600 miles on it. It is my first mountain bike. It has shimano components on it. The chain is out of spec so its not shifting. Most of the miles were on pavement. Maybe 80 miles were off road. But it still seems quick to me. I thought I kept the chain oiled well enough but maybe not? I also think my shifting technique was not good and since it was my first bike it was a learning experience so lots of shifting and riding around in the wrong gear but having said that I still think its early. Any advice on how to improve the life of these new components? TIA! Getting ready to go to NC next week for some real mountain biking!
chain out of spec and gear set bent with less than
- Thread starter mcrn
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What did you pay for this bike? Quality components should not do this.
MrQuackers
Site Donor 2024
Only a department store special would wear out that fast.
Shifting under load will wreck a chain in no time, pretty typical when starting off. I've seen cogs break teeth from this also.
Shifting under load can also bend or stretch individual links causing the chain to be out of spec. Poor shifting and cog hoping are then pretty much incurable until the chain gets replaced.
Are you cross chaining a lot? That'll cause a large amount of lateral stress.
Sometimes I miss the 6, 7, and 8 speed days...
Shifting under load can also bend or stretch individual links causing the chain to be out of spec. Poor shifting and cog hoping are then pretty much incurable until the chain gets replaced.
Are you cross chaining a lot? That'll cause a large amount of lateral stress.
Sometimes I miss the 6, 7, and 8 speed days...
No im not cross training a lot but I probably did do a lot of shifting with load on it when I was learning. It is a motobecane 29er that came with shimano deore components...so not the best but far from the worst. I am starting to think a lot of it was my fault.
Originally Posted By: mcrn
600 miles on it. It is my first mountain bike. It has shimano components on it. The chain is out of spec so its not shifting.
You have something else going on. Unless you put an extremely worn chain on new cogs, an "out of spec" chain won't be an issue. And besides, really worn chains actually shift better, not worse--but they can skip under high load.
1) why do you think the chain is out of spec (was it measured w/a simple chain gauge?)
2) what specific shifting issues are you having?
Mostly likely, if you're having shifting issues you either have a derailleur out of adjustment, frayed or binding cables/housing and/or a bent derailleur hanger. I've never seen a bike shift poorly because of an excessively-worn chain.
As far as "things not being make the way the used to", that's true. Bicycle chains are generally of much higher quality now than at any time, particularly inexpensive ones.
600 miles on it. It is my first mountain bike. It has shimano components on it. The chain is out of spec so its not shifting.
You have something else going on. Unless you put an extremely worn chain on new cogs, an "out of spec" chain won't be an issue. And besides, really worn chains actually shift better, not worse--but they can skip under high load.
1) why do you think the chain is out of spec (was it measured w/a simple chain gauge?)
2) what specific shifting issues are you having?
Mostly likely, if you're having shifting issues you either have a derailleur out of adjustment, frayed or binding cables/housing and/or a bent derailleur hanger. I've never seen a bike shift poorly because of an excessively-worn chain.
As far as "things not being make the way the used to", that's true. Bicycle chains are generally of much higher quality now than at any time, particularly inexpensive ones.
Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: mcrn
600 miles on it. It is my first mountain bike. It has shimano components on it. The chain is out of spec so its not shifting.
You have something else going on. Unless you put an extremely worn chain on new cogs, an "out of spec" chain won't be an issue. And besides, really worn chains actually shift better, not worse--but they can skip under high load.
1) why do you think the chain is out of spec (was it measured w/a simple chain gauge?)
2) what specific shifting issues are you having?
Mostly likely, if you're having shifting issues you either have a derailleur out of adjustment, frayed or binding cables/housing and/or a bent derailleur hanger. I've never seen a bike shift poorly because of an excessively-worn chain.
As far as "things not being make the way the used to", that's true. Bicycle chains are generally of much higher quality now than at any time, particularly inexpensive ones.
Well I took it to 3 different bike shops and they all said my chain needed to be replaced after they measured it. I could see myself that the cogs on the gear set were bent.
The bike was just not shifting well. It sounded like it was binding. I got a new chain and new gears and it is shifting great on the little I rode around?
Originally Posted By: mcrn
600 miles on it. It is my first mountain bike. It has shimano components on it. The chain is out of spec so its not shifting.
You have something else going on. Unless you put an extremely worn chain on new cogs, an "out of spec" chain won't be an issue. And besides, really worn chains actually shift better, not worse--but they can skip under high load.
1) why do you think the chain is out of spec (was it measured w/a simple chain gauge?)
2) what specific shifting issues are you having?
Mostly likely, if you're having shifting issues you either have a derailleur out of adjustment, frayed or binding cables/housing and/or a bent derailleur hanger. I've never seen a bike shift poorly because of an excessively-worn chain.
As far as "things not being make the way the used to", that's true. Bicycle chains are generally of much higher quality now than at any time, particularly inexpensive ones.
Well I took it to 3 different bike shops and they all said my chain needed to be replaced after they measured it. I could see myself that the cogs on the gear set were bent.
The bike was just not shifting well. It sounded like it was binding. I got a new chain and new gears and it is shifting great on the little I rode around?
Originally Posted By: JOD
I've never seen a bike shift poorly because of an excessively-worn chain.
I agree with your post except for this part. Worn chains can cause all kinds of mysterious shifting woes, not just skipping under power.
I've never seen a bike shift poorly because of an excessively-worn chain.
I agree with your post except for this part. Worn chains can cause all kinds of mysterious shifting woes, not just skipping under power.
JHZR2
Staff member
Shimano stuff usually has a thick waxy grease which lasts a few hundred miles. Did you clean the chain prior to install? Did you ever lube it?
Did you ever clean the chain? Dirt on the chain grinds away metal.
which gears are bent? I ask because modern sprockets (on the crank) and cogs/sprockets (on the hub) are shaped with ramps and different tooth profiles which, to the uninitiated, look 'bent'.
I used to have people coming in all the time with a new bike complaining of defects and bent gears when it was all normal.
as for measuring the chain, you can do that yourself; a pair of links should measure exactly one inch, center to center of the pins. measure 12" and she how far out it is. less than 1/16", you're ok. check out this link (pardon the pun):
http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html
I used to have people coming in all the time with a new bike complaining of defects and bent gears when it was all normal.
as for measuring the chain, you can do that yourself; a pair of links should measure exactly one inch, center to center of the pins. measure 12" and she how far out it is. less than 1/16", you're ok. check out this link (pardon the pun):
http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html
I shift under heavy load all the time and get 6000-8000 miles from my chains. It's shifting at a low cadence that causes problems, not shifting under load.
Originally Posted By: Brons2
I shift under heavy load all the time and get 6000-8000 miles from my chains. It's shifting at a low cadence that causes problems, not shifting under load.
I'd have to disagree; when I talk about 'shifting under load', I'm talking about cranking hard up a hill and trying to force a lower gear. this will actually pull a chain apart from the side load.
I shift under heavy load all the time and get 6000-8000 miles from my chains. It's shifting at a low cadence that causes problems, not shifting under load.
I'd have to disagree; when I talk about 'shifting under load', I'm talking about cranking hard up a hill and trying to force a lower gear. this will actually pull a chain apart from the side load.
Originally Posted By: mpvue
I'm talking about cranking hard up a hill and trying to force a lower gear. this will actually pull a chain apart from the side load.
Right on the money: shifting under power at ANY cadence is asking for chain trouble. Cadence is irrelevant to shifting load.
That said, it isn't power-shifting that will cause a chain to "wear out". You won't decrease the mileage of the chain by shifting under power, it will just eventually pull a side plate off. Cross-chaining and dirty chains wear chains out, bottom line. I've seen a Dura Ace chainring/cassette combo worn to nothing in 3 rides from cross-chaining - an expensive mistake for the owner.
I'm talking about cranking hard up a hill and trying to force a lower gear. this will actually pull a chain apart from the side load.
Right on the money: shifting under power at ANY cadence is asking for chain trouble. Cadence is irrelevant to shifting load.
That said, it isn't power-shifting that will cause a chain to "wear out". You won't decrease the mileage of the chain by shifting under power, it will just eventually pull a side plate off. Cross-chaining and dirty chains wear chains out, bottom line. I've seen a Dura Ace chainring/cassette combo worn to nothing in 3 rides from cross-chaining - an expensive mistake for the owner.
BikesDirect bikes will need some fine-tuning by a mechanic after assembly. I'd have the LBS do a tune-up on, or at the least adjust the derailleurs and check the rear hanger. Deore is Shimano's mid-level mountain group which Surly(and its QBP stablemates Salsa, All-City and Civia) also specify on "touring" bikes like the Long Haul Trucker.
While shifting under load is frowned upon and crosschaining is bad, Shimano and SRAM did design some degree of forgiveness for shifting under load, if you let up off the pedals. Di2 does have the capability to shift under load. And also, Dura-Ace is more a weight-weenie race day group, I think 105 and Ultegra are happy balances between weight, strength and durability. Same can said for SRAM Red/Force/Rival/Apex, expect SRAM is much more liberal on their use of carbon fiber and Ti than Shimano.
While shifting under load is frowned upon and crosschaining is bad, Shimano and SRAM did design some degree of forgiveness for shifting under load, if you let up off the pedals. Di2 does have the capability to shift under load. And also, Dura-Ace is more a weight-weenie race day group, I think 105 and Ultegra are happy balances between weight, strength and durability. Same can said for SRAM Red/Force/Rival/Apex, expect SRAM is much more liberal on their use of carbon fiber and Ti than Shimano.
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