"Rick" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
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I threw a chain yesterday as well. I've learned to remount them using the toe of my shoe. I have some godawfully ugly shoes, but clean handlebar tape (grin).
When my chain's come off the front chainrings that way, I've frequently been able to save it by stopping pedaling _immediately_, then guiding the chain back into place with the derailleur while very slowly turning the crank. As long as I'm able to coast, I've got a good chance of hooking it back in place.
I learned this trick decades ago. I remember one riding buddy being very impressed, but I was a bit embarrassed. I knew that I wouldn't have developed the skill if I had simply kept my derailleur in adjustment!
Can you teach the technique? There must be an art to it. I'd love to know; chain grease has to be one of THE toughest things to get off hands (not to mention what it does to your handlebars).
It isn't hard, but it takes a little patience to learn. Put the toe of the shoe on the underside of the chain and pull the chain toward the front of the bike. As the chain reaches the apex of the smallest sprocket, lower it so that it engages on the top. The tricky part follows in that you have to release the chain from the toe of the shoe without dislodging the chain from the sprocket. At this point, the chain is usually half-on (though in rare instances, it works perfectly) and needs a spin to completely engage the chain. Took a few tries to get it down and always takes 2 or 3 attempts as I often bump the crank and dislodge the chain, but it does work.
Rick
Thanks! I'll give it a try next time. -- Trudi "Closed Due to Blackout. Pray for the Chocolate!" --sign in Cleveland store, 8/14/03 ____ Say NO to secret judging and corruption in skating -- support SkateFAIR! skatefair.orgskatefair.orgOpen ↗
How awful. Maybe she didn't have time to react at all when she went down.
I just assumed she was the typical young American who had such a protected childhood that she never really learned how to fall. I'd like to see all the little couch potatoes enrolled in karate or gymnastics classes somewhere around 6-10 years of age. Another possibility is that she was busy trying to unclip her shoe all the way down.
Well, I wasn't wearing clips...actually, I threw a sandal!
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This stuff is frightening. I guess I was luckier than I thought.
Well, people have been falling down for thousands of years without often dying, but there is a fair amount of energy involved. I think both the examples I mentioned were mentionable because of their rarity. I suspect that Emily's bones were old enough to be a lot more fragile than they once were, and you do seem to go down hard and fast when a dog takes out the front wheel. The other incident was described to me as a new rider who forgot to unclip when stopping. I've done the same, but both times it happened to me I mainly landed on my hip and shoulder, although I lost some skin on my knee and elbow the time I did it on tarmac. Mitch.
How exactly *does* a dog take out the front wheel? Why would a dog just run right into someone's bike? I know that's probably a dumb question, but... -- Trudi "Closed Due to Blackout. Pray for the Chocolate!" --sign in Cleveland store, 8/14/03 ____ Say NO to secret judging and corruption in skating -- support SkateFAIR! skatefair.orgskatefair.orgOpen ↗
How exactly *does* a dog take out the front wheel? Why would a dog just run right into someone's bike? I know that's probably a dumb question, but...
Chasing dogs are sometimes more sucessful than they intend to be. The ones with herding instinct will try to push your front wheel if they get the chance. I've had a couple run into my back wheel with no real problem, you just feel the bike twitch when the dog's shoulder bumps the tire. If they try to run in front of you and hit the front wheel, the bike steers out from under you on the side away from the dog, and you fall towards the dog. I'm afraid of losing my front wheel (I once did a major face plant when I broke a fork, had to wear a neck brace for a while and still have the scar on my forehead) so I hit the brakes if it looks like the dog can head me off. Mitch.
