Keepin' my front chain on

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Logan VonBokel on September 30, 2010 at 2:55pm

K-Edge! K-Edge! K-Edge! K-Edge!

Run the watcher and the guard on the outside and you're good to go.

K-Edge CX Watcher

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Permalink Reply by Hamilton on September 30, 2010 at 3:02pm

Issue 10 of the magazine discusses this topic at length. But, essentially what Logan said. Outside chain guard and an inside chain watcher.

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Permalink Reply by Jared on September 30, 2010 at 6:20pm

No need for a guard. Run the Paul's Chain Keeper

I run a 42 single with no guards and a 12x27 and the Paul's and have never dropped a chain

http://www.paulcomp.com/ckclamp.html

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Permalink Reply by Erik Brooks on October 2, 2010 at 12:05pm

Do you know why and when you drop the chain? I used to have lots of trouble with this, and tried 2 different chain guards, which didn't help at all. In fact there were several times that the chain fell off and got tangled up in the chainkeeper, which cost me 30 to 60 seconds each time to free from that d**m thing. I've spoken with other crossers who had the same experience.

After a time I realized that I never lost the chain during a shift - it was mostly when I set the bike down roughtly, or sometimes on very rough terrain. In both cases the chain was falling off of the bottom of the chainwheel. That's NOT what chainwatchers prevent. That's why I ask if you know how, why and when you have this issue.

I realized that I had a chain that was long enought to work in my big/big combo, but I never used that during cross. I had a 36/48 at the time. Just too much slack in the chain much of the time.

Now I run a 1 by 8 with a 42 on the front. The crank still has a 48 tooth on it, and the front derailler, but I don't have a control to move it. No other chain guard. Haven't dropped a chain now in two years. It also helped to concentrate on setting the bike down smoothly. O wait - I dropped a chain last week! On my last lap I didn't lift the rear wheel quite enough over a barrier and the wheel hit that hard, and that did knock it off.
Hope this helps someone - not all dropped chains drop from the top.

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Permalink Reply by Cameron on September 30, 2010 at 7:26pm

If you don't want to go to the expense of an inner watcher and an outer guard, I'd recommend using an old front derailer with the H/L dialed tightened down to the desired position. You will also want to position it a skosh lower than if it were operational.

Also, make sure your short a chain is a short as possible.

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Permalink Reply by Charlie Beal on October 3, 2010 at 5:50am

That's what I did when I tried a 1x8 on my mtb. I had to get a longer screw for the inner limit. I tried both the N-stop and the Third Eye Chain watcher. The N-stop worked pretty well, the Third Eye not so much.

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Permalink Reply by JesseD on September 30, 2010 at 7:36pm

N gear Chain Stop

10 bucks

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Permalink Reply by Kevin J. Rusch on October 2, 2010 at 9:10pm

Second on the N-Gear - it's super adjustable and overall a great design for only $10. Team that up with a BBG bash guard/chain guide for $12 and you have a light, reliable and very inexpensive setup...like a 3rd of what the K-Edge costs ($65).

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on October 3, 2010 at 7:11pm

I run the same setup that Kevin described. Outer guard and N-Gear Jumpstop on the inside. Not single dropped chain with this setup ever.

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Permalink Reply by robert garner on October 8, 2010 at 6:21pm

I made this chainkeeper for $12, a lot less than the $52 Paul. Have never dropped a chain in 20 races and many miles of training.

Attachments:

• chain2.jpg, 24 KB

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Permalink Reply by Nate Laird on October 8, 2010 at 10:24pm

maybe you make some more..?? or post up a diy..?

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Permalink Reply by Dave Vannette on October 11, 2010 at 6:24am

Has anyone figured out how to make any of these options work on a Crux? For some reason Specialized made the seat tube square so I can't use anything that clamps on. I have the K-Edge single ring catcher but no way of mounting it currently. I'm thinking that I might need to put a piece of aluminum on the front derailleur mount that extends down so that I can get the chain keeper low enough. I'm using a 39x16 SS setup and after dropping my chain 3x yesterday I NEED to get this sorted out.

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