It was crazy.

An elite rider snapped on on Sunday. I think it was Todd Wells. He came running into the pit and literally hucked the bike onto it's drive side (from chest height) rather than handing it off. It was obvious that he was perturbed. A SRAM tech spent the next fifteen minutes trying to un-jam the chain and swap the derailleur out.

Yup, Todd broke a derailleur in the Sunday Pro race (I was helping pit for him.)

He wasn't the only one, though... I saw a couple of bikes come through with mangled mechs and/or hangers.

Todd didn't "huck" the bike, though; he dropped it, which is the safe pro move when your chain is wrapped around the wheel and locking it up. You don't risk getting tangled up in the pits with a bike that doesn't move, you just drop it and grab a new one.


M.

Yup, Todd broke a derailleur in the Sunday Pro race (I was helping pit for him.)

He wasn't the only one, though... I saw a couple of bikes come through with mangled mechs and/or hangers.

Todd didn't "huck" the bike, though; he dropped it, which is the safe pro move when your chain is wrapped around the wheel and locking it up. You don't risk getting tangled up in the pits with a bike that doesn't move, you just drop it and grab a new one.


M.

He hucked yo. For serious

"He hucked yo. For serious"


Yeah... clearly you were in a better position than me to tell

.:idea:

I mean, what would I know? I'm just the guy he "hucked" the bike at...


:thumbsup:

i was one of those who broke a derailleur in portland on saturday on the last lap none the less, got gunked up tried to accelerate and launched the whole thing all that was left was the bolt, it was a da derailleur and my frame has a .25" ti hanger thats just fine
http://picasaweb.google.com/rchulit/UsgpCyclocrossPortland2007/photo#5139628246668653330

All that pain and work only to have that happen on the last lap! At least your frame is ok. My friend's bike had an aluminum replaceable hanger, so when he went wrecked it bent easier than if it would have been of the non-replaceable kind.

Fun course though!:thumbsup:

Never lost one in a race but lost 3 xt's on my MTB in one week of trail riding.
It was an expensive week.

Broke the hanger in a practice race. A week later the replacement hanger came... and I broke it on the first ride. When the chain was reinstalled one of the pins wasn't pushed in all the way and caught on a chainring, seizing up the drivetrain. I just barely stopped in time to save my reart wheel. Jeez, my mechanic must suck. (I do my own repairs.)

Very common with Campag. The problem seems to me that due to the cables being under the bar tape, the return springs are much stronger and therefore less tolerant of sticky chainrings/chainsuck etc. In the UK if you see someone with a busted hanger in a race they are normally Campag equipped. If you have a campag and a shimano bike try moving the rear mechs back and forth. I run 9sp 105 sti's with an xt short cage (sgs?) rear mech and that works well. It has the flexibility to survive crap but shifts well and the jockeys seem to last a lot longer. I have often wondered if SRAM suffers like Campag?