Hello, about a week ago I got a Specialized Sirrus Sport from a bike shop. Yesterday I noticed on the drive side of the bike that the paint on the part of the frame which is closest to the chain has started to chip/scratch. It appears the chain has been striking that part of frame--possibly when I shift? No other section of the frame is scratched and I only ride this bike on smooth, paved roads.

Is this normal wear and tear or does the chain need adjusting? Am I shifting incorrectly? I'm concerned that if the chain keeps eroding the paint that in short order there will be rust on the exposed metal--which is annoying on a bike so new. Thanks!

That is not normal.

pics? possibly chain slap, but take it to the shop and have them look at it. it shouldn't cost anything as you just bought it.

Pretty standard stuff if you're jumping off gutters and whatever (hence chainstay protectors), but it doesn't sound right if you're just riding it smooth...

Does it have a compact crankset?

There are aftermarket chain stay protectors for this very reason. Many MTB frames have some sort of protection on them from the factory. I get the impression it's more common on bikes with wider gearing where the derailleur can't always take up the slack fast enough to stop the chain from slapping down onto the chain stay.



If you google "Chain Slap", you'll get a bunch of links, several of them back into BF.

Well, I'm not exactly jumping off gutters, but the pavement of course has small potholes and stuff. Maybe the chain is hitting the frame as I go over them. I'll check into chainstay protectors and have the bikeshop take a look. Thanks!

A decent pothole could cause chain slap, but then again your chain might be a bit longer than it should be too.

Niftiest chainstay protector I've seen is just a thick sticker of clear plastic, so you hardly see it.

Smaller chainrings wouldn't help either; the chain's closer to the stay to start with.