*PHIL*

f**k off, someone just lock this thing now its ridiculous. im just telling you whats happening with it... thanks to all the people that had the patience to help me.. you did help me a lot!

yeah sorry i thought id make everyone laugh by saying i only took 1 link out....... with 1 link removed and the mech removed the chain is very tight around just the sprocket and chainring. i know from that picture it looks like a load can be removed but seriously there is no way any more can be removed... looking at that picture again i see what you mean like. it doesnt look physically possible to have it tighter with 1 link gone... i dunno, maybe i took 5 out and forgot about it. ill have to wait till sat and have a look.

aye i dont understand that like. i didnt do it, i only got the bike on monday (non stop fun since then!) apparently it was done by a bike expert. it was held in place with a zip tie and mistook that tie for packaging and cut it off... well the bike is in the shop now so i wont see it till t'weekend.. if theres still problems ill just get a rohloff i think

i LIKE it! i really like ashton frames, dunno why. whats it like to ride?

its gone into the bike shop with nothing on it now.. no tensioner, no derailler. i cant post a pic till i get it back i suppose. i took a link out the chain and completely removed the derailler so you can probs imagine what its like, the chain only moves up or down about a half inch when you push it. the shop didnt say anything when they saw it had nothing on, he said as long as its running straight and not too tight its fine.. i can still see it snapping like

first of all... WHAT???? that wasnt a serious question! second of all, i got a chain link remover and shortened the chain. i could only remove 1 link and it will not get any shorter! so now i have nothing on it, just 2 cogs and a really tight chain that feels like its gonna snap at any second. i cant ride it now because the chain is f**ked and i need some link pin or something... and see what i mean about everyone saying different things? on person says a chain tensioner will do nothing and the next post it says a tensioner would be a cheap solution!!

haha i like that. you're not bothered. rights ill try this then. cheers

dont have a chain tool yet so i havent, im gonna take it to the shop today and get them to fit a simple fixed tensioner and shorten the chain until i can afford a rohloff one. i would try the derailler again after shortening but it wont lineup with the chain properly.. .........why do my new brake pads smell of mold?

im sorry but every time i think im starting to understand it someone else suggests something different. the reason im so confused is because ive got nothing to go off, there is no way of adjusting the existing setup without changing or adding parts (i have actually been out and tried just messing about with it) doesnt matter i think ill just throw my bike in the bin and give up.

i know but i meant, physically, what do i adjust? (you dont need to answer that) ive just been messin about with it now and i reckon its completely fuct and useless there is no way to adjust anything on it and its really out of line, just keeps ripping the chain off. it was also not letting the wheel sit in the dropouts properly so was giving me brake problems. probs just gonna go with a sprung tensioner.. seems like thats the best derailleur-less solution you mean the front or rear chainring?

ok so, how would i set it up? at the moment it just looks like a mess to me

i think until i understand the situation fully or have loads of cash to throw at the problem im gonna just tighten the chain and use THIS and only this --> http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5777 it will fit right? so... why dont people use helium in tubes?? i thought of that a while ago and cant see ANY drawbacks whatsoever.

right i see... i reckon this is what im gonna do, but doesnt having everything fixed like that make the chain easier to snap?? i know its a bad photo but is that not a chain tensioner already on my bike? attatched to the derailler? i havent really had a good look at it yet as im not sure what everything is

brilliant, thanks alot. but i still dont get how a chain tensioner works? is it securely fixed in place or is it springy? if not then why have one if you could just tighten the chain more? just trying to clear this up

i dont like the idea of having a derailer if i dont really need one.. and no i had a normal setup on the hardrock, the chain was really loose though

i understand that but if i manage to stretch it out there is still gonna be the same contact between the chain and sprocket. take simpsons picture above for example, the contact on that cant be more than it is on mine right? or is it because its tighter? im just judging by the angle the chain is at when it leaves the sprocket sorry to be a pain but im really not that knowledgeable on this stuff. without being cheecky could you explain it in idiot terms for me?.. i.e.. whats a mech? whats a c-clip? where does the washer go??

ok that sounds good but why wait? if thats the best way to have it then fine but i cant see the derailer doing any good as it is rubbing against the frame now and will not stay in place. it keeps moving in and out and i think this is causing the problem.. whats wrong with just removing it?

eh? so why the add image button? nevermind

ehhh im sure that picture just changed!! what was i thinking?!? so what you reckon i should do? keep the derailler and just shorten the chain? or get rid of derailer, shorten chain and just use tensioner?

hang on.... looks to me like yours is exactly the same as my setup only your chain goes over the tensioner and mine goes under.. could it be that i just need to put the chain on the top of the tensioner? thanks for getting that pic by the way!!!

Ok this is great, its going in the bike shop on thursday anyway so i can get them to sort it... my main question now is, what do i actually need on the bike? if possible id like to get rid of that derailler and just have a chain tensioner. any suggestions?

Thanks for all your help I have a better understanding of it now. I would however like to get rid of anything unnecessary around there. I see some bikes with just the sprocket and a chain tensioner. Is this not the simplest way? And taking links out, I dont see how that would make more contact with the sprocket without something being removed... am i wrong?? i assume im wrong also if anyone wants to just tell me on msn what needs doing my address is thomas_delonge@hotmail.co.uk anyone feel free

I think that is my plan like... Also if you or someone doesn't mind could you explain how chain tensioners work? I get their purpose and that but, what... they're springy or what?? Sorry I may be an idiot... just to clear this up... what is a sprocket? The rear cog the chain goes round? Also, not saying your wrong but what would a new chain do?

Haha, yeah. Like I said, ALMOST finished. I actually have a heart warming/wrenching story about this bike if you would like to help. Located here ---> http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....showtopic=97257

This might end up being a longish post so please try and read the main parts of it... My sanity is at steak here........Steak?? or stake?? Anyway, on with the show. It all starts a year ago. I bought a specialized hardrock. Rode it about for a year. Then something really annoying happened... At random times when riding the pedals would slip a quarter turn as if the chain lifted off the chain ring or whatever. This usually resulted in my foot coming off the pedal, ending in a crash. (i wasn't riding trials then i was just riding normally) So I had it in the bike shop about 3 or 4 times and they couldnt find out what was wrong with it. Many parts got replaced like cassette, chain and the freewheel I think but nothing fixed it. I decided to just give up with it and sell it as i wanted a trials bike anyway... 2 weeks later, and I have a trials bike. An Onza T-Rex. Much to my annoyance, on the first ride, it happens again!! The pedals slip round about a quarter turn. I just got back from a ride where it did it 4 times. The first 2 like normal and the second 2 the chain came off the rear chainring/cassette (not sure what to call it as its a singlespeed). Ok so... Take a look at these 2 photos: And... spot the difference! Now I don't know about the old specialized but I have a theory on why this is happening on the T-Rex. The red line on the second picture... That derailleur thing is touching the frame where the red line is and can be kinda wedged under it or resting against it. So I reckon, when I do a hop or something, it moves up or down and causes the chain to move side to side, sometimes pulling it off completely. I really don't know that much about this area on bikes so I could be completely wrong. but it does seem odd that the derailleur/chain tensioner thing is touching the frame. I didn't make the bike it was built by someone else. My question is also... as it is a singlespeed, do I actually need any of the chain tensioner/derailleur stuff? I'm thinking if I just remove it, it would eliminate that part as the cause of the problem and if it still persisted, it would have to be maybe the bottom bracket/hub. My friend jokingly said; maybe its you're riding style... I'm staring to think it might be but I don't see how that could affect anything. So thats my story. Hope you all enjoyed it and have lots of ideas and suggestions for me! PHIL