The Chainlink

My chain is falling off when I go over bumps sometimes. The last time that this was happening to me I made sure that the back wheel was as far back as possible, making the chain tighter. I tried to do this again and the chain still seems to be a little loosey goosey. I haven't changed the back wheel so it seems to me that the chain has gotten longer somehow.

Is this possible?

I guess my next course of action is to remove a link.

Any other suggestions or theroys on this would be helpfull

thanks. 

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Are there derailleurs in the picture? The rear derailleur is supposed to tension the chain as part of its job-- maybe the spring is worn out or the action is gunked up?

I am assuming this is a single speed, did you use the same cog or one the same size when you changed the wheel? Chains do wear out and stretch, if your running a fixed gear your putting HUGE amounts of stress on the chain. Any bike shop will check the chain for wear with a gauge.

It is a single speed with the same cog. It looks like I should just get a new chain. Would it be bad if I took a link out to make it tighter?

Chains don't stretch - the pins wear out. I can't give you a good answer without more information about your bike, but chances are very likely that your chainline isn't straight.

oh man, that happened to me last summer. NOT a fun experience.

 

...and chains DO stretch.

 

http://bicycletutor.com/chain-wear/

Michael A said:

No, they don't. The elastic waistband in your underwear stretches. Chains elongate due to the pins wearing out. It's not the same thing.

 

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html



Fred Noinaj said:

 

 

...and chains DO stretch.

 

http://bicycletutor.com/chain-wear/

Oh, jesus.  Can we agree that "stretch" is acceptable and accepted lingo to refer to the phenomenon of a chain elongating due to pin wear?


And to answer Davo's other question-- chains are said to wear in to the gears they're running on and end up quasi-matched; it doesn't sound like precision is a huge consideration here considering he's been putting up with a sloppy chain, but a new chain would be better than removing a link.


Michael Perz said:

No, they don't. The elastic waistband in your underwear stretches. Chains elongate due to the pins wearing out. It's not the same thing.

 

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely not. I am merciless in my pedantry.

 

I still think Davo should look into a possible chainline issue once the old chain is off of the bike. If it's crooked a new chain will only solve the problem temporarily, will have a considerably shorter service life and will climb the teeth of the chainring when it becomes loose, thus the falling off. It would also be wise to check the cog and chain ring for any significant wear.

 

H3N3 said:

Oh, jesus.  Can we agree that "stretch" is acceptable and accepted lingo to refer to the phenomenon of a chain elongating due to pin wear?


And to answer Davo's other question-- chains are said to wear in to the gears they're running on and end up quasi-matched; it doesn't sound like precision is a huge consideration here considering he's been putting up with a sloppy chain, but a new chain would be better than removing a link.


Michael Perz said:

No, they don't. The elastic waistband in your underwear stretches. Chains elongate due to the pins wearing out. It's not the same thing.

 

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will take a flyer here and say that if it were chain stretch (yes, we all agree it's technically not the correct term) he would feel a bit of "slipping" when he back pedaled on the bike, so since he didn't mention that symptom, it would be a crooked chainline? 

Pedantically speaking, links don't come in pairs, instead each single link consists of two outer plates, the roller pin and two inner plates. Sorry, I'm THAT guy...

You're a foot doctor?

Michael Perz said:

Absolutely not. I am merciless in my pedantry.

 

 

 

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