this afternoon, as i pulled into the parking lot of the cafe where i work, i'm not sure what happened exactly, but somehow i got flipped off my bike - stupid user error, as they say, i'm sure - anyway, i was perfectly fine other than a knick on my shin, but my bike had thrown its chain and on further inspection, i realized the chainring was bent.

here's my questions: first, do i have any SAFE alternatives to buying a new chainring? if not, no big deal, i can pick one up tomorrow when i'm in the city - i'd just like to know if i have another choice...

second, do i have anything to worry about as far as the crank arm spider being bent? i have sugino rd's if anyone would like to weigh in on it... i sort of eyeballed it after taking off the chainring and it looks ok (i also tried to put a piece of metal flesh against the different parts where the bolts would attach, and all seemed ok) but is there any sort of test short of just putting on the new chainring that will tell me if i have a problem? how difficult would it be to bend the spider anyway?

thanks for the help!

every time you bend metal it weakens, I wouldn't recommend hammering the chainring back into shape. if you want to check if the cranks are ok, pull them off, and lay it on a table. if its not sitting evenly, its probably bent

good luck

makes sense - thanks for the help!

I've had chairings straightened at my LBS. They have some kind of press or heavy plate they wham down on them to flatten them back out. Of course these were steel cruiser rings and not too badly bent. But I'm sure a good shop would be able to tell you if it was fixable.

also a good insight - i'll stop in at cambridge bicycle tomorrow and find out (though i kind of doubt its fixable)

and onetwentyeight, i checked out the crank and it's a-ok.

thanks to both of you!

right on. you could probably score a new chainring from a bike coop for pretty cheap. steal something off an old road triple or whatnot.

there is a tool to fix bent chainrings. If you are mechanically inclined, and meticulous, you can very easily bend one back. Take your time and move it a little bit at a time.

Although it is designed as a brake toe-in tool, the Park BT-3 is a great tool to use: https://www.parktool.com/products/det...t=14&item=BT-3

Get a track chainring. The Sugino RD cranks have a 130mm BCD, so most track chainrings won't fit, but French chainring manufacturers like Specialites TA or Stronglight use the 130mm standard.

Get a hammer and bang that sucker back into shape. People do it all the time, catastrophic chainring failure is pretty much a non-issue. It would be very difficult to bend the spider so its probably ok.

Coincidentally, I had a similar incident with my Sugino RD stock chainring...It folded over after putting too much torque downhill; Like "get_nuts" said, go with the Stronglight, Businesscycles has them on sale, and they make a hell of nice difference.

i actually did the same thing with the sugino rd chainring on my old bike. i was missing a chainring bolt, and the extra torque applied to the others popped another one out and then bent the chainring around the bottom bracket like a taco. one of many lessons i've learned riding fixed. advice? get a new chainring.

the thing that concerns me, is the idea of bending aluminum. Steel is one thing, you kinda have some play with bending it one way and then another. Once aluminum is bent, bending it back usually breaks it or SIGNIFICANTLY weakens it. anyway if it's aluminum, I'd go with what a lot of people are saying and get a new one before you get tossed again.

a chainring is such a critical component, i wouldn't **** around with bending it back. sure, a new nice ring is like $60, but that's cheaper than replacing teeth.

fcuxk metal, i ride plastic