Hanger Genie

The Hanger Genie 1602/2 is the original. We made it because no other hanger alignment tool we tried felt right for the modern drivetrains we service. 11-speed and 12-speed cassettes punish hanger drift in ways a 7-speed never did, and the older generation of hanger gauges weren't designed for that level of precision. The 1602/2 was the answer; the Hanger Genie 2.0 is its refined sibling, and both live in the catalog for shops that want their own preference.

What the tool does

Thread the 1602/2 into the rear derailleur hanger threads. The tool's arm extends out to the wheel rim and presents a measurement reference at four positions around the wheel: typically 12 o'clock, 3, 6, and 9. The hanger is true when all four positions read the same distance to the rim; it's bent when one or more positions read shorter or longer. Bend the hanger by hand against the leverage the tool provides until the readings converge.

The 1602/2 is intentionally simple. No sealed bearings, no welded heads, no lockable gauge. The arm is the reference, your hand is the bending force, and the readings are the feedback loop. That simplicity is the design choice; the tool has no parts that can wear out.

Compatibility

The 1602/2 fits bikes with wheel sizes from 20″ through 29+″. Road, gravel, MTB, kids' bikes, fat bikes; the arm extends or retracts to land on the rim at any of those sizes. Nearly any bike you put it on, the tool fits.

Specs

• Compatible wheel sizes: 20″ through 29+″
• Operation: thread-in axle, manual bend correction via tool leverage
• Storage: laser-cut foam carrying tray, sized to fit the bottom of the Unior Pro Kit tool case
• Made in Slovenia by Unior

Includes: Tool body with extending arm, laser-cut foam carrying tray.

Made in Slovenia, since 1919

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill teams. The 1602/2 is the simpler of our two hanger alignment tools; it earns its place on the bench by being the one we reach for when we want to confirm a hanger's straight without setting up the 2.0's measurement workflow. The laser-cut foam tray integrates with our Pro Kit case so the tool stores neatly inside a complete shop kit.

Pro tip from our mechanics

If a customer says shifting is sloppy on the cassette and the cable adjust hasn't fixed it, suspect the hanger before suspect the derailleur. A bent hanger doesn't always look bent; the drive-side fall often produces a sub-millimeter deflection that's invisible to the eye but obvious to the cassette. Run the gauge before swapping a derailleur. The 1602/2 takes about three minutes to set up and confirm or rule out.

The full diagnostic (what a bent hanger looks like in the shift behavior, why it matters more on 11+ speed, and where Hanger Genie work fits) is in our Tech Tips: How to save a bent mech hanger →