I have been riding bikes my whole life, and never knew the value of maintenance. As a kid if the bike broke we would get a new one.
All that to say I have not been good to my bike. I actually don't really know how to be good to my bike. I have been riding this one for nearly 10 years without maintenance. A few days ago a part I didn't even know what to call (but now I do) broke and I had to walk home.
I bought a used part off eBay and will be fixing my bike soon. I learned a lot to even figure out what I needed to buy! 32T Shimano chain ring 104 BCD.
My question, what could have prevented this and what is a good resource for bicycle maintenance?
by West-Honeydew2204
4 Comments
You’ll need a new chain and cassette too most likely, they wear together.
Whilst you’re at it, clean off all the rest of the drive train so its all nice and fresh
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
Your FTP is too high
The bolts that hold the chain ring on were probably loose. At least one shows evidence of this because it’s ovaled out. Loose bolts can put a ton of tortional load on the chain ring. After a while the metal weakens and eventually breaks.
There is a chance you need a whole new drive train. Chains get longer as they wear out. An elongated chain wears away on chain rings and cassette cogs because the “gauge” of the chain links no longer matches the spacing of the chain ring teeth. They can work if they all wear in together this way but the new chain ring might cause issues with your old chain.
Typically you replace the chain before it wears too far. If you replace the chain on time then you don’t need to replace the chain rings and cassette as often. You can measure chain wear with an accurate 12″ ruler and there’s guides online to show you how.