switching gears.....

marts500

i threw away my front mech and shifter so i just have 8 straight rear mech gears.I prefer my commute bike like this and it stops me wimping out on hills.Only thing is my chain slips onto the small and larger front rings now and again.The 8 remaining gears work great but can i make further adjustments to stop this and if i fit a single ring chainset what will happen then....?

whyamihere

You shouldn't have thrown away the front mech. If you fit a new, really cheap front mech, and wind in the limit screws to centre it over the chainring to want to use, then it will keep the chain on. Alternatively, if you want to spend a bit more, you can get a single ring chainset and get an MTB chain guide.

The problem is the spread of your gears. Single rings used to work fine with 5 speed gears, because the chain never went to such an extreme angle to come off the ring at the front. 8 speed blocks are much wider, so the angle of the chain from the extreme ends of the cassette is larger, which allows the chain to go onto the next ring. If you fit a single ring chainset without anything to keep the chain in place, then instead of shifting onto a different chainring, the chain will come off entirely.

dondare

Using your gears correctly is not wimping out.

marts500

Of course its wimping out...its a sure sign of weakness.Gears are for spagehti legs only.

dondare

marts500 wrote:

Of course its wimping out...its a sure sign of weakness.Gears are for spagehti legs only.

Then get yourself a fixed for an end to all your chain-jumping woes.

BTW, Whyamihere was correct; the front mech is there to keep the chain on the correct ring, not just to move it from on to another. It is possible to buy a guide that does the same job but they cost about the same as a basic mech anyway. Best put your old one back on.