[dip n ride]

I have a recently converted GF Tass that I'm commuting with for the time being.. I'm running a 14T Shimano BMX rear cog, a Rennen Tensioner, an SRAM PC-1, and I'm using my old crankset (44T bontrager) from my multi speed bike until I get enough $ to get something SS specific.

On my way to work today, out of nowhere there was a skip that felt like it originated in the crankset.. I don't think it was the BB or anything like that, so I'm wondering if I am just being paranoid and this is to be expected when using half SS gear and half multi speed gear.

Oh, by the way, I'm using a half link included with the Rennen, and of course the powerlink included with the SRAM chain. Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Jake

 

[Tracerboy]

Is the Renner tensioner spring loaded?? if it is you may have too big of a gear on your bike to handle it - if you have it in the push down mode try push up and see if that works.

 

[dip n ride]

Is the Renner tensioner spring loaded?? if it is you may have too big of a gear on your bike to handle it - if you have it in the push down mode try push up and see if that works.

The Rennen is a bolt-on, and it's in push up mode

 

[duotone]

Couple things:

1- try using a larger gear but the same ratio. Smaller gears are prone to skip if you're chain isn't tight.

2- make sure your tension is good

 

[DiDaDunlop]

could also be the chain/halflink connection. If its too tight it will have a slight skip as the chain cannot move freely around the rollers. Check if all the chainlinks can move freely around eachother. If not loosen the link that is frozen with a chaintool.

 

[max-a-mill]

could ALSO skip if the ring was previously used and isn't fitting the new chain quite right.

if this is the case; it will either get better or the ring is fried and you'll need a new one.

 

[CB2]

I get a "click" from time to time on my bike with a half-link. Usually after I re-adjust the chain tension.

 

[dip n ride]

I get a "click" from time to time on my bike with a half-link. Usually after I re-adjust the chain tension.

Hmm... so, you think it might just be a matter of the chain adjusting to the tension? There are just so many damn things that can go wrong on a bike, it's really anybody's guess.

I know I probably shouldn't be mixing and matching in the first place but I can't afford to go full-blown SS right now. I've been at work all day so I'll keep everybody posted about how my ride home is. Should be nice trying to navigate the national mall, given the news coverage the capitol's been getting.

Thanks for other the other suggestions.. keep em comin.

 

[Sparticus]

Hmm...

Dip, put your bike in a stand/hang it from the rafters/whatever and slowly spin the crank in both directions while watching the chain carefully. Look for stiff/tight links in the chain. Watch it as it rolls around the cog and around the ring. Be patient. Maybe there's a stiff link somewhere in your chain. Maybe you have a bent tooth on the cog or ring. Maybe the teeth on your ring are old and worn and don't mesh properly with your newer chain. Maybe your chainline is off. Maybe a couple of the above, maybe none of the above.

In any case, if you're patient and insightful, you'll ususally be able to figure out what's going on if you study things long enough. It's mechanical, after all. Something has to show up.

--Sparty

 

[pisiket]

could ALSO skip if the ring was previously used and isn't fitting the new chain quite right.

if this is the case; it will either get better or the ring is fried and you'll need a new one.

That is exactly what was happening with my converted GF Tassajara commuter bike. I quickly went back to the old chain; now everything works great...

Ali

 

[Meat Foot]

I know I probably shouldn't be mixing and matching in the first place but I can't afford to go full-blown SS right now.

No worries man. I ran a SS cog and a ramped and pinned 44 t ring and only dropped the chain once over some m-effin' RR tracks. Other than that, it worked. I liked the spin on a 44:20 combo. It was nice for the rollers. So, like others stated, it could be as simple as going up a few teeth in the rear. 44:14 is buff.

 

[PeanutButterBreath]

My guess is that the chain isn't actually skipping. I bet the plates are catching on the teeth of the chainring, riding up slightly and then snapping back into place. This could be contributed to by one or more of the following conditions:

[*]a slightly off chainline.
[*]a chain that is loose enough that it has excessive side-to-side play when the bike hits rough terrain.
[*]the shorter, shaped teeth on a geared chainring.
[*]the added play when using a 1/8" chain on a 3/32" ring.
[*]frame flex allowing the chainring and cog to get out of alignment with each other.

If this is what is occuring, your paranoia is justified. This condition can peel the plates outward causing the chain to eventually break.

Whatever the cause, I agree with Sparticus. If you are patient and observant enough you can usually see exactly that is going on.

 

[dip n ride]

Nice, thanks for all the help guys.

Before I read any responses, I took the bike home today and re-adjusted my chain line. The chain wasn't exactly in the middle of the tensioner, and it was causing the line to be off a bit. I moved my cog over one spacer, so I am going to give it a go tomorrow morning on the way to work and see how it goes.

Sparticus, thanks again.. Come the weekend I will definitely be taking a nice, close look at the chain. The crank is fairly new (though it is ramped, etc.) so I am guessing the my answer lies somewhere in the chain, or the chain tension, or the chain line. I'll take a good look for sure though.

I did discover a couple sliff links a couple days back, fixed them with a chain tool. Will certainly give that a second check as well.

Meat: as soon as I can stop using the damn thing as a commuter, I'll definitely drop the ratio down!! haha... being just out of college and on your own with your first job is a pain when you love buying bike stuff.

Peanut, I like your ideas about the chain play between the two different types of components.. I'll keep an eye on that for sure, I'm sure that having the 1/8 chain with the multi-gear chainring increases the chance for error.

Thanks guys!!

 

[EDDIE JONES]

I get the skip sometimes on my brand new 29"ss. I traced it down to a stiff link. If you are not running new gear it could be a worn chain, cog, or chainring.

 

[G-reg]

I just posted in another thread on the pro's and con's of running "bigger gears" with the same ratio. And I'd say that with a big ring and that 14t cog on a converted bike, you did feel a skip. A chain from a 44t chain ring to a 14t cog isn't going to actually be engaging too many teeth on that cog. A worn chain, frame flex, a not perfectly round chainring (I'd bet that you have some of this on an older 4-5 arm geared crankset), a tensioner that can't make up for the previously mentioned tensioner, stiff links, etc. are all going to make life hard on that cog.

 

[aka brad]

Hold on there..

Nice, thanks for all the help guys.

Before I read any responses, I took the bike home today and re-adjusted my chain line. The chain wasn't exactly in the middle of the tensioner, and it was causing the line to be off a bit. I moved my cog over one spacer, so I am going to give it a go tomorrow morning on the way to work and see how it goes.

Sparticus, thanks again.. Come the weekend I will definitely be taking a nice, close look at the chain. The crank is fairly new (though it is ramped, etc.) so I am guessing the my answer lies somewhere in the chain, or the chain tension, or the chain line. I'll take a good look for sure though.

I did discover a couple sliff links a couple days back, fixed them with a chain tool. Will certainly give that a second check as well.

Meat: as soon as I can stop using the damn thing as a commuter, I'll definitely drop the ratio down!! haha... being just out of college and on your own with your first job is a pain when you love buying bike stuff.

Peanut, I like your ideas about the chain play between the two different types of components.. I'll keep an eye on that for sure, I'm sure that having the 1/8 chain with the multi-gear chainring increases the chance for error.

Thanks guys!!

Is this an ongoing problem, or did this "skip" happen just one time?

1G1G, brad

 

[dip n ride]

Is this an ongoing problem, or did this "skip" happen just one time?

1G1G, brad

hey brad,

The skip just happened one time.. on my way to work a couple days ago. When I got home the same day (yesterday) I realigned what I thought was a crooked chainline, now it looks perfectly straight and I had no issues today to and from work.

Like I said... am I just being paranoid?

I'm still going to take sparticus's suggestions into account this weekend, to check for stiff links and other chain problems. I didn't expect the transition (from geared to SS) to be 100% smooth, but I figured that we have a great resource in MTBR, so why not ask some questions and get some help from people that know what they're talkin about? Can't hurt.

 

[dip n ride]

I just posted in another thread on the pro's and con's of running "bigger gears" with the same ratio. And I'd say that with a big ring and that 14t cog on a converted bike, you did feel a skip. A chain from a 44t chain ring to a 14t cog isn't going to actually be engaging too many teeth on that cog. A worn chain, frame flex, a not perfectly round chainring (I'd bet that you have some of this on an older 4-5 arm geared crankset), a tensioner that can't make up for the previously mentioned tensioner, stiff links, etc. are all going to make life hard on that cog.

Do you think it makes a difference that I'm running the tensioner in push up mode? Seems like it is connecting a decent amount, but then I can't really tell when I'm actually on the bike.

 

[aka brad]

That's what I thought; you know the paranoid part..

hey brad,

The skip just happened one time.. on my way to work a couple days ago. When I got home the same day (yesterday) I realigned what I thought was a crooked chainline, now it looks perfectly straight and I had no issues today to and from work.

Like I said... am I just being paranoid?

I'm still going to take sparticus's suggestions into account this weekend, to check for stiff links and other chain problems. I didn't expect the transition (from geared to SS) to be 100% smooth, but I figured that we have a great resource in MTBR, so why not ask some questions and get some help from people that know what they're talkin about? Can't hurt.

I've been through the same thing, where I was trying to hunt down a problem and fixed a number of things I didn't even know was wrong, on the way to fixing the "skip". Expect a skip or click occasionally. Dirty chain and/or loose chain, worn chain ring/cog. As long as it's just once in a while it's just a reminder that even SS drivetrains need some maintenance.

Brad

 

[G-reg]

Running the tensioner "push up" is a trick that helps if your tensioner can handle it. You get a bit more chain wrap that way.