(English isnt my first language sorry for any mistakes) You can see the chain hitting and getting stuck between the chainring and chainsaw when I pedal really hard and suddenly stop. It's ruining the frame for no reason and I want to stop it. I noticed it some time after getting the bike but didn't give it much attention. Any fix?
Chain hitting the chainstay on a new bike
byu/MadLad310 inbikewrench
by MadLad310
13 Comments
Freehub is on the way out
What this usually means is that your rear hub bearings, specifically the ones inside the driver body aren’t running smoothly for whatever reason, and catching on the axle which is causing the cassette to shoot the chain forward like that
Have you degreased the chain & the rest of thr drivetrain of the heavy ‘transport grease’ they arrive covered in & applied good chain lube?
Sticky freehub maybe, cassette looks like it doesn’t stop when you stop pedalling.
Is your clutch engaged? It’s not a good sign regarding your freehub body or the bearings inside it but often you can just turn the clutch on to prevent this.
The freehub could be lubed/oiled better. That would help it disengage quicker/more freely. It’s probably heavy grease in there now.
Stop doing exactly that (pedaling really fast then suddenly stopping) and check it again in a couple months. The grease and the bearings are brand new. They need to break in
Just to point out another possibility that nobody else has mentioned yet – large 1x cassettes have a *lot* of inertia, more than some people expect. I’ve seen cases where even with an entirely drag-free freehub, doing this exact thing (pedaling really fast in the highest gear and then suddenly stopping) has resulted in some overshoot of the cassette, simply because of its inertia.
It’s worth checking how freely your freehub spins, and that if you have a clutch, it’s engaged. But if you’ve done both of those things and it still happens, protect your chainstay with a wrap or sticker, and stop pedaling in the highest gear and suddenly stopping.
It’s only one gear up front right? I’ve seen these and wanted to build one with 3-5 gears in the back but I count 8 here on the rear cassette. Any of you guys know if this setup cause chain issues or shifting issues? I mean the chain line has to be very crooked for one or both ends of that rear cassette right? My thinking would be to make a road bike I am riding for longer cruises and trips not racing or anything so 3-5 gears appeals to me as being simpler but just curious.
Freehub drag. The effect is worse when you are in a high gear and the wheel is spinning very fast. There can be several causes, but my guess is that the hub is probably packed with too much grease.
It’ll loosen up over time or you can take it apart and clean some of the excess grease out.
Wrap your chainstay until the freehub and chain settle in. If you do indeed pedal that ferociously a lot, maybe convert to more of a speed freewheel cluster.
The fact that it stays once the freehub disengages makes me think maybe it’s more like a derailleur issue. Do your jockey wheels spin freely? Also is the derailleur keeping tension on the chain?
I could write an essay on my unresolved experience with the same issue on one specific drivetrain combination, but it wouldn’t help because my bike still does the same shit. Mostly just posting this so I remember to come back and read thru any updates on this thread. Good luck OP.