Do any of you switch chainrings manually? Are there any tools available for the job?
 

I recently switched from a single 48T chainring to a 52T/38T Doval compact.

The frame can accommodate a front derailleur. However I have been reluctant to add any further clutter to my handlebars so I have resisted installing one.

Also I can generally predict what type of riding I'm going to do pre-ride, so I just switch back and forth between the rings by hand. Basically I don't really need to switch chainrings while on the move. So a shifter and front derailleur mounted on the bike is not really necesary.

The method I use is to push the tensioner forward to reduce chain tension and thereafter move the slack chain to the other ring. My hands get greasy but I wipe it off by using a rag.

Would there be any tool available that can make switching chainrings easier, perhaps without getting the hands greasy? Sort of like a portable front derailleur.

A Popsicle stick? Small screwdriver? Bent wire?

I haven't gotten around to putting a FD onto my cargo bike yet because I need to build a custom mount. I suppose I'll get it eventually. But I'll ride primarily in one ring, and just shift the rear depending on what I'm towing.

Sometimes if I'm lucky, I can reach down and snag the chain with my hand and shift it on the fly.

Gloves help.

You could try a "suicide" derailleur.
Vintage Simplex Rod Operated Front Mech "Suicide" Derailleur | eBay

Or, perhaps install a downtube shifter. Is your tension mechanism spring loaded like a rear derailleur?

An easy way to shift at a standstill would be to hook the seat on a railing (or whatever) to get the rear wheel off the ground. You pedal (forward) and move the chain over with tool. I'm thinking the tool would look like a screwdriver handle and shaft but have two prongs sticking up from the shaft vertically. Then you reach under the chain with the tool, lift it and push or pull it to the other chainring while turning the pedal with your other hand. If this tool were shaped right, you could use it just as well on the underside while pedaling backwards.

I know this tool exists. I am just drawing a blank as to what it is. I'd try making a prototype out of coat hanger. Get that to work, then make a better one out of mild steel rod. (Mild steel so it doesn't break when you bend it.)

Ben

This is the idea, but I was looking for something built for the purpose.

That suicide derailleur is interesting. Never saw one of those before.

A downtube shifter is viable with a standard FD.

However, since I only ever need to shift before starting my ride and rarely, if at all, during my ride, a home based tool to switch rings could be the thing for me. So I was hoping to avoid installing anything on the bike.

My bike has an IGH with a Shimano Alfine tensioner. So spring-loaded I think.

Thanks for the insight. Maybe DIY is the way to go with this one!

I'd think a large o-ring hook would work... about 7 inches long, 1/4"x2" pointed hook on the end... screwdriver type handle. I've heard them called hose removers, and seal hooks also... although the "seal hook", or seal puller" can also be ANOTHER tool that would not be appropriate.
Sears USED to sell them. The tool I'm recommending is used to remove seals while the shaft is still in the assembly.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465890

Something like this?

"Suicide" derailleur... not really that suicidal.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...dith%20(9).JPG

Personally... I'd add some clutter and a modern derailleur.

Expensive technical solution: 2 speed internally geared Crankset ,

the crankarm and the chain ring turn at rates different from each other .

Chain never moves off the 1 chainring.

I like Florian Schlumpf's 2 speed cranks , made in Switzerland.

FSA has a different scheme it uses that (dreaded) bar mounted shift lever on a cable.

With a little practice you can shift into the small ring with your foot by bumping the chain off the big ring while riding. I don't have a solution for up-shifting though.

A downtube shifter and a FD is the best solution IMO. But someday I'd like to try a suicide FD.

6-10" piece of Monel or SS wire, say 1/8th inch but frankly the two speed is for hills v flats and dismount is far safer.

you don't already have a brake lever? What extra clutter would there be?

Ha! You'd be surprised. Aside from the brake levers, on the left hand I've got an Airzound trigger plus rear view mirror. The right side the IGH shifter, handlebars forward camera, bell. Both sides have bar ends. I suppose the FD shifter would go on the left handlebar, which is taped up. I suppose I'm a little lazy to remove the tape. The downtube also has a bottle cage which could interfere with the FD cabling.

Generally there would seem to be a few rearrangements to be made.

Since my compact is a Doval non-circular type, an IG crankset would not work as aligning the chainrings would be impossible.

When an OP asks a simple question , why do I nearly always see forumites asking why do they want to to do that? and why don't they do it this way (suggesting specifically what the poster has said he does not want to do).

It's a given that will be seen here. I see forumites who have taken it upon themselves to be "the judge", laying out what is right and acceptable and what is wrong, different or not acceptable. Does this help them? It is usually little help to the people they seem to think they are helping.

I am far from perfect, but I try to answer the OP's questions as best I can or keep quiet and move on to another thread. I try to not say the OP is wrong for asking a question. I would hope that if I were to ask a question here that is out of the norm, I would get the same help I try to offer.

Ben

then stick with bringing a rag,+ maybe some plastic disposable gloves..

The simple solution that would work is the seat tube or so-called suicide shifter mentioned above. Not as elegant as a down tube cabled shifter but it works, is rugged and would not add to the clutter above. Schwinn and other makers of popularly priced bikes successfully used them on numerous earlier generation bikes.

Otherwise a small hook as mentioned above that would require you to dismount and shift.

+1

no, larger than those... the shank area is about 5/16" in diameter, and the hook part is about two inches long. the ones pictured are too small in my opinion. I have a similar set to those too...
the tool I'm referring to has a handle the size of a standard, #2 screwdriver. The small picks you pictured would tend to be grabbed by the chain, I'd think.

Bottom line is this is corner case so there is no special tool that I am aware of.

Interesting to note this was something the Rivendell featured on their single speed bike (quickbeam) when they built one, but that also involved moving the rear wheel

A front der? Too hard?

I can't find it right now, but I remember reading once (I think Sheldon Brown?) about a 2x2 "fixed" drivetrain carefully designed to have the same wrap, like 48/17 and 46/19, so if you want you can manually push the chain onto the smaller chainring, and then manually get the chain onto the larger cog, so that you have a two-speed to make a 'fixie' capable of handling a larger variety of terrain.

As for your OP, I think popsicle stick, or something fabbed from a coathanger, would be the best option.

:beer:

Use a downtube shifter for the front mech.

Di2 front derailleur and TT shifter. Or go all the way and build a custom stealth shifter for it.