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Day: September 1, 2008

Wheels Go ‘Round Again

Published September 1, 2008

The rear of my bike, with new a SRAM PG-850 cassette, SRAM PC-870 chain, and Shimano Deore RD-M531-L rear derailleur.

This afternoon I made a quick run to REI (yes, they were actually open) and was able to pick up a Shimano Deore RD-M531-L rear derailleur for the must-be-MSRP price of $54. This, along with a new SRAM PC-870 chain and an SRAM PG-850 cassette purchased as-new from someone on the MMBA forums got my bike working great again.

After getting everything together and set up I went for a short test ride around my neighborhood, which turned into a 15 mile loop up through River Bends Park to Ryan Road. In short, practically all of my shifting problems are gone. I still have to replace a bent front chainring, there’s still spoke noise, and I think I the bottom bracket may be making a rubbing sound, but none of that makes it difficult to ride.

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My New Single Speed

Published September 1, 2008

The emergency single speed conversion done to get home. I ended up using the 22 and 13 tooth rings.

I’ve been thinking that it’d be nice to have a single speed bike to ride, but I didn’t want to acquire one this way.

Today I ate a very large breakfast then set out with the intention of riding to Lake Orion and back, then to Metro Beach and back, hoping to break 90 miles today. After riding just about four miles and getting to the intersection of 23 Mile and VanDyke, just when I was feeling warmed up, something felt odd when shifting. Looking down I saw that my rear derailleur was canted to the side with the chain coming off of the top jockey wheel. As soon as touched the assembly to try and reposition things the derailleur came off, as seen here.

I ended up doing an emergency single speed conversion by shortening the chain, tensioning it up as I could, then riding carefully home. I had to make a total of three adjustments to the chain, because I found that if I had the chain on anything but the smallest rings it would drop off and skip around.

Even after settling on the two smallest rings I had to be very careful because occasionally the chain would bounce a bit and climb up one gear, putting so much tension on the chain (and BB) that it was nearly impossible to pedal. When this happened I’d have to remove the rear wheel, re-seat the chain, then keep going again. This had to be done at least six times in the four miles home. Eventually I found that if I pedaled gingerly, never pedaled when going over bumps, didn’t apply much force when going uphill, and coasted as often as possible I was generally fine. I could

Now to figure out what to do… The Shimano SLX group is tempting, or maybe the SRAM X.9 stuff. One thing I know I won’t be doing for a while is riding my bike.

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Chainstay Protector from a Tube

Published September 1, 2008

An old tube cut into a 1" strip and wrapped around the chainstay to quiet down chain slap.

I’ve been wanting a chainstay protector to cut down on the noise from chain slap†, but I both didn’t want to pay for one. I also particularly don’t like how most aftermarket bike accessories come plastered with logos like this Lizard Skins-brand one. So, while waiting for my biking clothes to get through a late-night wash cycle I took an old tube, cut it into a 1″ strip, wrapped it around most of the chainstay on my bike, and cable tied it in place.

This idea was inspired by this photo of an On-One Inbred Summer Season 456 with what appears to use this same setup. I really like the minimal look of it.

To cut this piece of tube I stuck a piece of 1″ masking tape on an old tube, cut along both sides of the tape, squared the ends, then scrubbed off the non-stick powder from the tube with a sponge. It was wrapped so that what was the inside of the tube is facing out, making for a consistent gray look. I would have liked to wrap more of the chainstay, but with the rear derailleur cable running under the chainstay there wasn’t a lot of clearance. The area of the chainstay which had taken the most damage (and thusly chainslap) before is covered, so it should work well.

† Chain slap is the clanking noise made when the chain bounces and hits the chainstay (or other parts) while going over bumps or drops. Not only does it make a loud clanking noise, the impact usually chips up the finish on the chainstay.

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