Rear derailleur ate a stick on the Greenway and I limped it home with a zip tie

Angela Rivera · 2026-09-13T01:50:02.690746+00:00

I was about 4 miles into a ride on the Bellingham Greenway on Saturday when a stick kicked up and got sucked into the rear derailleur. It bent the hanger and snapped the chain into two pieces, so I sat on the grass for a minute just staring at it. I pulled out a zip tie from my saddle bag and tied the derailleur up against the chainstay so it wouldn't drag, then used my quick link to run the bike as a single speed. Got home 3 miles later with one gear and a lot of standing on the pedals. Has anyone tried straightening a bent hanger on the side of the trail or is that just asking for a worse break?

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Rear derailleur ate a stick on the Greenway and I limped it home with a zip tie | Bicycle Mechanics - Free To Speak