Thomas, Nick has some great suggestions, especially in terms of DIY suggestions. I have few things to add though
1. I think there exists a minimum number of bikes you are servicing that requires a derailleur alignment tool. I'm not sure what it is, but a single bike might make more sense to take to a mechanic. It's mainly an economics thing. It's an expensive, large tool that hopefully you don't have much need for. 2. I'm generally an advocate for buying the higher quality tool cause they'll perform better and last longer. But in the case of a derailleur alignment tool, they're pretty simple tools that shouldn't see much use. I'd recommend the cheapest one you can find. I have a "CycloSpirit" branded one, which is currently going for $45 on Amazon. But it looks like there is a VQP branded one for $40 on Amazon and I'd probably get that if I were in the search for one. Just my opinion, Ben On Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 8:29:39 PM UTC-7 Nick Payne wrote: > My alignment gauge is the one that came with my Campagnolo toolchest, but > I think there are better ones available. Velonews tested various alignment > gauges some years ago: > https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/the-best-derailleur-hanger-alignment-tool-9-tested/ > . > > It's also quite possible to make your own. Google "home made derailleur > alignment gauge" (without the quotes) and you'll got lots of hits. > > Another option is to use a spare steel rear axle, as most cup and cone > rear hub steel axles use the same M10 x 1.0 thread size and pitch as the > hanger (the exception being Campagnolo axles). You can thread a spare axle > into the dropout from the inside and compare it's parallelism in different > planes with another axle sitting in the dropouts. > > Nick Payne > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/812e71f0-bbfa-4443-98bf-5681cbac5126n%40googlegroups.com.
