General Cycling Discussion - Wow...I'm an idiot...

I put on a new derailleur the other day and noticed some slack in the chain. So, I decided to calculate my chain length with the Park equation. Oops. Mistake. Somehtin' didn't work, and my chain was too short. But when I added the links back, everything went to hell in a bucket (babe, but at least I'm enjoyin' the ride). I must've put soemthing through something wrong, or I don't know what. So, any advice is welcome, or if you just wanna rag on me for being so stupid - be my guest. I can take it.

Oh, and after dealing with an oh-so grimy chain: what soap do you use to degrease your hands?

So what exactly happned, or is wrong?

As for the greasy hands, I just use liquid dishwashing soap. And lots of it.

I don't really know. This is kind of a pointless thread, I just needed to let you all know (or something?)...

It looks like the chain is in the derailleur wrong, but it all spins/freewheels fine, so I guess it's just loose? But I have the same amount of links and...ah, F**k it!

I love phil hand cleaner. Even takes off chain motor grease after a day of rigging.

Gojo hand cleaner from wally world or similar hand cleaner available from any auto parts store, gets hands pretty clean. Follow the instructions. Cheap.

Post a pic of your chain line and maybe we can help. Also try the Mechanic's site. I agree with the Gojo comments.

for your hands try this ..a spoon of sugar and a drop of dish washing liquid

I love phil hand cleaner. Even takes off chain motor grease after a day of rigging.
Ha - Up or down?

try lava.

Lava and Gojo are both very good :D

for your hands try this ..a spoon of sugar and a drop of dish washing liquid
I use a quick dash of salt, and it works great!

My personal favorite is boraxo brand soap. Any soap with pumice action will really take the crap off your hands and also exfoliate!

hmmm... seeing as how the degreasing is thoroughly covered, about the bike, perhaps you should take it to your LBS?

Ya gotta a stiff link!

I use dish soap and some soft Brillo pads. You want to talk about pumice action? It also makes my hands soft an supple.

A stiff link was my first thought as well. Check all your links and make sure one or two aren't stuck. Then go wash your hands with the above mentioned methods.

Damn. I think I need professional help...(from the LBS :D)

Damn. I think I need professional help...(from the LBS :D)

Dude, I just changed my cassette and put on a new chain. Did not thread it on the derailur, went from largest chain ring to largest cog in the cassette then added 2 inches more chain... works perfectly.

Boraxo plus a shot of gojo. Works for me at work when I have aluminum dust/grim/grease all over my hands.

Oh, and after dealing with an oh-so grimy chain: what soap do you use to degrease your hands?


Well a bar of lava does a pretty good job for me. When one isn't around I find almost any abrasive mixed with dish soap works. For instance, my weapon of choice is table pepper. It scrapes the grease off well and the oils in the pepper do something to the grease and make your hands squeaky clean afterwards, not to mention smelling kinda good.

Ha - Up or down?

Down. I hate climbing, and I'm usually electrics anyway.

Down. I hate climbing, and I'm usually electrics anyway.

I'll be doing that tomorrow (Deanna Carter). I usually wear mechanix gloves.

I notice my hands get a bit dry and leathery, too. I think Avon sells a really good lotion that works as a bug repellent, Skin So Soft or something...

I'm not all that bright. Usually I've got a pair of gloves hanging off my belt, which I realize by the 12th motor or so.

Well, turns out I truly am a bona fide idiot. I was puttin' the chain in wrong. Damn these short cages! Anyway, the bike rides like a dream, but in order to get it that way, I had to "wheel/walk" to the LBS (I sat on the saddle and pushed myself along, alternating feat every so often. Ow).

Lol, how can you put a chain in wrong...?

I don't know...I kinda laughed at my self too.

No seriously. Heh. How'd you put it on wrong?

Oh. Well, being a total chain n00b, when the derailleur has no chain in it, the cage goes up, and it looked "right," so I just threaded the chain in, everything moved (except for some clicking), but because of this, there was a lot of chain slack. I felt pretty stoopid myself...