goagain

I'm a newbie weak rider grandmother who only knows what I've read about bikes. I'm hoping some of you can help me prevent this in the future and also give me some tips on changing gears. I hope I am posting in the most appropraite forum for this problem.

Today I somehow caused the chain to come off the small (inner) chainring. I had been in the lowest gears climbing a hill and then turned into my fairly level driveway. I was attempting to shift the rear gear higher but ran out of driveway and can't remember exactly what I did. The next time I tried to ride I noticed the chain had come off the front.

Amazingly for me, I googled how to get the chain back onto the ring and I was able to quickly do that.

I have read Sheldon's and other's tips on using the gears, but I'm still having trouble. I'm not a confident rider yet and am not good with shifting. I am taking pains not to cross-chain and I've read to shift only when pedaling, but not when pedaling hard. How does one shift quickly enough between climbing and descending? Should I shift the front (left) first, or the rear (right) first? I believe that today I was trying to shift the rear from 1 to maybe 3 in prep for shifting the front back to the #2 ring. Also, if you aren't supposed to shift while pedaling hard, when/how should you shift into low gears in a climb?

This is a new bike, Trek 7100 WSD with grip shifters. I'm sure I did something wrong. All advice is appreciated, thanks very much.

1nterceptor

goagain

Thanks! This agrees with what I've read (and what I was attempting to do), but I have trouble in the application. If you are climbing a hill, how can you ease off the pedal pressure to shift lower? If I ease off, I slow down so much I have to stop. Obviously, I'm not a strong rider, but this would seem to apply to everyone climbing a hill. I am also having trouble shifting quickly enough, maybe that will get better with practice.

Any ideas on what I did today to cause the chain to come off? I don't want to do that again. Thanks-

Mondoman

It's pretty common to have the front and/or rear derailleur not-quite-properly adjusted; this might be the case on your bike. The "limit screws" on those derailleurs should prevent the derailleurs from pushing the chain off past the gears. I'd take the bike into the shop where you bought it and ask them to take a look at the front (and maybe rear, too) derailleur adjustment.

jimc101

cable stretch, just needs adjustment, take it back to the shop you got it from, most shops give a free check up with new purchases after a month or so to fix these issues.

dabac

Unless you're really feeling the "need for speed", you can treat the three chain rings as a kind of landscape adaptor. (Steep) climbs - smallest front, flatland cruising - middle front, descents and nice tailwinds - biggest front. With a tiny amount of foresight, this frees up a lot of concentration for the rear gears.
According to the spec on that bike (and making some wild assumptions regarding your fitness level) the middle front should should cover a decent range of riding conditions.
Regarding the chain coming off:
As mentioned by Mondoman, there are limit screws which should prevent the chain from coming off.
But IME there can sometimes be a bit of a tradeoff between speed of shifting and limit screw setting. Allowing for a tiny bit of overshoot can give faster shifting and eliminate/reduce chain rub, but opens the door for the chain occasionally coming off. Cancelling that overshoot insures against chain coming off, but can cause chain rub and slow down shifting.
Regarding how to shift: going from a bigger to a smaller(easier gear) up front is easy, that way is handled by a spring. The trigger release a pawl, and mechanics do the rest.
Going from a smaller to a bigger(easier gear) at the rear require your action to move the derailleur, so actual handling will make a difference.
As far as I know, Shimano trigger shifters allows you to shift several gears in one go if you push the lever through its whole range of motion. One suggestion is to prop the bike up with the rear wheel off the ground, turn the pedals, and practise shifting until you're familiar with the feel as the shifter pass by the detents in the mechanics that signals a completed shift.
And yes, easing up on the pedals will make the gears go in a lot cleaner, but once you have the stroke of the shifter down, that's maybe 1/2-1 turn of the pedals that should be required if you have the timing down pat.

catonec 

there is a small device which can be installed that is specifically designed to guard against this. it attaches to your front deraileur mounting bolt and eliminates the space between your inner ring and frame. it makes it impossible for the chain to come off the inner ring because the chain simply wont fit. I got mine from ebay for $20. its not a cure all but it does prevent your scenario. https://cgi.ebay.com/New-Token-Chain-...item23129226ed

hueyhoolihan

i helped a rider the other day with a stuck derailed chain.

while fixing the problem i couldn't help but notice that the drivetrain was very dry and crusted, further inspection revealed that backpedaling involved an enormous amount of effort. i gently admonished the rider for not maintaining her bike properly. and suggested that she take it to the LBS as soon as possible for a complete overhaul.

i don't think it's gonna happen.

oh... the point is that i suspect the excessive amount of friction caused by the lack of lubrication created too much slack, probably while coasting, and helped to derail the chain.

JonathanGennick 

Try to anticipate your shifts so that you can downshift earlier than needed, while you still are able to carry enough momentum to allow you to ease up on the pedaling for a moment.

With practice, your timing gets better, and you can ease up and shift pretty darn quickly.

It is generally easier to downshift using the rear cogs when going up a hill. Try to get in the easy chain ring first, before you hit the hard part of the climb. Then downshift one click at a time in the rear. A one-click downshift in the rear goes very fast, and often you can get away with downshifting under pressure, even though it's better to ease up a bit.

goagain

Thanks, all!

Perhaps I should clarify my post a bit, on some misc. bits of info:
-My bike has the twist grip shifters, not the trigger ones. (lower-end "recreation" bike as far as bike shop bikes go--Trek 7100 women's) It has 3 rings in the front (3 numbers on the left grip) and 7 things in the back (7 numbers on the right grip). The biggest cog in the back is one of those mega-gear things that recreation-type bikes have. I was using that to climb the hill, if that makes any difference to my problem, and the little (#1) ring in front.
-My bike is new--I've had it only a little over a month, but I'm a total newbie (other than I already knew how to balance) and it only has less than 10 miles on it, probably only around 5 or so. I've only been trying to "practice" in my driveway and the street in front of my house, and also was out of town for a few weeks. Not confident enough yet to even go around my hilly residential neighborhood, but that is my immediate goal. So the chain is well-lubed, and it hasn't been ridden much in total miles. I did buy a little bottle of lube when I bought the bike, but haven't needed to use it yet.
-I don't have a car rack, and the bike shop is in another town, so it's not convenient for me to take it back to the shop. I will eventually do that for the free tune-up, but I doubt it's been ridden enough to even be close to needing that yet.
-I am definitely NOT speed-oriented! Safety is my concern. If it weren't for the hills, I'd just stay on the middle chainring and probably one of the middle gears in back if possible. But the hills will require using the low gears, and then it's instantly downhill. I don't anticipate using the high gears anytime soon. haha

I will try to follow the advice given here, thanks!

A question: If I get onto the lowest chainring before the hill gets hard (which will be at/very near the bottom, for me), what rear number is safe to be on when I shift down to the number 1 ring in front? I have, perhaps erroneously, been trying to shift the right/rear down to 1 BEFORE I shifted the left/front ring down to 1, and also have been trying to get the rear one back to 4 before trying to shift the front one back to 2. Would a 3 on the back be too close to cross-chaining, or would that be a good number to be on before shifting to the #1 ring in front? And how low is safe for the rear one to be on before I shift the front one back to the middle (#2) chainring? Perhaps I am too obsessed with not cross-chaining?
Should I maybe not try to use the #1 (mega thingy) in the back unless I absolutely have to, or did that not matter? It was at the front where the chain came off, not the back.
-I don't have enough confidence to try to adjust the derailers or anything else (except saddle height) yet. If the chain continues to come off, I might have to, and/or buy the little gizmo mentioned. Yesterday was the first time it happened and was also the first time I had tried to climb the whole hill and then quickly shift back higher as I entered the driveway near the top.

Don't laugh, but I am still having to concentrate on pedals, brakes, keeping the bike from totally stopping, etc. and it seems like there is a lot going on when I have to change gears. I am able to walk and chew gum at the same time, but obviously, I need a LOT of practice.

Please keep in mind that I am a very weak rider, not even close to being in the league with you guys. Right now, two trips around my hilly neighborhood (maybe 3.5 miles) would seem an amazing future feat for me. LOL I am determined to get to where I can do that, though.

Thanks!

demoncyclist

With a 7-speed rear, you should be able to use any combination EXCEPT for the big-big and small-small. And yes, that mega-range gear in the back should be a last resort.

JonathanGennick 

You are overthinking. Use the mega-gear whenever you feel like it. That's what it is there for.

I would not even worry about cross chaining much at this point. Worry about it when you catch your breath and aren't busy trying to get up a hill.

If the chain fell off once, then maybe just chalk it up to a fluke. It it falls off routinely, then I would either: a) ask the bike shop to adjust the derailleur, or b) turn in the "low limit" screw a half-turn to see whether that improved things. Choice A is better since you aren't familiar with derailleur adjustment, but Choice B is worth a shot if you are adventurous with tools and not wanting to take your bike to a shop. You're very new though, so I really recommend going to a shop. A good mechanic should be able to adjust your derailleur so that you chain doesn't drop. The mechanic at your shop would probably be happy to make that adjustment.

fietsbob

The K Edge thing in #7 is just for the bikes with that type front derailleur..
a braze on, and a race bike style..

More universal, . I have a 'jump stop' or 'chain minder' on all the bikes with derailleurs ..

the accessory piece clamp wraps around the seat tube with a backstop
or finger pointing towards the 3rd ring,
it re directs an inside overshift back onto the chainring..

My Long distance touring bike uses a Chainguard ring too,
so, with backups , the chain only has 3 places to go, and all 3 are the chainrings .

I would take your bike by the LBS for its included tune up,

Ours gives 6 months free service after the sale .

Your epitome of seasonal business.. 6 months from now, it really drops off ..
staff RIF.

... except for us rain gear residential users.

goagain

Thanks, all! Love these forums!

See if this sounds reasonable for me:

Keep front on middle (#2) chainring until I start to climb one of the hills. Have the rear on ___? (#3 to 4 or 5 ??). When beginning the climb, shift the front to the small (#1) chainring first, then start shifting the rear one down one at a time, trying to ease off the pedals when shifting. OK to use the #1 in back (the biggest one) if needed. (I am healthy but haven't ridden a bike, even casually, in decades, so my legs are not strong.)

After the climb (descending, or turning into driveway), shift the front up to the #2 chainring first. Then shift the rear up one at a time. Pedaling while descending is scary to me, though, because I don't want to go fast, but I must pedal to shift, correct? If I'm in the driveway, I can pedal but I may not have time to shift all of them until I get more practice and faster at shifting.

Yesterday I was trying to shift the rear one first instead of the front one first. Does that normally "encourage" the chain to come off? Did I "do" anything that probably would have caused it to come off?

Also, I will take the advice to stop worrying about cross-chaining for now. I won't use the 1/7 or 3/1 combos, of course. I will still try to not go beyond 1/5 and probably won't use the #3 front chainring at all for now. I don't want to go fast.

If the chain comes off again, I need to take the bike to the shop. I'm sure they would make those adjustments at no charge. They said when I bought it that they would adjust the brakes, etc. for free from now on. It's just very hard for me to get the bike back to the shop (it's out of town and I have no car rack).

I am hesitant to take it for the free tune-up yet, though. There is no time limit on getting this tune-up; the bike shop guy knows I'm a casual-ride newbie who won't be putting many miles on the bike, and he told me there was no time limit for that. With only 5 or so miles on it, I think I should wait until it's been ridden further. Any thoughts on this? About how many miles should it have before I ask for the free tune-up? It's my understanding that all the cables stretch and that the spokes might need some adjustment, too. How many miles does it take for those things to show up? I don't want to "waste" my free complete tune-up.

Do I need to think about getting the jump stop/chain minder thing? If so, please tell me more specifically what it is, thanks.

Please advise if I have misunderstood any of the advice. I've just gotten home and haven't had a chance to ride it any yet today. Thanks so much!

10 Wheels

Sometimes we get caught up in the moment and mis-shift and the chain jumps off.

Print this and take it to your bike shop.

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...ain+Guide.aspx

• Adjustable stainless steel guide prevents granny gear overshifting
• Will not work on ovalized seat tubes
• Three standard seat tube sizes - match to your front derl size.

I have them on both of my bikes.

goagain

Thanks for the additional info!
And yes, I do tend to overthink things.
Please let me know (my post #14 above) if I'm understanding the advice correctly. Thanks-

1nterceptor

I wouldn't bother with any gizmo to prevent the chain from dropping based on one incident.
Especially now that you've learned how to pop it back on. Yes, I would wait a bit more before
taking advantage of the free tuneup. Watch the video a few times to get the theory, basically
try shifting in a way that keeps the chain lined up. Something like 1 front - 1,2,3 back;
2 front - 3,4,5 back; 3 front - 5,6,7 back. Now go out and ride

goagain

Thanks. I rode some more today and practiced shifting. Chain stayed on. Shifting on the front was slow sometimes, and that grip was a little hard to twist. The rear shifted easier.
At what mileage would you get the tune-up? I will put miles on the bike slowly, but I guess it's the miles that matter, not the time?
Thanks-