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When I'm climbing particularly steep hills and I start off on my middle chainring and I shift down to my lower rear gear (Bigger cog, I mean - duh), that shit (My chain) keeps slipping off my chainring. I've done a bunch of front and rear derailer adjustments, but nothing doing, and it's only really on hills. Which sucks cause I like hills.
It's a bikesdirect.com bike and she's always sort of had this problem I suppose. I've owned her since March and put nearly 2000 miles on her. Should I check the rear derailer hanger? I mean, just eying it, it seems pretty straight, but could it really make that much of a difference?
Thoughts, suggestions, general criticisms greatly appreciated, and, as always, tremendous love for y'all.
do you mean that your chain falls off the middle ring and onto the small ring when you downshift the rear in the middle of a climb? sounds like it could be your chain is too short or it could just be due to normal wear on the ramped chainrings.
Sorry, will clarify. Just in an excited state of mind as I JUST had to deal with this climbing Cochran north from Venice and was stuck trying to loosen a jammed chain at one in the morning ALONE.
Yes, the chain falls off the middle ring and onto the smallest one (And mostly off the chainrings all together, getting wedged quite nicely between the BB and the smallest chainring) when I downshift the rear in the middle of climbing.
Wow, a too short chain? I never even considered that, but it might be time to check it out. Barring chain length, how easy would it be to replace the middle chainring? Is it really time to that already?
well if it's falling into your BB then you might need to adjust your lower limit screw (but it sounds like you've done that already). i don't know if too short of a chain will cause what you've described but it's worth checking out. replacing a chainring is real easy you can do it with just a regular allen wrench or multitool. but your bike is fairly new i doubt it would wear out so quick.
it could be more serious though, like maybe your wheel isn't dished properly resulting in a less than desirable chainline, or even your rear triangle may not be aligned properly (factory defect if that's the case). hard to diagnose especially without seeing it, maybe you can bring it to a shop to have them take a look?
tfunk408 responding to a comment by HappyLand
09.2.09 - 2:47 am
I'm considering taking it to the shop to have it seriously looked at, not just me turning screws and hoping for the best, so I'd like to have a few suggestions before I go in so I can be really specific with them and not just like, "HERE FIX IT." They know and like me at my LBS and will appreciate an intelligent wrenching discussion.
Personally, I volunteer at Bikerowave and enjoy a good wrench session, and find that you can really focus on a problem if you are doing the work yourself.
Also, it's hard when the problem is specific to a certain scenario that you can't easily replicate. In the shop is one thing, on the road is another.
I really doubt it's the front lower limit screw, as I've done the whole front derailer adjustment under good supervision and when shifting, the chain moves as it should in the front. But I am willing to do it again just to check.
I likewise doubt that it already needs a new chainring since yes, she is still quite new. Although, again, I am always happy to be proved wrong.
Now, improper dishing is an interesting matter and there's a tool to check for that...so why not? That's something I would have never considered, but it's worth checking out, if only for the practice.
And the rear triangle? Man, I've never even heard of that (But would love to learn).
I guess I am just trying to compile information to help me organize a plan of attack.
"Personally, I volunteer at Bikerowave and enjoy a good wrench session"
then what the fuck are you doing here? go into BRW and fix that shit! there are plenty capable mechanics who can help you. there are alot of things that could cause this and we wont find out which online.
larsenf responding to a comment by HappyLand
09.2.09 - 3:14 am
A shop might not be able to fix it without actually riding it the same way you do to test it. I'm having a similar problem. Just started today about an hour ago in the middle of my ride. I've got the Tiagra framset. When I'm really mashing, it starts downshifting. So annoying. I'm going to make adjustments today and test em' out.
Your problem. The chain being too short could definitely have something to do with it. Less obviously, though, it could be a bit too long. What frameset do you have.. or at least rear set.
In the case of some trouble like this, I usually just shift it prior to reaching the grade.
I've done this plenty of times with my bike, especially when I'm loaded down with the system and it never fails me.
A) Because it was 2:30 in the morning and B) Because it's not something that's easy to fix in a shop and I'd like some suggestions from folks who may have experienced a similar problem so I can go into BRW with some ideas. As fabulous as the head mechanics are (And they are oh-so-fab), I've found that it helps if you go in with some direction.
@merrickx Hmmm...how do I figure out the frameset? I'm not really sure what it is and how could that affect the chain and gears?
@sancho1 & @bentstrider Generally I try to avoid the problem all together by doing as you folks have said, but sometimes it's a hill where I feel like I shouldn't even need to shift down to the smaller chainring, and sometimes it slips on flat ground. Also, sometimes a hill sneaks up on ya! Like yesterday I was running errands for work in downtown, turned onto Grand from 5th, and BAM! HILL! Strangely, the chain did not fall off in that instance. Good climb in the middle of this disgusting humid heat. Loved it.
Ive had a similiar problem but not on hills. It was when I would get going faster, and then my chain would just come off (single speed) even though it was tight. I checked every tooth on the chainring and one tooth was bent, causing it to come off. I just straightened it out and now its fine.
I had this problem on a 1/7. The chain would always fly off the front chain ring but to the outside, any time I really put the power down and tried to shift down. I ended up just having to put a front derailleur on to keep the chain on.
Happyland, do you have a triple? If so, just shift to your granny gear in the front rather than a bigger cog in the back. This will eliminate your problem w/o the need to take your bike to a mechanic.
This is a pretty common problem. Chains just don't like being crossed up.
Yes, it's a triple and no, chains do not like being crossed up.
So could the problem be entirely technique? I thought the middle chainring should be good with all the cogs, but I may be mistaken.
I'm planning on hitting up BRW this Sunday anyway and would like to go in with a list of things to try. If anything, it's a great learning experience. When riding around this week I'll pay special attention to the gears and shifting, throw in some extra hills, see if I can discern anything.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions - they are greatly appreciated.
HappyLand responding to a comment by la duderina
09.2.09 - 11:01 am
you got your bike from bikesdirect so i assume its got cheap components. cheap components require a more concious technique. you should go ahead and replace the chain if you havent done so already.
paIucha66 responding to a comment by HappyLand
09.2.09 - 12:31 pm
i know chains don't like to be crossed up but the chain is still not supposed to just fall off the crank like OP described. i cross my chain all the time on faster rides and hill climbs and never has my chain dropped off the crank. granted i have a double but on a triple you should be use all your cogs in the back.
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