Chainsuck, and how to counter it, suggestions please

[GrumpyGregry]

Sram X0 rear mech X9 front, truative triple up front, 10 speeds on the back, wippermann chain with less than 50 hours on it, no chain device of any kind, very muddy and wet today.

put pressure on the transmission, graunch and it locks, bottom run of chain is picking up coming past the chainstay and wrapping up and over the chain ring. Back pedal a tadge, go again fine for a bit then graunch. Happened about 12 times over three hours.

haven't had it happen before on this bike, hardtail, some way removed from a BSO though it is from Halfords.

Causes and solutions please.

 

[the_mikey]

Ensure the chain is clean and lubricated, and the front chainrings are not worn, otherwise try a different brand of chain.

 

[Cubist]

Which ring up front? My granny ring was worn a lot more than I expected, and picked up the chain like a good'un. Check also for stiff links in the chain, new or not, especially if you've been out in gritty mud. What lube on the chain?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Which ring up front? My granny ring was worn a lot more than I expected, and picked up the chain like a good'un. Check also for stiff links in the chain, new or not, especially if you've been out in gritty mud. What lube on the chain?

was doing it on granny and middle, will check for stiff links but in the sandstone/clay/water paste we were riding on grit comes and goes. lube is green oil.

Ensure the chain is clean and lubricated, and the front chainrings are not worn, otherwise try a different brand of chain.

well it was when I started, but after 30 minutes, not so much.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Also check the chain is routed through the rear derailleur correctly.......I consider myself quite competent mechanically - but still managed to route a new chain incorrectly through an XT derailleur.....and it's not obviously wrong.

 

[VamP]

I would use dry lube in those kind of conditions, wet lube has a way of gluing grit to the chain. Not saying that's the cause of your chainssuck though...

 

[GrumpyGregry]

What brand of rings are flavour of the month replacement wise? Is the received wisdom stil that hardened steel is the way to go in middle and granny on the grounds of better wear resistance even if a few grammes heavier?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I would use dry lube in those kind of conditions, wet lube has a way of gluing grit to the chain. Not saying that's the cause of your chainssuck though...

I must confess that dry lube and me don't get on.

 

[Boris Bajic]

My current (and for the past few years) MTB is a Pace hardtail. A thing of joy, but it sucks the chain like the very Devil.

I know no cure.

I put one of those velcro-attached gaitors round the chainstay on the drive side, which keeps the clanging down and stiops the chain slowly destroying the frame...

I think the 'keep it clean and lubed' advice is good, but the very point of MTBs is that they don't stay very clean for more than twenty metres.

There are gear combos it happens less in - and I find I ride quite a lot in those....

Sorry, no help... But you're not the only one and it is something you learn to live with.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Sorry, no help... But you're not the only one and it is something you learn to live with.

Ain't gonna happen. Fixed the symptoms back in the day on my old Rockhopper with an anti chainsuck device before a chainset swap cured it completely.

One of the comedy gems of advice on the web is if your mtb chainsucks in certain trail conditions avoid riding it in those conditions. Which equates to advising you should avoid riding your mtb in the UK.

 

[Cubist]

What brand of rings are flavour of the month replacement wise? Is the received wisdom stil that hardened steel is the way to go in middle and granny on the grounds of better wear resistance even if a few grammes heavier?

I would. I have a steel granny and a deore 36t on my SLX. Alloy is all very good, but the millstone grit we ride on round here is extremely unforgiving. I know it ain't granite but that's exactly why I use dry wax lube.

For the sake of a fiver try a bit of dry wax. If you really don't like it then you can sell it to me(!) but that green stuff is Satan's jizm IMHO

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I would. I have a steel granny and a deore 36t on my SLX. Alloy is all very good, but the millstone grit we ride on round here is extremely unforgiving. I know it ain't granite but that's exactly why I use dry wax lube.

For the sake of a fiver try a bit of dry wax. If you really don't like it then you can sell it to me(!) but that green stuff is Satan's jizm IMHO

Whose?

 

[Cubist]

I like Finish line. There was some in Bikehut the other day, but I can't remember who made it. May even have been Muc-Off. Bikehut do their own.

 

[VamP]

Finish line here also.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I like Finish line.

Finish line here also.

Word. I'm told in another place that appaz my wippermann chain fetish ain't helping either. It's the crinkly side plates wot dun it guv.

Quick look at the rings in daylight this morning made me wince.

So on my pay day shopping list is

New 9 speed chain (any recommendations lovely peeps?)
Deore 32T middle ring in steel
Inner 22T ring in steel.
Some Finish Line Dry chain lube.

Do I go ghetto and make a chainstay protector out of an old inner tube or buy one?