Carrera Subway 8 chainring replacement
---Frank---
Posts: 3
Hi,
I've got a Carrera Subway 8 that I use for commuting to work. It's a 2006 model (when they were all matt black before the current grey model). It has the Nexus 8-speed hub gear. I'm generally happy with it but I'd like to take the gearing down a bit as it's a bit of a struggle on some of the bigger hills on my work commute. It has a 44 tooth ring on the front and 20 at the back. It has 4-arm cranks. I reckon my simplest option is to change out the front ring and, if I've done my maths correctly, then I need to go for a 36 tooth chain ring to get the gearing I want. Not being very clued up about bike components I'm a bit bewildered by the range of replacement chain rings available to me. Most of them seem to assume the bike will have derailleur gears and I don't know how applicable they would be to my hub set up. I;d be really grateful if anyone could recommend a suitable replacement chain ring for me. Preferably one that doesn't cost the earth and also has a chain ring bash guard (whatever they are called); and ideally one that preserves the "none more black" look of my bike!
Many thanks.
Frank
I've got a Carrera Subway 8 that I use for commuting to work. It's a 2006 model (when they were all matt black before the current grey model). It has the Nexus 8-speed hub gear. I'm generally happy with it but I'd like to take the gearing down a bit as it's a bit of a struggle on some of the bigger hills on my work commute. It has a 44 tooth ring on the front and 20 at the back. It has 4-arm cranks. I reckon my simplest option is to change out the front ring and, if I've done my maths correctly, then I need to go for a 36 tooth chain ring to get the gearing I want. Not being very clued up about bike components I'm a bit bewildered by the range of replacement chain rings available to me. Most of them seem to assume the bike will have derailleur gears and I don't know how applicable they would be to my hub set up. I;d be really grateful if anyone could recommend a suitable replacement chain ring for me. Preferably one that doesn't cost the earth and also has a chain ring bash guard (whatever they are called); and ideally one that preserves the "none more black" look of my bike!
Many thanks.
Frank
0
Comments
-
Although not black, i'd recommend middleburn hardcoat ring (not slickshift), dark grey but totally fit and forget very good value. I've run one on my single speed cross country come commuter and it shows no signs of wear after 8 months of abuse!
For Bashguards, anything black and metal will do fine, but size up a bit for extra protection, so get a 38-40 tooth guard for a 36 ring. The e.13 ones are very snazzy, but expensive.0 -
0
-
Thanks very much for the suggestions, I'll follow them up.
Regards,
Frank0 -
Hi - before you go spending £20+ on a chainring, consider that you should be able to buy a new sprocket for the hub for £4. There is a 23t sprocket available which, with your 44t chainring would give you a slightly higher gearing than a 36/20 combination (but still significantly lower than than the stock 44/20).
Of course, if you just want a new chainring, or because the original chainring needs replaced (the one on my subway8 appeared to have been made from cheese) then go for it. Having changed both sprocket and chainring on a subway8, I'd say that both were pretty straightforward. The advantage to changing just the sprocket is you don't need a crank puller if you don't have one already.0 -
You shouldn't need a crank puller to remove the outer two rings.0
-
Slightly OT but my employer is going to implement B2W scheme - likely with Halfords and I am thinking about the Subway 8.
(I don't really need another bike as I've got a road bike, MTB and tourer but it is a bargain! )
I've got a short commute each day and I like the idea of hub gears. Is the Subway 8 worth buying?Be nice to grumpy old men (or else!)0 -
ride_whenever wrote:You shouldn't need a crank puller to remove the outer two rings.
You're right, but I found it a lot easier with the cranks off, especially since I didn't have a proper tool to hold the back of the chainring bolts.
KK - how short is short? I used mine for a 4.5 mile each way commute, and found the subway8 quite reasonable. It is(was?) quite heavy, but if you aren't trying to hammer into work every morning thats not a real problem. It was also low maintenance, and is a good 'utility' bike for trundling to the shops etc. One drawback is that if the hub goes wrong, you'll be hard pushed to find someone who can fix it. Mine went very graunchy after a while, so I dissected it (instruction on Sheldons pages) and found that the hub wasn't very well sealed on the non-drive side and the bearings had rusted. Straightforward enough to replace once you track down the bits though.
I was hoping Halfords would come out with an Alfine based bike to be honest - that looks like it would be great for a commuter, with disc rather than roller brakes and a hub dynamo if they use the whole groupset - but no sign of one yet as far as i know.0 -
(cough)rohloff(cough cough)
My lbs showed me a scott scale cf bike with one in the back, only a grand ex-demo. Soooooooooooooooo tempted, if i had any money that is!0 -
YES Its worth getting!0
-
SBothwell wrote:KK - how short is short? I used mine for a 4.5 mile each way commute, and found the subway8 quite reasonable. It is(was?) quite heavy, but if you aren't trying to hammer into work every morning thats not a real problem. It was also low maintenance, and is a good 'utility' bike for trundling to the shops etc. One drawback is that if the hub goes wrong, you'll be hard pushed to find someone who can fix it. Mine went very graunchy after a while, so I dissected it (instruction on Sheldons pages) and found that the hub wasn't very well sealed on the non-drive side and the bearings had rusted. Straightforward enough to replace once you track down the bits though.
I was hoping Halfords would come out with an Alfine based bike to be honest - that looks like it would be great for a commuter, with disc rather than roller brakes and a hub dynamo if they use the whole groupset - but no sign of one yet as far as i know.
My regular commute is around 2 miles each way with the odd trip to other sites also 2 miles away. No big hills. As I said earlier I don't need another bike but I fancy something a bit different and I get it via the B2W so save a bit too.
Thanks for the advice.Be nice to grumpy old men (or else!)0 -
I have a 2006 Subway 8 which I use for commuting (not much this year yet) and I replaced the 44t chainring with a 36t which makes the gearing right for me (in Winchester, very hilly). My problem was I learned the hard way what happens when you don't tighten the attachment bolts properly - they fall off, you lose them, and they are completely non-standard. The local bike shop eventually used parts from a cheap Shimano 3 ring set to replace the existing cranks as Halfords were no use finding replacement bolts. The bike is fine now and I would really recommend it for use around town and shortish commutes (mine is about 7 miles each way). I have not yet had any problems with the hub gear.0
-
emdeef wrote:I have a 2006 Subway 8 which I use for commuting (not much this year yet) and I replaced the 44t chainring with a 36t which makes the gearing right for me (in Winchester, very hilly). My problem was I learned the hard way what happens when you don't tighten the attachment bolts properly - they fall off, you lose them, and they are completely non-standard. The local bike shop eventually used parts from a cheap Shimano 3 ring set to replace the existing cranks as Halfords were no use finding replacement bolts. The bike is fine now and I would really recommend it for use around town and shortish commutes (mine is about 7 miles each way). I have not yet had any problems with the hub gear.
I forgot to say - I think the chainring I used is a TA 4 arm silver 36 tooth as here:
http://www.ctcshop.com/product.jsp?style=10222
I cannot check until I get home as I drove in today...0
