Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - stuck chainring - please help

hey guys. so earlier tonight i was shopping for a new chainring and i somehow ended up on Sheldon's website reading random ****. i got to his Biopace article and right at the end of it, in the "orientation" section he talks about how biopace rings have a setting marker and that they should "be hidden behind the right crank." now this seemed odd to me because i have a biopace mounted and i wasn't privy to this. i also remember how i had trouble installing it. so i went to checked it, indeed i mounted it in the wrong spot and what's worse is that it won't come out! looks like the chainring bolt is just spinning and spining and not screwing off. what did i do to my chainring and how do i fix it?

You need to get something into the slot in the nut that the chainring bolt screws into so you have something to turn against. Park CNW-1, or a dime.

nothing's busted, just stick something in that slot and you'll be good.

that worked. thanks. i adjusted the chainring to the correct position but now the affected chainring bolt wont tighten. oh, i suppose this isn't that big of a deal. i'll just ride with it tightened as hard i could do it with a dime?

use a fat straight screwdriver, or a straight edge, etc, or hold the coin with a pair of vicegrips. don't use your fingers to hold it: it gets a lot of stress.

I wouldn't recommend riding it without every chainring bolt fully tightened. It's never happened to me, but if you look at the websites of broken cranksets, that's often the cause.

Locktite those bolts, and what ^^^ said

+1 on the Loctite. Mine kept coming loose (they are a little too long... different discussion), and some wouldn't tighten all the way. So, I cleaned 'em all off really well, lubed 'em, screwed 'em together (off the bike, just to clean out the threads), and then put 'em back on with BLUE Loctite (not red!!!). They've been fine & dandy since.

i say grease them, not locktite...

LET THE WAR BEGIN!

Loc-tite on your chainring bolts is a good way to strip them on removal. There's not really a lot of material there in the wrench interface.

I'm with max on the grease suggestion.

grease it. if it still keeps spinning theres a tool you can buy that is made for the slots in the back, park cnw1, looks like this
http://www.bikeworld.com/graphics/full/2/7/278.jpg

What's with you people and loctite?

Grease and torque are all you need.

Sorry to derail this thread, but does anyone have a suggestion about how to deal with a chainring bolt with a stripped slot?

Guess what I have on one of my bikes? Guess who won't use cheap chainring bolts again?

Sorry to derail this thread, but does anyone have a suggestion about how to deal with a chainring bolt with a stripped slot?

Guess what I have on one of my bikes? Guess who won't use cheap chainring bolts again?

Dremel in a new slot, then throw it out once it's off.

Grease and torque are all you need.
I totally felt that way until I lost 3 out of 5 bolts on a mountain ride once. I used zip-ties and the remaining two to hold it on, but I had to run all the uphills from there on home.

I always use loc-tite, no problems yet.

If one of you bolts won't tighten, it might just be the wrong size. One of your stack bolts may be too long for the width of the spider hole + the chainring hole width. If that's the case, no amount of locktite will achieve tension. It's probably a double-width stackbolt designed for a double or triple chainring configuration.

But I'm just guessing.

I ran a conversion with 1/4" stove bolts and nylock nuts to hold the chain ring... 7 years with no problems at all... looked beefy too!

I am a fan of steel chainring bolts (even though I have alloy bolts on my road bike). With a little lithium grease and that park slot tool on alloy bolts, I have only had one come loose. I did ride home after with only 4 bolts on, and it wasn;t too bad at all...just careful when going from the 42 to the 53 where the large ring gets outward pressure from the deraileur being applied to the chain.

went for a ride earlier today and i just checked the chainring bolt, which i greased and tightened with a dime, i found that three bolts had come loose and would not tighten all the way! what the **** is going on here? i dont want to use loctite cause im not ready to commit to this chainring.

Blue loctite comes off easily, I would try that. What do you mean they would not tighten all the way? Do you have single stack bolts, or are you reusing ones from a road double? You might just want to get new bolts, they should cost $4 but this is one of those things shops like to charge $9 for for no reason.

I'm in the market for some single-stack chainring bolts. Any idea where I can pick up some nice ones? I see some folks think steel are better than alloy...what are the pros/cons? I'm guessing weight and $?

I know I can get some through Wheel & Sprocket, but not sure what material these are. I'm happy to spend more money for some quality ones, just not sure who makes/sells nice ones. It worries me that the ones from many online shops are cheap and will cause problems down the line.

Lbs.

You might just want to get new bolts, they should cost $4 but this is one of those things shops like to charge $9 for for no reason.

$4? where can i get a set of chainringbolts for that little? the bolts i have are two weeks old and are sugino track chainring bolts.

and yes, im on my way to LBS today after work