I have a new hybrid bike with 14 gears, which I'm pleased with for my needs. However, gear number 7 'clunks'.
I took it for its 6 week check and when I mentionned the 'clunk' they told me it is due to the chain being on the smallest cog at back & largest at front, the cogs are furthest apart so it causes the chain to become slightly twisted. The answer is to switch up or down to find a similar ratio.
I asked whether the bike had a design fault and the answer was that all bikes do this on a similar cog combination. Is this right - should I just accept this or am I being fobbed off...?
I have a new hybrid bike with 14 gears, which I'm pleased with for my needs. However, gear number 7 'clunks'.
I took it for its 6 week check and when I mentionned the 'clunk' they told me it is due to the chain being on the smallest cog at back & largest at front, the cogs are furthest apart so it causes the chain to become slightly twisted. The answer is to switch up or down to find a similar ratio.
I asked whether the bike had a design fault and the answer was that all bikes do this on a similar cog combination. Is this right - should I just accept this or am I being fobbed off...?
This is correct. On older 5-speed machines, the chain offset in the extreme gears was less, and all gear combinations may have been useable.
With today's wider cassettes, this is no longer the case. I can hear the chain complaining in 7 of my 27 (3x9) gears: 7-9, 18, 19-21.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
I have a new hybrid bike with 14 gears, which I'm pleased with for my needs. However, gear number 7 'clunks'.
I took it for its 6 week check and when I mentionned the 'clunk' they told me it is due to the chain being on the smallest cog at back & largest at front, the cogs are furthest apart so it causes the chain to become slightly twisted. The answer is to switch up or down to find a similar ratio.
The big front/small rear has no similar ratio; it's the highest hear you have. However, what do you mean by "clunk"? Mine always "clunk" once going into gear (as the chain seats itself on the cog), but they should be quiet after that.
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due to the chain being on the smallest cog at back & largest at front
That should not cause a problem if the bike is properly adjusted. However, the way you describe it makes me think you may have misunderstood. Perhaps you were using the BIG chainring in front with the BIGGEST (closest to the hub, lowest gear) cog in back. That would quite possibly cause the drivetrain to clunk in protest. It is unwise to use 'extreme' gear combinations. Using the big ring with one of the bigger cogs puts too much tension on the chain, degrades the chainline (pulls the chain at an angle), may damage the rear derailleur, cause premature wear, etc. Using the small ring with the one of the smaller cogs gives you too little chain tension, with less risk of damaging components but more risk of dropping the chain.
If you have a '14-speed' bike you will find that roughly 10 of the gear combinations are usable, which is plenty. Bikes are usually engineered so that the extreme gear combinations are pretty much redundant anyway.
Mike Yankee
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I have a new hybrid bike with 14 gears, which I'm pleased with for my needs. However, gear number 7 'clunks'.
I took it for its 6 week check and when I mentionned the 'clunk' they told me it is due to the chain being on the smallest cog at back & largest at front
Sorry to reply to my own post - gear 7, as you are defining it, is smallest front and rear.
Smallest rear / largest front is "14th", and should not present any problems.
[email hidden] (lauren) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
I have a new hybrid bike with 14 gears, which I'm pleased with for my needs. However, gear number 7 'clunks'.
I took it for its 6 week check and when I mentionned the 'clunk' they told me it is due to the chain being on the smallest cog at back & largest at front, the cogs are furthest apart so it causes the chain to become slightly twisted. The answer is to switch up or down to find a similar ratio.
I asked whether the bike had a design fault and the answer was that all bikes do this on a similar cog combination. Is this right - should I just accept this or am I being fobbed off...?
Yes, this is called cross-chaining, and you don't want to do this. But it sounds like your description above is backwards. Biggest at front and smallest at back is an optimal combination - its your hardest gear. Biggest at front and biggest at back you don't want to do - you'll want to switch into the smaller cog at the front if you want to use the bigger gear at the back. At the front - smaller is easier, at the back bigger is easier.
