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a nice mechanical question

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Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

a nice mechanical question

Old 03-01-06, 03:05 AM
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a nice mechanical question

the bolts on my chainring are loosening. every three or four days i have to tighten a couple of them up. im using an elita crankset, and with just one spacer the chainline is pretty much perfect, as far as i can tell. so i dont think its a weird lateral tension issue or something like that. what could be causing the loosening?
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Old 03-01-06, 04:00 AM
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Old 03-01-06, 04:11 AM
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Old 03-01-06, 04:48 AM
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linseed oil. local hardware store.
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Old 03-01-06, 04:57 AM
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Originally Posted by rlgosa
linseed oil. local hardware store.
Linseed oil is a lubricant and will only help the chainring bolts back off more quickly.The leverage caused by his chainring spacers are causing the flex that's backing the bolts off. Even when linseed oil gels up it's not going to have enough strength to hold up to what's happening here. He needs a real thead locking compound. . Locktite and faggedaboudit.

Last edited by AfterThisNap; 03-01-06 at 05:15 AM.
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Old 03-01-06, 05:53 AM
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Is this a common problem? It's happened to me, once, locktite from now on.
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Old 03-01-06, 07:07 AM
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I usually just clean the grease out of the bolts and they stick together good enough on their own. If you've got spacers in the chainline though, you will probably need to go above and beyond. Blue loctite is the answer to all of life's problems.
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Old 03-01-06, 07:09 AM
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^^^ Cool, then I'll put it in my creaking hub bearings
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Old 03-01-06, 07:14 AM
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I bet they won't be creaking anymore
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Old 03-01-06, 07:48 AM
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I had a similar problems as the OP with my bolts always loosening when I was using cheapy BMX chainring bolts (aluminum). When I switch to steel I have not had to constantly retighten them nearly as much.
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Old 03-01-06, 03:15 PM
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i should check and see if my bolts are steel or not. i just might loctite it. thanks for the input.
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Old 03-01-06, 03:18 PM
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Seconding the blue loctite suggestion. Works for me.
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Old 03-01-06, 07:45 PM
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I've had this problem with every set of aluminum bolts I've ever used. Loctite is one solution, steel DA bolts are another...and get rid of the spacers!
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Old 03-01-06, 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by AfterThisNap
Linseed oil is a lubricant and will only help the chainring bolts back off more quickly.The leverage caused by his chainring spacers are causing the flex that's backing the bolts off. Even when linseed oil gels up it's not going to have enough strength to hold up to what's happening here. He needs a real thead locking compound. . Locktite and faggedaboudit.
I have built about a dozen wheels using Linseed oil. No problems.

Loctite is not an initial solution - it's a last resort.

Use steel chainring bolts. Lube up the threads + chainring/spider interfaces with your favorite grease. Enjoy.
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Old 03-01-06, 08:48 PM
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get a bottom bracket with the right length axle and lose the spacers.

lightly grease your chainring bolts, no need to over do it on tightening them.
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Old 03-01-06, 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by biff
I have built about a dozen wheels using Linseed oil. No problems.

Loctite is not an initial solution - it's a last resort.

Use steel chainring bolts. Lube up the threads + chainring/spider interfaces with your favorite grease. Enjoy.

Linseed oil is great for spokes/nipples because there is little shear force on the threads of the spoke, it's all in tension. Chainring bolts take forces in pretty much the exact opposite way, entirely shear with little tension. A little gumming of the threads insn't going to keep them from backing off. Use locktite. First time, everytime.
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Old 03-01-06, 09:12 PM
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Let's call in the Mythbusters.

I've never heard of Linseed oil for cycling aps. Must research....
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Old 03-01-06, 09:13 PM
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its just one tiny spacer, maybe .5/1 mm. i didnt think it was that big of a deal. the chainline would probably be fine without it, but i dunno. im just a perfectionist.
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Old 03-01-06, 09:18 PM
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Originally Posted by colinm
Let's call in the Mythbusters.

I've never heard of Linseed oil for cycling aps. Must research....
linseed oil is great for nipples.

When I'm oiling up nipples, linseen oil is the way to go. it smells good, too.

I take care of my nipples.
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Old 03-01-06, 09:25 PM
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It's also the next best thing to Weigle's frame saver for protecting steel tubes. Linseed oil is very thin and viscous at first, and upon exposure to air the oil slowly polymerizes to a gel or shellac which makes it a pretty good choice for wheelbuilds.
It also stains raw wood furniture nicely.
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Old 03-01-06, 09:49 PM
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Originally Posted by teadoggg
linseed oil is great for nipples.

When I'm oiling up nipples, linseen oil is the way to go. it smells good, too.

I take care of my nipples.
awesome!
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Old 03-01-06, 10:59 PM
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mmmm...loctite
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Old 03-01-06, 11:18 PM
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locktite = bad unless you wanna spend 1/2 a day trying to get the ***** off when you want to change something. Trust me Ive found out the hard way, and I wasnt the one who put the locktite on.

Go buy another bolt
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Old 03-01-06, 11:24 PM
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which color locktite did you use? there are a couple of colors with different qualities.
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Old 03-02-06, 12:18 AM
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no idea, I wasnt the one who used locktite.
If your interested (if you arent skip to the next post) It was on a wheel of a MG midget knockoff wheel where the wheel connects to the axle. It had worn there so one of the previous owners that didnt want to fork out the approx AU$500 for a new wheel and where the wheel connects to the axle used locktite. So 1/2 a day later, one less can of WD40 the wheel came off
All I can say is glad I didnt get a flat on that wheel.
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