[thunder]

I have had this bike for 5 months and love it. My first full suspension but I'm getting alot of loud chain slap on downhills. Derrauiler adjustment or something else?? Any info would help. This bike gives a lot with the travel so maybe its normal?

 

[Guest]

I'll bet it's normal. I don't have a Trek but my

Specialized FSR makes a bit of a racket on bumpy, fast downhills. At times I'm tempted to look down to see if the chain is still on the rings! Of course it alway is. If you haven't already, put a chain stay protector on; it may reduce the noise as well as protect the paint.

 

[man w/ one hand]

Standard thing on almost all bikes....

Wrap a pc of innertube or tire around chain/seat stay & zip-tie it. Standard stuff. Get-a-bike, wrap th' stay. Czech out the pics of the white bike in this tread. 'Splains it...nuff sed.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=39396

 

[dissonance]

I just bought a chainstay protector. It's designed to eliminate dings and reduce noise. I know Lizard Skins and Specialized make them. Was around $10.

 

[HellMuttCracker]

try riding in a bigger gear

 

[Fuelish]

I have had this bike for 5 months and love it. My first full suspension but I'm getting alot of loud chain slap on downhills. Derrauiler adjustment or something else?? Any info would help. This bike gives a lot with the travel so maybe its normal?

I got annoyed early on with chainslap noise on my Fuel, wrapped the chainstay, and it turns out the majority of the noise is coming from the chain slapping the "bottom plate of the fr dr cage" ((for lack of better descriptive term). So, I've learned to live with it - don't really notice it now, and when I do, I tell myself that that's the sound of "fun"....heh

 

[pimpbot]

Exactly... cross gear

try riding in a bigger gear

I use the big ring and a few cogs down in back to tense the chain up. It gives the same ratios as middle ring halfway down the cogs, but with much less noise.

You can also double check to be sure that your chain is the correct length. Too long will cause exessive chainslap. Sh!mano recommends just enough chain to go around the big ring and big cog plus one complete link while bypassing the deraileur. That is, measure this with the chain just around the gears, and not through the deraileur.

 

[sstaurus]

Yeah, this pisses me off also. Flying down bumpy hills and my Trek sounds like an old jalopy. I have a chainstay protector already, I guess it could also be the fr dr like mentioned previously. Still, I like my bike to be quiet as I fly around, less distracting!