Originally Posted by
jim p
1. I am going to replace the chain. I use cheap chains and they only last 500 miles or so. I don't understand how some people get 3000 miles out of a chain.
2. ... it does have a triple front deraileur. Even if my chain line is off by 3 mm, it would seem that I could cross chain by 12 mm or more and get away with it.
3. Also it seems that once the bike is shifted that the type deraileur would be a non issue as far as the chain staying on the chain ring... For proper operation the derailleur should not be touching the chain after the shift has been made.
1. I've never seen a chain that will last only 500 miles under any kind of normal use. However, If you cross chain a lot and push high gears often you probably could manage to to so.
2. These two statments imply that you do have a triple, but you have not directly answered the question of whether you converted to a triple (possibly without changing the BB spindle), which would indeed shift the chainwheels out. Also, what you can "get away with" is not dependent on how things seem to you - cross chaining with a bad chainline can indeed cause problems. You did not specify in the original post in which gear(s) you are in when the problem happens. If you want good help you need to provide good information
3. That much is accurate