Mountain Biking - Tire hitting chain?

ok...call me crazy, but I went ahead and put a 2.4''(motoraptor on sale for $15!) tire on my huffy. Before you guys scoff, I did measure it out, and the tire fits, with about a cm on each side. The reason for this was that I have been very little actual mountian biking, instead, I've been hucking my bike off things (urban), and so far, I have not gotten much over 4 feet, due to the fact that I keep pinch flatting (with the old tires...I haven't hucked with the new tire yet), and I don't have the balls for anything bigger.

I went ahead and put the tire on, and it mounted really easy. Are mountain bike tires always easier to mount then road tires?
However, when I inflated it, I noticed taht when I am in the granny gear upfront, and the big cog in back, the bottom of the chain is rubbing the tire. its fine when I'm in the second ring, but how can I get rid of this rubbing?

EDIT: this is a rear tire...incase you hadn't already guessed.

theres no way in hell that the tire would rub the chain before it rubs the chainstay

With those Kmart bikes you never know.

well, it does...and by the way, it was a service merchandise bike, not a kmart...

Are you absolutely certain the wheel/tire is centered between the stays? Measure from the rim to the stays on both sides. It could be you are an 1/8th off center and can't see it.
If it is centered, then add an 1/8th inch washer on the chain side of the axle to move the wheel over. This may upset the chainline a little, but is better than having the chain rube on the tire.

Don't let yourself get sucked into that silly argument about Kmart. Wmart or Toys... bikes. Riding a bike, any bike, is far more important than having a fancy name brand bike sitting in the garage collecting dust. Be proud you're a Bicyclist and don't let anyone try to put you down for the bike you have.

Originally posted by PeterG1185
theres no way in hell that the tire would rub the chain before it rubs the chainstay

Really...mine does. It is the way the chainstay is designed. If I run small ring big ring with a 2.8 tire it rubs. Don't jump to conclusions.

It is pretty rare phatman especially with a small tire (2.4 is getting to be pretty average size now). Definately check for proper dishing but it may just be while your frame will support wider wheels it isn't REALLY built for it. My bike can take 3" tires but I would never be able to run small ring.

hmm... I have an old 5 speed freewheel lying around. do you think that I could stick that on, and thereby clear the chain? I know that my shifters might not work, but I could ss it.

Is this only when you are turning, or when its just sitting there? If it's when your sitting there... can we see a picture?

Hmmm...not sure. I don't know to much about multiple gearing. The shifters wouldn't work and the spacing may not be right. If you are using this bike for urban I would just ss the front, it a pretty common practice when you get bigger tires. (if it is rubbing while in the middle ring you are gonna have some problems)



went ahead and put the tire on, and it mounted really easy. Are mountain bike tires always easier to mount then road tires?


Not always but usually.

sorry, I couldn't find my thread! Here is the pic. This is in the granny up front, and the big cog in the back.

I wanted to run a SS up front, but My bike has rivited chainrings (typical wal-mart). Also, I noticed, that my bike has a BMX BB shell. whats the deal with that? is this common? These are three piece cranks.

Dude.. you need a new scoot :D

4' drops to flat on a huffy is gonna get you seriously hurt when your frame snaps and one of your stays impails your leg or something. I'm not dogging your bike really, its just that what you are doing requires a very strong bike. Don't get hurt man.

Originally posted by copper RS
4' drops to flat on a huffy is gonna get you seriously hurt when your frame snaps and one of your stays impails your leg or something. I'm not dogging your bike really, its just that what you are doing requires a very strong bike. Don't get hurt man.

Ill second that notion.

3rd it.

I would most definately recomend not riding that bike any more.

Anything that can redily accept a 5 speed most certainly isn't up to a task beyond riding to the local grocery store.

I doubt your bike has a BMX BB. Euro BB's are significantly cheaper to produce and install.

It's crazy that the bike has lasted this long at all. It's even crazier that your pedals have lasted that long. I think you should get a new bike ASAP, but that's just my opinion.

Not having the balls to go bigger is a sign of lack of confidence in your ride.

A BMX BB is the big one right? like really oversized? well, I'll post a pic later. By euro, you mean a road bike type, right? It defintly doesn't have one of those.

The new bike is coming. I'm thinking KHS rigid one, or a BMX crusier. either way, its gonna be suspensionless.

The pedals are kinda new, off my dads old ass bike. The old ones got bashed up when I fell before.

;)...look at .243 racing Kind of a BMX cruiser on steroids and made adult sized but still small enough to whip around. :)...

I have a Specialized Epic (so not a cheap bike) and the exact same thing is happening to me. I have replaced the rear wheel with an XT tubeless rim and I have a Ritchey Motovader (2.4) running tubeless with Stans.

When in 1st gear the chain clears the tire by only a few mm. When I hit a big bump the tire squashes and catches the chain. This can cause catastrophic results by wrenching the freehub around faster than the wheel is spinning and all is lost. Time for a new freehub - and a thinner tire!

I have a Specialized Epic (so not a cheap bike) and the exact same thing is happening to me. I have replaced the rear wheel with an XT tubeless rim and I have a Ritchey Motovader (2.4) running tubeless with Stans.

When in 1st gear the chain clears the tire by only a few mm. When I hit a big bump the tire squashes and catches the chain. This can cause catastrophic results by wrenching the freehub around faster than the wheel is spinning and all is lost. Time for a new freehub - and a thinner tire!Check your dates newbie - this thread died over a year ago.