Hi, I'm new to mountain biking and im 13 yrs old that has a 2022 Trek Marlin 5, didn't upgrade anything about performance like drivetrain or fork, etc, I am just wondering, can I go downstairs with this bike, I'm worried about the rear derailleur and the wheels, the derailleur is an Altus m310 came from yrs ago and wheels are Bontrager connection 29 inches, I have actually gone down 3 small stairs and the chain is hitting my front derailleur like crazy, should I worry about that too? and does anyone have an idea how much stairs I can go down with this hardtail bike?
AX12
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Hi, I'm new to mountain biking and im 13 yrs old that has a 2022 Trek Marlin 5, didn't upgrade anything about performance like drivetrain or fork, etc, I am just wondering, can I go downstairs with this bike, I'm worried about the rear derailleur and the wheels, the derailleur is an Altus m310 came from yrs ago and wheels are Bontrager connection 29 inches, I have actually gone down 3 small stairs and the chain is hitting my front derailleur like crazy, should I worry about that too? and does anyone have an idea how much stairs I can go down with this hardtail bike?
yes you can go downstairs all you want
the chain is gonna jump around, you may end up having to stop and put chain back on the teeth
if you really get it slapping around
it is part of riding MTB....
altus doesn't have a clutch...clutch? that helps keep chain from flopping as hard as yours does
-------------------------------------------------------
....just don't worry about it
but when hitting bumps or stairs, do not jam pedals forward and try pedaling right away
until you verify [that thing you just did] didn't mess with the chainline.
Marlin 5 has a front der, so even if you lose the chain off front cogs, careful pedaling and shifting can
usually get it back without having to stop and do it by hand. trial and error and more riding, you'll know
what you can do... and get away with
----------
what you really need to worry about most, is the red circle I made, that part of the chain
could get sucked up where I made the arrow. That, you must avoid, or the chain can
eat through the chainstay and if done too often (like, a LOT) ....bike is finished.
the chainstay can take a lot of chainsuck but eventually if you just keep letting it happen,
the chainstay can be sliced through, and this is the reason I mentioned above to not just
pedal forward immediately after hitting bumps and chain slappin until you know it's settled back in correct chain position
ordinary chainslap usually only affects the top of chainstay (makes noise, makes marks)
and what usually causes chainsuck (the bad thing) is worn out teeth on the front rings, chainring might not drop the
chain properly on it's path to the rear der pulley... and the chain sticks and gets pulled around and upward and digs in.
but..chainslap can cause it too,
just be aware if things get 'crunchy', stop and fix by hand
![Image]()
the chain is gonna jump around, you may end up having to stop and put chain back on the teeth
if you really get it slapping around
it is part of riding MTB....
altus doesn't have a clutch...clutch? that helps keep chain from flopping as hard as yours does
-------------------------------------------------------
....just don't worry about it
but when hitting bumps or stairs, do not jam pedals forward and try pedaling right away
until you verify [that thing you just did] didn't mess with the chainline.
Marlin 5 has a front der, so even if you lose the chain off front cogs, careful pedaling and shifting can
usually get it back without having to stop and do it by hand. trial and error and more riding, you'll know
what you can do... and get away with
----------
what you really need to worry about most, is the red circle I made, that part of the chain
could get sucked up where I made the arrow. That, you must avoid, or the chain can
eat through the chainstay and if done too often (like, a LOT) ....bike is finished.
the chainstay can take a lot of chainsuck but eventually if you just keep letting it happen,
the chainstay can be sliced through, and this is the reason I mentioned above to not just
pedal forward immediately after hitting bumps and chain slappin until you know it's settled back in correct chain position
ordinary chainslap usually only affects the top of chainstay (makes noise, makes marks)
and what usually causes chainsuck (the bad thing) is worn out teeth on the front rings, chainring might not drop the
chain properly on it's path to the rear der pulley... and the chain sticks and gets pulled around and upward and digs in.
but..chainslap can cause it too,
just be aware if things get 'crunchy', stop and fix by hand
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19 Posts
My chain actually got stuck there before and I couldn't just pedal back so I just got the chain out and put it back on, filthy hands lol
btw I was thinking of upgrading a 1by crankset and maybe a m3100 rd or a advent 9spd rd with a clutch, both of them total 100 pretty costy
Thanks btw!
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19 Posts
Another question, do you think this suntour xct 30 can handle it? 99 dollar fork may break (Even though I kinda want it to break so I can upgrade to a recon silver rl something like that, then my parents will pay it
))
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Ty bro
the fork can handle it yes...don't expect much from it though
better forks handle it better,
that fork main design goal is: make it move a bit
and that's about all to expect.
but it will work and stairs shouldn't kill it*
*hucking (air) a whole flight of stairs ? no, that fork may break your face if landed just a hair wrongly....no room for landing errors on such a small fork...but you gotta be pretty light I imagine
better forks handle it better,
that fork main design goal is: make it move a bit
and that's about all to expect.
but it will work and stairs shouldn't kill it*
*hucking (air) a whole flight of stairs ? no, that fork may break your face if landed just a hair wrongly....no room for landing errors on such a small fork...but you gotta be pretty light I imagine
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not enough courage to take a flight on stairs lmao
This goes double for the front brake.
I learnt to ride down stairs when I was 13 as well, on a huffy with no suspension at all. Small steps, then eventually 5-6 steps, then one day I did the one that leads from upper campus to lower campus.
ask one to two friends to spot you and walk down next to you. Tell them to grab you as soon as something bad looks to happen.
ask one to two friends to spot you and walk down next to you. Tell them to grab you as soon as something bad looks to happen.
There's a difference between riding down stairs and riding downstairs.
My buddy's got a basement but his wife won't let him ride his bike in the house.
So obviously she won't let him ride downstairs or even down stairs to get into the basement since the stairs are inside the house.
Can't ride upstairs, can't ride downstairs. He can ride up stairs or down stairs if the stairs are outside, tho.
Just stopped by to clarify. Don't thank me.
=sParty
My buddy's got a basement but his wife won't let him ride his bike in the house.
So obviously she won't let him ride downstairs or even down stairs to get into the basement since the stairs are inside the house.
Can't ride upstairs, can't ride downstairs. He can ride up stairs or down stairs if the stairs are outside, tho.
Just stopped by to clarify. Don't thank me.
=sParty
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He beat me to it, too but I didn't read his post so... oh, never mind.
=sParty
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You may be able to get away with just replacing the chainrings with a no-drop single chainring. Chainline is not ideal like 3X cranks, but it might be possible with some aftermarket hack. That's worth googling, or someone else did it here already.
Also don't forget to remove the kickstand if you are going to be jumping stairs and such.
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I can ride a circle through the living room to the back deck and around back to the front door with the dogs chasing me. I'll do twenty laps. The ex GF hated it more than bikes in the house so I got rid of her.
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Can we have picture of the stairs, I try to get enough speed that I clear the entire staircase. Makes it easier.
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