Is it chain slack?

dg74

Hi

Just done a service and re-indexing (or total indexing) of a mates bike. He'd replaced the rear cassette not long ago as the other was worn.

Problem I have is in the lower gears (the harder pedalling gears, small cogs), there is now a tremendous amount of chain slack, I'm talking a good inch or so that is rubbing on the frame. It wasn't like this before I started the job (possibly because it wasn't indexing to the lower gears at the rear nor the big cog at the front).

I've been over it (the bike) about ten times, looking incase I've missed something, dropping the bike off the work station and re-inserting the wheels on the deck to make sure they're seated correctly. Still the same - lots of chain slack.

Any other ideas before I remove a link or 3?

Thanks.

nicklouse

dont just remove links check the length is correct.

dg74

nicklouse wrote:

dont just remove links check the length is correct.

Ok but is there anything else it could be? Any ideas would be appreciated. HEEEELLLLPPPP!!!

supersonic

Bust mech maybe (or wrong cage length), but sounds like the chain is too long.

nicklouse

dg74 wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

dont just remove links check the length is correct.

Ok but is there anything else it could be? Any ideas would be appreciated. HEEEELLLLPPPP!!!

well first check the length. or post pics.

dg74

No it was the chain.

3 links out and it's spot on.

Cheers for the help.

felix.london

Seems you're doing this back to front. First check the length of the chain and take it from there, no?

When diagnosing problems with anything, I'd say the general rule is to start with the obvious stuff first i.e. slack chain = check chain length.

btw - low gears are easy gears

nicklouse

dg74 wrote:

No it was the chain.

3 links out and it's spot on.

Cheers for the help.

but is it? or is it now still too long? or have you now made it too short where your mate will rip the rear mech off?

as above start at the begining.

hope he does not come back with a mech in one hand and a handful of spokes in the other.

dg74

A bit more to the story.

The lad bought and fitted a brand new chain to the bike not long ago, not realising that a chain needs to be checked to make sure that it actually doesn't need links taken off, i.e. that it fits properly.

Nipped round to my LBS to make sure I was correct (and use their chain splitter as mine has been borrowed again and not returned) and hey presto, all spot on. Runs through gears perfectly, indexing all the way.

felix.london

So you own a chain splitter, you fix peoples bikes but you didn't spot that the chain was too long even after diagnosing that the chain was too long.. :?

...you should get a job in Halfords

dg74

felix.london wrote:

So you own a chain splitter, you fix peoples bikes but you didn't spot that the chain was too long even after diagnosing that the chain was too long.. :?

...you should get a job in Halfords

In a nutshell I had a bad day at the office.

Halfords wouldn't employ me, even with the odd slip up I'd still be too good

YeehaaMcgee

dg74 wrote:

felix.london wrote:

So you own a chain splitter, you fix peoples bikes but you didn't spot that the chain was too long even after diagnosing that the chain was too long.. :?

...you should get a job in Halfords

In a nutshell I had a bad day at the office.

Halfords wouldn't employ me, even with the odd slip up I'd still be too good

Do you actually know how to measure a chain?

dg74

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

dg74 wrote:

felix.london wrote:

So you own a chain splitter, you fix peoples bikes but you didn't spot that the chain was too long even after diagnosing that the chain was too long.. :?

...you should get a job in Halfords

In a nutshell I had a bad day at the office.

Halfords wouldn't employ me, even with the odd slip up I'd still be too good

Do you actually know how to measure a chain?

Have I rattled your cage? Some people getting up their own ar$e here about things!

Calm down folks, it was just a simple question in the beginning yet you'd think I was doing the Nuremburg Trials.

YeehaaMcgee

dg74 wrote:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Do you actually know how to measure a chain?

Have I rattled your cage? Some people getting up their own ar$e here about things!

Calm down folks, it was just a simple question in the beginning yet you'd think I was doing the Nuremburg Trials.

It's a simple question.
I take it by your aggresive response that it's a "no", then.

To measure the chain, place it round the biggest chainring, and the biggest sprocket at the rear, excluding the rear mech, but including any chain guides or devices. Now add two whole links to that length, and you have the correct length of chain.
For a full suspension bike, it's also useful to cycle the suspension to check that there's enough chain as the suspension compresses - since almost every full suss bike has a BB-rear axle distance that increases through the suss travel.

dg74

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

dg74 wrote:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Do you actually know how to measure a chain?

Have I rattled your cage? Some people getting up their own ar$e here about things!

Calm down folks, it was just a simple question in the beginning yet you'd think I was doing the Nuremburg Trials.

It's a simple question.
I take it by your aggresive response that it's a "no", then.

To measure the chain, place it round the biggest chainring, and the biggest sprocket at the rear, excluding the rear mech, but including any chain guides or devices. Now add two whole links to that length, and you have the correct length of chain.
For a full suspension bike, it's also useful to cycle the suspension to check that there's enough chain as the suspension compresses - since almost every full suss bike has a BB-rear axle distance that increases through the suss travel.

I followed Sheldon Brown's guide & it was fine. However, as I needed to use a mates chain splitter I decided to also let him double check I was correct. There's nowt wrong with getting a second opinion!

However, I apologize for my angsty reply. 3 hours sleep in 2 days due to nightshift kind of makes me touchy.

Thanks for the advice though. I'm more used to working on road bikes & not mtb.

YeehaaMcgee

dg74 wrote:

I'm more used to working on road bikes & not mtb.

Guess how you measure chain length on them...

cooldad

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

dg74 wrote:

I'm more used to working on road bikes & not mtb.

Guess how you measure chain length on them...

With a laser?

dg74

Christ. It's Groundhog Day come real.

YeehaaMcgee

You don't like answering questions much, do you?
If you want to learn how to solve some problems, you're going to have to answer questions, and sometimes, admit that, no, you didn't actually know what you were doing. Which is fine. Nobody knows everything.
But in order to help, we need to figure out what you do and do not know.