Wheels Manufacturing Wide Dropout Saver

Today's aluminum bikes are a compromise between lightness and robustness. Bend them in a crash and they are toast. Overtighten rear derailleur bolt, and there isn't enough meat in the hanger for most fixes. In mountain and folding bikes, the derailleurs are close to the ground and often get hit, sometimes tearing out the bolt and stripping the frame thread.I purchased an old folding bike in "excellent condition" for very little money. After replacing cables and small parts, replacing bearings and tubes, using evaporust to unfreeze the steel parts, etc., I discovered that the derailleur thread was stripped and the seller had replaced it with a nut and bolt so that the derailleur could not pivot, and the two highest gears could not be used. This fixed it.This is a great product. The head is thin so it normally does not interfere with the smallest wheel cog. If it does, just throw a small spacer washer between the wheel and the frame.I should have ordered the kit that includes the drill bit with a small shank. Instead I used my own 15/32" drill bit, but I needed to use it in a half inch hand drill. Besides being cumbersome, the large tool is geared, so it rotates slowly and has no brake. That means it keeps spinning after you take your finger off the trigger.Better to use the step shanked drill supplied in their kit in a small rechargeable hand drill. Aluminum frames are very soft (once you cut through the anodizing) so drilling them does not take much power, and a fast drill leaves a better finish and better sized hole in aluminum.But the large drill worked, and the bike is back on the road. It is now my grocery getter and knock-around bike.Both the individual dropout savers and the kit are sold on Amazon at far below MSRP.Thanks to RJ the Bike Guy for suggesting this fix. And thanks to Wheels Manufacturing for inventing it.

Wheels sent me the wrong size Dropout Saver by accident (happens to anyone!) but shipped out a replacement immediately. I received the replacement a day and a half later. Perfect. Installed it on my wife's bike. Worked perfectly. Easy install after drilling out the hanger hole. Recommend removing the wheels and laying the bike on a table for drilling the hole. A good sharp drill bit goes through the aluminum hanger like butter. The saver slides in from the back side (wheel side). Simply attach the derailleur as you normally would. No muss, no fuss. Put the wheels on, install the new chain and off you go. Very happy.

Easy, effective solution. It works, but there's no reason for 1 bike to need 2 of them.

I stripped the threads on my aluminum non-replaceable derailleur hanger (derailleur was ripped out on a ride). Installed this product about 2 months ago, works great - actually, until amazon sent me this email (asking that I review the product), I had completely forgotten that it was even on my bike. Installation is probably really easy in most cases, but it was a bit tricky for me (I have a really old frame, and mismatched components). The dropout saver stuck out too much toward the inside, which allowed the chain to touch it in the smallest cog (I didn't have much clearance here in the first place), so I had to file the dropout thickness down about 1-2mm. I also had to do relatively precise drilling out of the old threads, because the dropout wasn't very wide, and there wasn't much room for error (if I didn't center the hole exactly, the dropout would have ended up being too thin in one area). I was able to position the frame so that I could use my drill press, it was a bit awkward, but worked. Long story short, this is a great product which can save your dropout/frame, but it may take a bit of work to get it installed.

These work great. I stripped the dropout on my mountain bike, which was an older steel model and did not have a replaceable dropout. I ordered these and drilled out the threaded hole with the suggested size drill bit. I took a tiny bit of reaming but the dropout saver fit very snugly. I have since put 100's of miles on my bike and do not even know the dropout savers are there. Shifting is as good as before.If you do install these, however, use and nice sharp drill bit and be very careful when you drill. If you mess up the installation of the dropout saver, there is nothing left to save you!

The Wheels Manufacturing Dropout Saver is the most effective fix for stripped threads on your rear derailleur dropout , I could of had a helicoil put into the dropout , that would of cost about 50 bucks or so, the W.M. Dropout saver just needed to have the old threads drilled out and viola, its fixed and cheaper and faster than other fixes . All you need is the correct size drill bit - 15/32 - , and insert the dropout saver into the hole and your all set . Just be sure you have the right length Dropout Saver , mine took the 7mm one and I'm back on the road !! I highly recommend it for stripped threads in your dropout .

Great product, fixed my stripped derailleur hanger with out a problem. It did not come with a bit. Other items online come with a complete kit for the same price.Try to find it at a local bike store where they are normally $10.

Would have been nice to have a hydraulic press to squeeze the Dropout Saver in. Instead used an electric drill to make the receiving hole slightly too small, achieving a snug fit. Works well!