View Full Version : Flat change becomes chainring replacement - similar stories?


PdxMark
10-06-2006, 09:24 AM
:rolleyes:

I get on my commuter last night for the ride home and have a 75% flat tire. I start walking & call home for a ride. No big deal, I'll fix it in the morning...

This morning rolls around, I go to fix the flat. Removing the rear wheel I notice that the chain tug on my fixie is missing a critical piece - the bracket that presses against the track end. It's no big deal because they came as a pair when I got the chain tugs. I'll just put on the spare.

In a fit of ecological sensitivity I decide to patch the tube. I hunt & hunt & don't find the hole... I finally decide to replace the tube. Fine and done. Then I replace the chain tug. Fine again. But wait, the tightening screw on the chain tug bottoms out before the chain is completely tight. Well, that explains how the bracket piece fell off. I know I've used the chain well past it's normal wear date, so I just remove a link to shorten the chain.

Oops, the chain is now too short to fit the large-ish tire with the fender on the Bianchi Pista. No problem, I have a spare chain and the other was overdue for replacement anyway. So I put on a new chain, with the original number of links, and all goes together just fine. I give the pedal a turn and... yikes....

That worn chain has utterly worn the chainring. The chain rides up on the top teeth of the chainring as the crank turns. Not good in general, and really not good for a fixie. Without a spare chainring in my box, I'm finally done. My one hour flat repair has left me with a trip to the LBS for a new chainring... Maybe I'll get two so I have a spare...

Any similar stories of a simple repair cascading into more & more fixes?

Doggity
10-08-2006, 05:47 PM
Yah, this is pretty common. Chains and chainrings often wear together, especially with a single chainring like on your Pista. Don't know if you're running the stock 48T one or not (you've better knees than I if you are), but Surly makes some SS stainless steel ones I believe up to 42T that would last a lot longer. Yer've got balls, commuting on a fixie...my hat's off to anyone who does that!