Front mech necessary?

TheGardenGnome
TheGardenGnome Posts: 170
edited April 2018 in The workshop
My front mech caved in (I'm not sure why), I removed it so I could get home otherwise my chain would've been chewed up. I can't use any other means of transport so I'm wondering if the front mech is necessary at all or will removing it have compromised something.

Comments

  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    Your mileage will vary, i or rather my local bike shop converted my old MTB from 3/9 to 1/9 with advice might need a cage catcher to keep the chain on, which thus far hasn’t been the case, bar if it shifts poorly it can jump off, but rare since I feed it new chains/cables regularly!
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Obviously it's necessary if you want to change gear at the front.

    In addition on some bikes the chain will jump off the chainwheel without some form of a chainguide (like the front mech), but if its not then it won't be a problem. Even with brand new parts and a single speed chainring (longer teeth and no ramps/pins) my commuter would shed its chain on gear shifts when running 1x9.

    If you have unboltable chainrings then it's probably worth buying a narrow wide chainring of the right size/fitting and binning the redundant rings, they cost less than £20.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.