Derailleur hangers, these are a small, but important piece of the bike, as it holds the derailleur to the frame.
I had the unfortunate experience to have the hanger snap on me, a piece of plastic got picked up by the chain, which then got jammed in the jockey wheels, and as I was peddling, the force, twisted the derailleur and finally the hanger snapped. This all took about a second. Thankfully I was not far from home and walked the return.
Additional luck, I recently purchased a spare hanger, so this was fitted, the derailleur sort of straightened and the chain untwisted. The only other problem, the rear wheel is now out of tension, so needs to trued so no wobble. Also, the cable may have been damaged, as the derailleur does not move freely.
Something important to note here, is to obtain a spare or two derailleur hangers. (Even if cost a bit). Most hangers are cast aluminum, so it is best to replace with a stronger CNC solid aluminum one.
Here comes another problem. Finding the right hanger, as there are hundreds of different ones, can be a bit of a task.
To avoid having to purchase another cast hanger, and after much searching, it seems that a number 96 could be close so I have ordered a CNC one from 925Enginnering in the USA (this was the cheapest one I could find to test the size and shape).
Do obtain a spare, as there are MTB trails that require you to have a spare, otherwise it might be a very long walk out.
