Tricks of the Trade - dropped chain

FISMA

Out for a ride with the group today, and along the way someone downshifts from the big to little chainring and the chain drops, between little chain ring and frame.

So y'er man stops, gets off the bike, puts chain back on, gets hands dirty, wipes on black spandex, and continues on his merry way, as we patiently slow the line down.

Sometimes tricks of the trade are so obvious, that you forget that others might not know them.

So I ride along y'er man, chain on little chainring, and manually drop the chain between the little chainring and the frame. With a strange look, he gazes at me. Without even slowing down, I shift up to the big chain ring and while doing so, SLOWLY, I pedal. Like magic, the chain is back on!

So says I, point taken?

Offered just in case you don't know this one yet.

With that said, if you have any little tricks of the trade, please share.

Captain Havoc

If this doesn't work, I try and put it back on with my foot (obviously don't try this if you're wearing overshoes or shoes you want to keep shiny).

Lumen

FISMA wrote: »

So I ride along y'er man, chain on little chainring, and manually drop the chain between the little chainring and the frame. With a strange look, he gazes at me. Without even slowing down, I shift up to the big chain ring and while doing so, SLOWLY, I pedal. Like magic, the chain is back on!

This may work on your bike, but it doesn't always on mine. I dropped the chain the other day and it lay down on the bottom bracket and went to sleep. No amount of fancy pedalling or shifting would get it back on.

blobbie

If the above fail, a small plastic coin bag keeps the fingers clean.

Idleater

FISMA wrote: »

... and manually drop the chain between the little chainring and the frame.

:
:

So says I, point taken?

:
:

With that said, if you have any little tricks of the trade, please share.

Another handy top tip: When someone pulls along beside you and drops their chain, use the opportunity to make like the wind and sprint for all your might to claim the win...

This applies to commuter races, stage races, one dayers, sportives, etc etc...

Captain Havoc

nereid wrote: »

Another handy top tip: When someone pulls along beside you and drops their chain, use the opportunity to make like the wind and sprint for all your might to claim the win...

This applies to commuter races, stage races, one dayers, sportives, etc etc...

This is taking an unfair advantage and surely such a win would be tainted :pac:

-Trek-

Captain Havoc wrote: »

This is taking an unfair advantage and surely such a win would be tainted :pac:

Not at all, a win is a win

Esroh

nereid wrote: »

Another handy top tip: When someone pulls along beside you and drops their chain, use the opportunity to make like the wind and sprint for all your mightShouting you've been Schlecked to claim the win...

This applies to commuter races, stage races, one dayers, sportives, etc etc...

DualFrontDiscs

blobbie wrote: »

If the above fail, a small plastic coin bag keeps the fingers clean.

I too favour the small plastic coin bag method.

There's alway someone willing to fix the chain....... for a price

DFD.

rughdh

Surgical gloves if you're travelling light. Make-up wipes are handy for persistent problems which deplete the glove supply, but you're getting in to large saddle-bag territory here.

Murph100

+ 1 on the surgical gloves, take up no space, and essential if using white bar tape.

BTW What a BEAUTIFUL day, all of us on the spin this morning kept saying ' Sure there's no better place on Earth ' , that will last until the Monsoon returns on Tues night :rolleyes:

dohouch

Out early this morning, 6 AM, cool enough, and the lenses heavily fogged up. And wasn't able to dry them enough to use them. And I find that glasses are most useful when cycling in cold air.

So either a good material to dry them off, or a treatment to stop them from condensing in the first place.

Preference given to DIY/free solutions.

ThisRegard

FISMA wrote: »

So I ride along y'er man, chain on little chainring, and manually drop the chain between the little chainring and the frame. With a strange look, he gazes at me. Without even slowing down, I shift up to the big chain ring and while doing so, SLOWLY, I pedal. Like magic, the chain is back on!

I thought this was something that everyone figures out at some stage as kids when cycling around on a mountain bike that's been through the wars ?

Lumen

ThisRegard wrote: »

I thought this was something that everyone figures out at some stage as kids when cycling around on a mountain bike that's been through the wars ?

...assuming that "everyone" was born after child-sized mountain bikes became generally available.

nak

Chain keeper? Does the trick for me.

ThisRegard

Lumen wrote: »

...assuming that "everyone" was born after child-sized mountain bikes became generally available.

A Raleigh Lizard, mid to late 80s I think, my first bike with gears !

furiousox

nereid wrote: »

This applies to commuter races, stage races, one dayers, sportives, etc etc...

Hmmm, depends on what your definition of a ''race'' is.
Discuss.....:pac:

Hail 2 Da Thief

ThisRegard wrote: »

A Raleigh Lizard, mid to late 80s I think, my first bike with gears !

Oh snap! Use to love my one. Still remember the day I went down to pick it out with my dad.

yop

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

Oh snap! Use to love my one. Still remember the day I went down to pick it out with my dad.

Ah, all the rich kids had the lizard I had the 2nd hand Grifer which, yes you guessed it, the rich kid traded in when he was buying the lizard

ThisRegard

Ha Ha, back then my dad joined the savings club to pay it over months, fair play to him, a bike was always, and still is, something he insisted was worth spending money on to get a good one. Anyway, a Lizard was just a Mustang with a better colour scheme !

Captain Havoc

I was just wondering, with all the people that get dropped chains, how many people know how to adjust their front derailleur? I'm currently trying to do all my own maintenance and find this site excellent.

ThisRegard

Sheldon Brown seems to be quite good too. I used to play around with my front and rear derailleurs and learned how they worked through trial and error. Now I try not to go near them at all, if they work, leave them be.

Captain Havoc

ThisRegard wrote: »

Now I try not to go near them at all, if they work, leave them be.

I think this part is very important, you can spend forever and a day trying to get it just right.

jeffwode

dohouch wrote: »

Out early this morning, 6 AM, cool enough, and the lenses heavily fogged up. And wasn't able to dry them enough to use them. And I find that glasses are most useful when cycling in cold air.

So either a good material to dry them off, or a treatment to stop them from condensing in the first place.

Preference given to DIY/free solutions.

A little SCUBA diving trick to stop masks from fogging works just as well for sunnies. Spit on a tissue and rub it on inside of the lenses. Quick splash with your water bottle to rinse it off and Bob's your auntie's husband. You can buy anti fogging stuff in dive shops but saliva works just as well.

FISMA

dohouch,
Are the problems on the inside or the outside of the glasses?

Are you talking about misting on the outside, due to the weather or condensation on the inside due to the heat from your face meeting the cold surface of the lens?

I have found that when the glasses fog up, on the inside, I can remedy the situation by pulling them a bit forward - don't have them so snug on your face.

This is one of the reasons that Oakley vents some frames.

Spit, does work in SCUBA. However, I am one of those that must have pristine lenses to see through.

To clean, I use the Oakley bags.

A very soft material, maybe silk or cotton, should suffice.

dohouch

FISMA wrote: »

dohouch,
Are the problems on the inside or the outside of the glasses?

Are you talking about misting on the outside, due to the weather or condensation on the inside due to the heat from your face meeting the cold surface of the lens?

Think my recent experience :cool: was all of the above. The air was cold, and I was hot. I do use the spit trick on swim goggles, but as I ride with clear lenses, (against flies and tearing) a spit film would bother me.

Remember now, under certain rare climatic conditions, driving the car early morning I can get a condensation on the outside of the windscreen which returns after each sweep of the wipers. Not much you can do about it and I think my last Sunday experience was a bit of this type.