Chain keeps falling off

[FigBug]

My chain keeps falling of during races, usually when I'm putting my bike down. Anything I can do to keep it on? I'd like to keep my large chain ring, since I also commute on the bike. Should I shorten the chain for cross races?

[pfwitucki]

Make sure you set your bike down gently. Tough to remember in the middle of a race, but worth it. I got lazy at a couple races in the beginning of the season and dropped the bike (and chain), but a conscientious effort has fixed the problem.

Shortening the chain may help too.

Are you consistently losing it on one side? Which side?

[xthugmurderx]

yes. turn the limit screw a bit to tighten up the gap. (if that doesn't make sense, take it to a shop). that should help, i assume. maybe the derailleur is also too high? take a few pictures and post them. one looking at the crank, and the other one with the chain in the big ring from the top down. that'll help.

[bitterken]

You could also install a chain keeper like Third Eye or the like to keep the chain from falling off to the inside of the small ring. I dropped my chain twice during my first season. After installing a Third Eye and getting better at gently putting the bike down vs. dropping, I've never dropped it again in the 25+ races since.

[FigBug]

It always falls off of the inside of the small chain ring. I think it is falling off of the bottom of the chain ring first, as once, when i went to pick up my bike, I noticed than the chain was off the bottom, but still on a few teeth on the top, so I pushed the crank with my hand as I was shouldering the bike and I got the chain back on. I'll post photos when I get home.

[xthugmurderx]

well then i'm totally wrong. but it could be that same problem on the inside. try a 3rd eye (i use an N-stop gear jump thing.). that should fix it

[sfcrossrider]

Make sure you set your bike down gently. Tough to remember in the middle of a race, but worth it. I got lazy at a couple races in the beginning of the season and dropped the bike (and chain), but a conscientious effort has fixed the problem.

Shortening the chain may help too.

Are you consistently losing it on one side? Which side?

+1

Don't drop your bike.

[ajs26]

i put my third eye back on. but also i swapped out my mid cage rd which i did not need for a short cage rd, which allowed me to shorten my chain up by 5 or 6 links. being more gentle when setting the bike down has also helped.