I called bull on 3D-printed bike parts until my derailleur hanger broke in the middle of nowhere

I was riding near Banff last summer and my derailleur hanger snapped on a gravel section. A buddy I was with pulled out a little plastic one he'd printed himself and it got me home 40km back to town. I figured it would fail in the first 10km but it held up fine through some bumpy stuff. Now I carry a spare in my pack, cost me $3 in filament to make. Has anyone else actually pushed 3D-printed bike parts hard on a real ride?

2 comments

2 Comments

lindahunt13d ago

My buddy printed me a chain tool once as a joke and I actually used it to fix a broken link on a rail trail outside Calgary. I thought it would snap like a toothpick but that little thing got me rolling again for a solid 15km until I hit a hardware store. I mean I still carry a metal one now but I learned my lesson about judging plastic parts.

elliot5412d ago

That moment when you realize cheap plastic can save your whole trip, @lindahunt, just like how duct tape fixes half of life's problems.