It may surprise you to learn that the SRAM UDH, or Universal Derailleur Hanger, is half plastic.
When we learned that it used mixed materials, I wondered what else we didn’t know about this now nearly ubiquitous mountain bike component. So I called up SRAM MTB marketing manager Chris Mandell to learn more, and it’s surprising just how much there is to know about this tiny part.
This is my first “What’s up with…” episode, a new format where I’ll be exploring parts and technologies that most of us ride every day but have secrets to tell.
Take a closer look at the UDH and you’ll see the alloy body with plastic overmolded around it. That plastic material acts like a washer between the frame and hanger, letting it “slip” and rotate up and back to protect the derailleur in an impact.
In most cases, you can simply rotate it back into position and resume your ride. But, should it actually break, a replacement is easy to find at most shops and guaranteed to fit any UDH-equipped bike.
The plastic is also ramped to guide your chain back onto the smallest cog if it happens to jump off. That ramp also protects the frame a little, too.
SRAM may have trademarked “UDH”, but the design is an open standard anyone can use. Others, like Wheels Manufacturing in an anodized rainbow of colors or The Robert Axle Project in simple black, are making their own versions that are all metal for improved stiffness and shift precision.
WANT MORE?
Find the Bikerumor Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, and through RSS, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Hit like, hit subscribe, and hit play! Can’t find it? Let us know which players you use so we can get them up to speed! And let us know who you want us to interview, just use this form to send us your suggestions!
FOLLOW BIKERUMOR
Keep tabs on all the latest bikes, wheels, components, gear and tech on The World’s Largest Cycling Tech Blog by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
FOLLOW TYLER
Like us? Love us? Follow your host, Tyler Benedict, on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
