No "first" gear

capt_slog

This isn't a problem, this is deliberate. I set the rear cage on my bike so that it doesn't go onto the gear that's nearest to the spokes.

Years ago as a nipper, I had the cage run into the spokes a few times, mainly due to crap, worn-out kit and bad adjustment (not knowing what the hell I was doing), I decided that it was best to sacrifice that gear rather than it happen again.

Now that I've started riding again and I have nicer kit, I'm a bit paranoid, and I heard it get very close one day when I was setting up in the shed. So, I set my gears up the same as I used to. I have plenty of gears, one less won't hurt at the back when it's a triple on the front.

Just wondered. Does anyone else do this?

ai_1

Capt Slog wrote:

This isn't a problem, this is deliberate. I set the rear cage on my bike so that it doesn't go onto the gear that's nearest to the spokes.

Years ago as a nipper, I had the cage run into the spokes a few times, mainly due to crap, worn-out kit and bad adjustment (not knowing what the hell I was doing), I decided that it was best to sacrifice that gear rather than it happen again.

Now that I've started riding again and I have nicer kit, I'm a bit paranoid, and I heard it get very close one day when I was setting up in the shed. So, I set my gears up the same as I used to. I have plenty of gears, one less won't hurt at the back when it's a triple on the front.

Just wondered. Does anyone else do this?

Absolutely not!

There's no reason to think your rear derailleur will go into the spokes unless it or the hanger are damaged.
If you don't need that gear you could instead have smaller gaps. Avoiding a gear due to paranoia seems silly. Could you perhaps get a really big "dork disk" that would prevent the RD getting caught in the spokes even if it did somehow move too far towards the wheel?

wishitwasallflat

Capt Slog wrote:

Just wondered. Does anyone else do this?

No and I would bet my mortgage everyone does what I do - set the limit screw correctly and then forget about it. You should join us, it's more fun

CYCLESPORT1

"Just wondered. Does anyone else do this"

---

I HOPE NOT !

chrisw12

Oh no!!! I've done this in the past and I'm currently doing it at the moment with my tt bike.

In the past I randomly put the rear mech into the spokes. Everything was adjusted correctly I thought and the bike had done miles and miles trouble free. Became a bit paranoid after that, as it was I I only used that gear to get up the hill by my house and then only needed it if I'd done mega miles or gone out hung over.

Now I'm running 11 speed but with old friction shifters on my tt bike and I can either get top gear or bottom but not both. Once again I'm back to no 1st gear.

jimothy78

The only people I've heard of doing something similar to this are a few Downhill MTB and 4X racers, where the steep gradient and rare pedalling opportunities mean they only need a handfull of relatively closely-spaced gear ratios, and they block off anything they know they aren't going to use in the race.

ForumNewbie

Capt Slog wrote:

This isn't a problem, this is deliberate. I set the rear cage on my bike so that it doesn't go onto the gear that's nearest to the spokes.

Years ago as a nipper, I had the cage run into the spokes a few times, mainly due to crap, worn-out kit and bad adjustment (not knowing what the hell I was doing), I decided that it was best to sacrifice that gear rather than it happen again.

Now that I've started riding again and I have nicer kit, I'm a bit paranoid, and I heard it get very close one day when I was setting up in the shed. So, I set my gears up the same as I used to. I have plenty of gears, one less won't hurt at the back when it's a triple on the front.

Just wondered. Does anyone else do this?

I tend to only go into the lowest gear (biggest sprocket) at the back when moving slowly up a steep hill, so I would think unlikely to jump over the sprocket into the spokes if the limit screw set correctly. I recently had my chain miss the 34 chain ring at the front and go into the frame when moving down from the 50, so I adjusted the limit screw to ensure it doesn't happen again.

However if you don't need the lowest gear due to the triple or not doing particularly hilly rides, then fair enough, but I would tend to keep access to the gear anyway in case you need it. Just ensure the limit screw is set correctly.

capt_slog

chrisw12 wrote:

Oh no!!! I've done this in the past and I'm currently doing it at the moment with my tt bike.

Ah, so there is at least one more.

wishitwasallflat wrote:

No and I would bet my mortgage everyone does what I do - set the limit screw correctly and then forget about it. You should join us, it's more fun

How safe does your mortgage feel now?

Of course, it was going to be controversial, but thanks for all the comments.

Just to be clear, I AM capable of setting the limit screw correctly, I just choose not to.

ai_1

Capt Slog wrote:

...Just to be clear, I AM capable of setting the limit screw correctly, I just choose not to.

Which is what I find absurd.
You could make much the same argument for not using the small chainring couldn't you? Perhaps we should all get triples and not use the inner ring?

keef66

What you really need is a dork disk!

capt_slog

keef66 wrote:

What you really need is a dork disk!

And if my dork was getting that close to the spokes and I was relying on a screw to stop it, I'd be using one!

Ai_1 wrote:

Which is what I find absurd.
You could make much the same argument for not using the small chainring couldn't you?

You could if you wished, but I don't see any risk that end. I trust my ability to set-up, I don't trust the mechanism under the aphorism "what could go wrong, will go wrong".

taon24

I know that some juniors do the equivalent of this to lock off top gears to get within the gear limits on racing. But If you can't push the derailleur into the wheel then the limit screw is doing it's job and won't cause a problem without a significant problem ocurring, which even locking off the largest sprocket might not help.

schlepcycling

Capt Slog wrote:

keef66 wrote:

What you really need is a dork disk!

And if my dork was getting that close to the spokes and I was relying on a screw to stop it, I'd be using one!

Ai_1 wrote:

Which is what I find absurd.
You could make much the same argument for not using the small chainring couldn't you?

You could if you wished, but I don't see any risk that end. I trust my ability to set-up, I don't trust the mechanism under the aphorism "what could go wrong, will go wrong".

I don't understand your logic....if you trust your ability to set up but not the mechanism then there's as much chance of the chain jumping off the small chainring with the limit screw correctly set as there is for the rear mech to contact the spokes with the limit screw correctly set. It sounds like you need to ride a single speed.