Mountain Biking - Ghetto Singlespeed's suck!

Just got back from a sloppy ride out at the trails with the new SS setup. Rode back'n'forth to work with no problems, but as soon as I cut across my front yard to head toward the trails...my chain flew off under power and my whole body launched forward over the bars, taking the bike with me. (I was clipped in still)

Seems every time I fall now, my knee...specifically the head of my quad, punches straight into the stem or bars like a dang rocket. OUCH!!!:mad::mad:

I thought it was a fluke b/c I have plenty of tension and my chainline is straight, so I hit the trail head. I was enjoying a fun-filled and sloppy mess of a ride for a good long while. The moisture was mostly rolling right off the singletrack, but there were a few deep spots here and there. I got to this loooooooooong gut-buster of a paved climb which I actually was able to do with a 32/15 setup. (believe it or not, B2B) I went to the back section of trail which has a lot of short steep up'n'down stuff. I got ready to descend a section and my canti-boss broke off my fork!! :roflmao2: 1990's Mag21 R.I.P.

I had to finish my ride with a rear brake only which was kinda tricky on this longer, techy, muddy, slick hill.

Lost my chain 3 more times on the trail when I was really giving it some power to get up a hill. I think my old'skool square taper crankset and skinny/weak 15t cassette cog was twisting and flexing causing the chain dumpage.

I need to commit.


1. Need to find a rigid fork ASAP
2. Need to get a dedicated SS/DH 32t ring and 18t cog.
3. Need a tensioner so I can use the 32/18 combo instead of killing myself with the 15. (doable for a good portion of trail, but really tough for the climbs)
4. Dedicated SS chain in a kewl bling-bling gold color.

Ed-

Least important on your list is the chain, but your plans are all pretty good ones. May i suggest a 32x17 combo? I've run 16, 17, and 18t cogs in the back on my old 26" SS, and the 18 was a wee bit light.

Using trackends and rampless rings/cogs my whole SS career, i've never dropped a chain, ever.

-rob

Seems every time I fall now, my knee...specifically the head of my quad, punches straight into the stem or bars like a dang rocket. OUCH!!!:mad::mad:



Yeah, me too. Though it's usually my knee cap. Hurts like a *****! These help:

http://www.blueskycycling.com/product_image/48076_lg.jpg

I'm all about the "chain sandwich". I have one on the front of my 1x9. I figure (for now) I'll do one in the rear until I can get some proper equipment. Seemed like it was coming off the back, not the front. Time will tell.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/chelboed/Bike/DSC03524.jpg

What are "trackends"? Horiz dropouts?
Do you think I should get a bash and an inner (blackguard) for the crankset as well? Or will the chain stay on when I get dedicated SS gears with taller teeth?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Umm...regarding the friggity-frok:
When I climb...the thing flexes back and forth so dadgum much...it totally walked the through-bolt that holds the canti on. The whole arch is loose as a goose :lol: All 4 bolts!

A little locktite and she'll be good as new...old...POS.

Now I can take my time again and get a decent rigid instead of hopping into bed with the first cheap pair'o'legs I see.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/chelboed/Bike/DSC03526.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/chelboed/Bike/DSC03527.jpg


I'd like to find a nylon cutting board and make an inner guide ring outta that crap.

commit is the word. you're either a SS rider or not. Its not for everyone. Anyway... is the chain too tight? That could cause it to jump if it hits a tight link. Also, I like the chain sandwitch. May need to give that a try. Did you just grind of the teeth of the "bread?"

Also, the dedicated SS cogs will not help. the taller teeth are only a small bit taller, you could use an old ultegra cog, or old XTR, like I did/do on all my SS's. Also, a bash and inner for the chainring might be a good idea, if not heavy.

Get a rigid fork, since SS riding means a lot of out of saddle mashing, the fork compression is a pain in the butt. just "float" when you ride.

Bad nooz...the bolts are stripped out.


New frok in my frooture.

Oh yeah...I ground a couple of 18t pieces of bread. If I go 17t as suggested...I'll grind some 20-21t slices of bread.

Ghetto Singlespeed's suck!

Interesting choice of words.

double check your chainline... I was behind a guy the other day he was going fast and dumped the chain.. said some rubbish about spacers. Sadly he passed me on an uphill and I had gears, I was day dreaming a bit though.

Thanks...did the double check and it's right on. Perpendicular to the bb spindle and the rear axle...parallel to the midline of the bike. Looks good.


When I stand and crank, I can see the torque twisting all sorts'o'crap. I think the chain-sammich will get me fixed up. I was looking at the WTB SS rings and those teeth are really tall compared to the ones on my SRAM cassette cog. Same with the DH chainrings I've been eyeballing.

OK, not being a big fan of SS (other than necessity before I could afford to gear my Frankenbike), I have to ask this - - just to play devil's advocate:

Why didn't you do the old-derailleur/tensioner deal so you could rrun a bigger cog (until you could get a nice, tidy tensioner)? Was it just a trying-to-keep-things-as-simple-as-possible thing; or a I-want-to-see-how-much-I-can-bang-my-knee-before-I-scream thing?

Thanks...did the double check and it's right on. Perpendicular to the bb spindle and the rear axle...parallel to the midline of the bike. Looks good.


When I stand and crank, I can see the torque twisting all sorts'o'crap. I think the chain-sammich will get me fixed up. I was looking at the WTB SS rings and those teeth are really tall compared to the ones on my SRAM cassette cog. Same with the DH chainrings I've been eyeballing.

Cog might be bent slightly.

OK, not being a big fan of SS (other than necessity before I could afford to gear my Frankenbike), I have to ask this - - just to play devil's advocate:

Why didn't you do the old-derailleur/tensioner deal so you could rrun a bigger cog (until you could get a nice, tidy tensioner)? Was it just a trying-to-keep-things-as-simple-as-possible thing; or a I-want-to-see-how-much-I-can-bang-my-knee-before-I-scream thing?

If I can find "the perfect combo" for chain tension...I would easily give up 2 teeth over the derailleur tensioner trick. To me...that's as "cool" as riding a vintage 10-speed with drop bars upside down OTW to the local mart for a 40 of O.E.

Ahhhh . . . I think you need the PinkBike ghetto tensioner: an old MRP roller and a pair of long zip-ties up to the chainstay. I swear I saw this once and it actually worked.


BTW, I have to admit losing the chain and going over the bars is much more stylin' than any funky/ugly ol' tensioner.

BTW, I have to admit losing the chain and going over the bars is much more stylin' than any funky/ugly ol' tensioner.

U Suk! I hear ya though. I assumed that with a straight chainline and a decently snug-fit chain...it would stay on. Really had nothing to do with the "gear choice" unless it's just b/c I was man-quadding the chain off:lol:



On a side note...I just picked up a pretty cool fork. This is some weird lookin' shizzle, dizzle:
http://www.bikeman.com/store/graphics/00000001/Alt-CLOSEOUT/CC-FKKONP2.jpg



The reason I got the "tall race seat" model is b/c the A2C is 440mm. It's so weird looking...nobody wants one, I guess. They're only $24.95.

So now I got a fork again, my EA30 stem is OTW, now all I need is a tensioner and some sandwich makin's for the crankset.

Ahhhh . . . I think you need the PinkBike ghetto tensioner: an old MRP roller and a pair of long zip-ties up to the chainstay. I swear I saw this once and it actually worked.

Yah know man...I'm trying to get some 1/2" thick aluminum flat or round stock for free so I can just build my own tensioner. I can use the mounting pivot, jockey, and spring from an old derailleur. I could even do a "dingle tensioner" with 2 jockeys so you don't have to laterally adjust it like you would the Sette or Surly dealeo's. Just run a middle and outer ring and appropriately spaced cogs. Push up on the tensioner to relieve tension...slide the chain from one cog/ring/jocky, to the other set. Tensioner takes up any extra slack so you can run your "preferred combo" instead of being roped to gear inches. Heck...you could do like a 36 and 32 rings with 15 and 19 cogs...or whatevah.

With the round stock, I could borrow my neighbor's metal lathe and do some crazy CNC'd looking crap.

OK, not being a big fan of SS

I don't think I'll ever be a die-hard, tweed wearing, poetry spouting, all rigid, all the time, SS'er. It is a fun change though. After all this crap, I think the lowest I'll ever go on the Komodo is 1x9...but I can't for sure say "never" b/c I'll surely eat my words again.

Yah know man...I'm trying to get some 1/2" thick aluminum flat or round stock for free so I can just build my own tensioner. . . With the round stock, I could borrow my neighbor's metal lathe and do some crazy CNC'd looking crap.Won't be free, but hunt down the largest scrap metal yard near you. Most take a lot of off-cuts and stuff from local manufacturers/fabricators. If it's a good yard, they'll let you pick through their aluminum bins and buy whatever you want by the pound (about double what they pay out but that's still cheap-cheap-cheap. Bonus is most mfrs that work in aluminum go through a lot of 6061 T6. And it's almost always clean off-cuts then too. Shouldn't be hard to turn up what you need for a home-fab job.

How do you know what you're getting? (6061/7005/????) I don't know jack about metal, but I am a crafty little devil when I get tools in my greasy little hands.

Most of it is marked right on the metal. They run a continuous stripe of ID mark along its length, usually in red but sometimes in black. When I get my photobucket up, I'll upload a sample and edit it in here.

Cool...if I had the mini-mill from Harbor Freight, I could make a little chain tensioner where the arm looks like a Thomson Stem with a 4-bolt cap to hold the jockey pulley axle and the steerer tube clamp would end up being rotated 90deg and serve as the fulcrum point for the mounting bolt.

The wheels are turning :lol:

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ZqqE_PawQb9UWM:http://www.coloradocyclist.com/img/product/full/t/thollxhr.jpg

Oh, don't get me started. Every time I see a Bridgeport show up on auction or a nice little Southbend lathe with a 3-jaw, I go just a bit nutty. But my wife's good sense usually prevails :).

Yeah, I've been eyeing that little mill at Harbor Freight.

Here's the pic:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t162/dminorwa/IMG_1246.jpg

. I got to this loooooooooong gut-buster of a paved climb which I actually was able to do with a 32/15 setup. (believe it or not, B2B)

14% grade, Thought you would pull a 48/11 on that sissy climb.:roflmao2:
On a serious note have you been out on the horse shoe cliff trail this year?

Nahh...I have avoided it for so long that I always forget that it's been cleaned up this year.

Where did you get that new fork? Looks interesting

Bikeman.com

It's really an odd duck. The P2 w/o the raised race seat is like $55-$60. I guess nobody likes the ugly duckling.

I got ready to descend a section and my canti-boss broke off my fork!! :roflmao2: 1990's Mag21 R.I.P.



You can fix it with a M6x1 Heli-coil.

The Mag 21 is dated, but it's really not a bad fork as long as it's set up properly.

Yeah...I was considering the Heli-coil, but I wanted a taller fork anyways, so that's that.

Ed-
Yes, track ends are rear-entry horizontal dropouts. You probably won't seek out a different frame, so i'd say see how things go with a real cog/ring. If you're still dropping the chain, try to ascertain where you're dropping it. If you're dropping from the front, you'll want a guard plus something on the inner position. I suspect that the sandwich technique you used, with the 2 extra de-toothed cogs in the back to keep the chain off, will do wonders once you get a nice rear cog.

hth,
-rob

Are you using a ramped and pinned chainring? That may be the issue too... Did you get that fork yet? I ordered one, just because its so odd looking.

Are you using a ramped and pinned chainring? That may be the issue too...



2. Need to get a dedicated SS/DH 32t ring and 18t cog.

Yup...agree'd.

No fork yet. I got the el'cheapo shipping.