Bicycle Mechanics - pedal/chain skipping in the rain

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scotter
08-06-04, 01:45 PM
I went for a ride today, not too long, maybe 15 miles. The way there was fine, mostly flat or downhill and not too wet. the way home, however was quite a bit harder, uphill and pouring rain. on the way home, the pedal started skipping when I was climbing or even just riding hard. when it skips, it is like for a 90 degree rotation (maybe more or less) of the pedal there is absolutely no resistance. the pedal just turns and then I guess the chain catches. it happened more frequently in the lower gear (2nd gear on front derailleur and seventh on rear) than on the higher gear, but it is always when I'm riding very hard, so it got to be very annoying and even a little dangerous. I'm not sure if it's just because the rain makes the chaing slippery, perhaps the chain needs to be cleaned. This is unacceptable for me, as I ride to school everyday and must be able to do so even in the rain.

-the pedal/chain skips very violently every three or four rotations of the pedal in a medium gear.
-it skips less frequently, every 8-10 rotations
-it skips only while climbing, never while just sitting and pedaling
-weather conditions during this time were: cold and very wet.
-I had my bike tuned up about three or four weeks ago, but I ride it quite a bit. at least 1 hour a day
-this was only for today, I rode last night for an hour and all was fine.

I love the ride, but I don't know too much about bicycle mechanics. I would appreciate any advice on this matter

madpogue
08-06-04, 02:42 PM
"Every three or four rotations of the pedal" implies to me that it's happening once per length of the chain. This then implies that you have a severely sticky link in the chain, one that is not going around the chainrings, cogs and pulleys properly.

Put the bike on a stand or turn it over and turn the cranks. Especially do it in a high gear from a full stop. That will, a little bit anyway, simulate a load. Watch the chain as it goes through its motions, and look for a stiff link, one that isn't going through all the curves smoothly. Especially look where the chain passes through the rear derailleur pulleys, as they constitute the tightest curve the chain must take.