Chain or chainring wear

wavey1000
wavey1000 Posts: 59
edited June 2020 in MTB workshop & tech
My boarman fsa crank is making a small wearing noise when I pedal, but only on the larger fron ring. The small ring is fine. I have bought a new chain, but was thinking the large chain ring may need changing as its 4 years old. To be honest so is the chain.

So do u reckon I need a new new chainring or should I try the new chain first?

Comments

  • wavey1000
    wavey1000 Posts: 59
    edited June 2020
    This is the make and I'm struggling to get a like for like

    FSA COMET 386 BB30 DOUBLE CRANKSET MTB CHAINSET 42T 27T 175mm 10 SPEED, boarman 650b team hartail 2014

    What would be the today's eqivilant?
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    A chain checker tool is cheap and worth using. Don't buy a chainset unless you need to.
  • wavey1000
    wavey1000 Posts: 59
    The chain is a little stretched, but if it's the chain I would have thought the 'wearing' noise would happen when peddling on both chain rings.

    Would you suggest trying the new chain? Would a worn chain ring damage my new chain?
  • wavey1000
    wavey1000 Posts: 59
    Also can anyone recommend something to replace the crank chainset so I dont have to mess about with replacing the rear mech etc. Link of my spec below


  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,453
    edited June 2020
    wavey1000 said:

    My boarman fsa crank is making a small wearing noise when I pedal, but only on the larger fron ring. The small ring is fine. I have bought a new chain, but was thinking the large chain ring may need changing as its 4 years old. To be honest so is the chain.

    So do u reckon I need a new new chainring or should I try the new chain first?

    Are you sure it's not the front derailleur rubbing on the chain?

    If the rings and chain are four years old, would it be safe to assume that the cassette is also? If so, even putting a new chain on may not be the end of your problems. New chains do not run well on old worn cassettes. Putting the old chain back on solves the problem temporarily.

    Chain checkers are cheap and cheerful but provide no progress between the intervals built in to the checker. The cheapest way to measure a chain for wear is to take it off and measure it. To facilitate this I use magic links rather than rivets to connect the chain. Lay the chain out on newspaper on a flat surface. Pull it taut and then with a metal tape, measure 100 links from pin to pin. A new chain will measure 50" bang on. Yiu will find that your 100 links will be more than that. The chain needs replacing for sure at 0.75% stretch, which is 50-3/8". Scrap it if it measures 50-1/2" (1%) Measuring over 100 links provides good accuracy with basic tools and is easy to do. Take care when measuring and maybe get someone else to hold the idiot end while you concentrate on the other end. To improve accuracy, I don't use the hook end of the tape measure. Instead I line up a major marking (say the 10" one to make the sums easier") with the centre of one of the pins.
  • wavey1000
    wavey1000 Posts: 59
    Put in the new chain and had a quick play, seems ok ut a good try will tell. Yes theres no rubbing on the front derailer
  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,453
    A quick play will not put sufficient load on the chain to make it slip. I had a disastrous day out at Cannock because my new chain was slipping on the cassette. It hadn't done so on the street outside my house.
  • wavey1000
    wavey1000 Posts: 59
    I'm doing a 25k today off and on road so we will see
  • wavey1000
    wavey1000 Posts: 59
    Did 25k decent ride, and all seems good. Even though the upper chairing seems a little worse for wear, putting on a new chain, and throwing away the 4 year old chain seems to have done the trick. No more wearing noise and gear changes seem crisper. Lesson learnt

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