saggy chain syndrome

bridgetown1

over the last few weeks my chain has developed a 'sag' when freewheeling. thought it was a derailleur problem, maybe springs not tight/strong enough to take up slack. but now on back pedal the chain sags so much it rubs off frame and when wheeling my bike it just doesn't 'freewheel', but the chain wheel turns too. now, in west cork a lot of the country roads are not smooth ribbons of tarmac, and i end up cycling through all sorts of sh1t (literally!), so i presume that the problem is a build up of crap on the chain/freewheel type of problem.

suggestions please?!

to my shame i must admit that my days of repairing and building bikes are behind me, so as I have to go into cork next week a few times do i just take it into halfords?

shaka

Bike shop in Castletownbere , bike n Beara or something. Don't bother taking it to Cork. Sure there will be one near you too

Des sound like derailer prob

DirkVoodoo

Is your rear derailleur pivoting freely?

letape

To me it sounds like a problem with the freehub, the fact that it isn't turning when you try and freewheel.

If you could try a wheel from another bike, then you could conclude that it is freewheel related or not.

bridgetown1

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Is your rear derailleur pivoting freely?

derailleur working fine! in fact, as long as i am pedalling the whole damn thing is fine. when i freewheel, the chain sags. if i back pedal it sags so much it rubs off the frame and when i wheel my bike it doesn't 'freewheel'at all, the chain wheel turns too!

and i am in the enniskeane/ballineen area, halfords closer than castletownbere!

deandean

Your freehub is probably failing.

Same happened mine last year. I ended up buying a complete rear hub as a donor; couldn't buy the freehub on it's own.

Remove the chain off the rear cluster and see if there's resistance when spinning the freehub backwards.

bridgetown1

deandean wrote: »

Your freehub is probably failing.

Same happened mine last year. I ended up buying a complete rear hub as a donor; couldn't buy the freehub on it's own.

Remove the chain off the rear cluster and see if there's resistance when spinning the freehub backwards.

****. cost? and remember with my style and location of cycling i am looking for strength and reliability rather than lightweightspeed.

dogsears

bridgetown1 wrote: »

derailleur working fine! in fact, as long as i am pedalling the whole damn thing is fine. when i freewheel, the chain sags. if i back pedal it sags so much it rubs off the frame and when i wheel my bike it doesn't 'freewheel'at all, the chain wheel turns too!

and i am in the enniskeane/ballineen area, halfords closer than castletownbere!

You could do worse than try this place in Bandon https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=51.743152,-8.73837&spn=0.000404,0.002411&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=51.743152,-8.73837&panoid=JQ16TfWWaECjRw1kjhiQOg&cbp=11,98.20272100000005,,0,0. He helped me out when I was in a right spot one Sat afternoon. Older chap - seemed like he knew all there was to know and was utterly sick of only ever fixing kiddies bikes.

Don't be put off by the, er, welcoming committee in the picture.

bridgetown1

dogsears wrote: »

You could do worse than try this place in Bandon https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=51.743152,-8.73837&spn=0.000404,0.002411&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=51.743152,-8.73837&panoid=JQ16TfWWaECjRw1kjhiQOg&cbp=11,98.20272100000005,,0,0. He helped me out when I was in a right spot one Sat afternoon. Older chap - seemed like he knew all there was to know and was utterly sick of only ever fixing kiddies bikes.

Don't be put off by the, er, welcoming committee in the picture.

yep! i know him! replaced a spoke for me a few weeks ago, and he IS good. anybody who needs help in the bandon area, i would recommenbd him strongly. but at the moment, and for the next few weeks, he opens after i have left and closes before i am back!!!! bit of a bollox as i like supporting local businesses!

letape

bridgetown1 wrote: »

****. cost? and remember with my style and location of cycling i am looking for strength and reliability rather than lightweightspeed.

No way If knowing the cost without knowing what wheel you have! What rear wheel / hub are you using. Typically a freehub is c€50 - and would need to be fitted.

As I suggested try another rear wheel and you will know if it is related to the freehub or not.

C3PO

Certainly sounds like a problem with the freehub! You might be lucky and may only need to be cleaned out but more than likely a replacement freehub!