2014-03-09 - An Interesting Development & Baseline/Mesquite Springs/Valle Vista Loop

Miles: 17.1
Start Time 3:45
Moving Time: 1:33:13
Elevation(Ft): 174
Avg Spd(M): 11.0
Max Spd(M): 28.9
HR Avg(BPM): 96
HR Max(BPM): 126
Temp Out: 73
Temp In: 75

I have periodically gotten large "WHANG" sounds from the drive train since I put on the new freewheel. It was very bad on my first few hundred yard test ride around the park. I soon discovered I had the wheel on crooked which was putting the chain in a bad bind. I have figured out how to get the wheel on much straighter but have still heard the noise on occasion. Yesterday about 3.5 miles from home I got a really loud one and another about 1/2 mile out. It occurred to me that I might have a tight link so I sat down to check this morning and discovered the above. My guess is that I broke the sideplate on the first ride and since then it has been pot luck whether or not the broken link was at the right spot on the rear sprocket with the broken plate lined up in the proper orientation to cause a bind and subsequent release with the loud pop. I had about 2 extra links and put one on and tweaked the wheel alignment a bit. We will see where it goes from here. I am probably lucky the other sideplate did not break while I was going uphill 10-12 miles from home.

I made the mistake of buying a 1/8" tooth crankset in my ignorance. I read on a forum that 3/32" chain is probably much better quality than 1/8. Maybe I have unknowingly abused my 1/8" chain (it is a Sram PC-1 which I would expect to be good quality, all my 3/32" chains are Sram and have been flawless) but it seems very loose and sloppy for having less than 200 miles on it. It may be the order of the day to get a 3/32" chain ring (The new freewheel is 3/32") and a new 3/32" chain and start over.

Also the front tire is flat this AM. This is annoying but not a big issue. Since I do not have the Stop Flat strip in this wheel it was probably to be expected.

Update: 3/10, 10:45 AM

I fixed the front flat and put the Stop Flat strip in and had a pleasant ride up to Park HQ and around to Mesquite Springs and home via Valle Vista and Utah Trail. At about 12 miles I got another loud "WANG" from the chain. I stopped and looked to see if I had broken another sideplate then proceeded home after I saw the chain was intact. I did my best to eyeball and measure the chain line last evening. It seemed to be within 1/16 but this morning I eyeballed and measured again using my calipers and it appeared to be way off. I read of a person having to move the chainring from the outside to the inside of the spider to get the chain line right on some frame. I decided to try it. It looks better but is very hard to "see" as there is too much stuff in the way and it is a deceptive thing to look at at best. I will ride it and see what happens.

Chainring inside the spider:

A bit hard to see but the ring is outside the spider in an older photo. This is "stock":

The chainline with ring on the inside (hard to see or photograph):

Healthy looking plants at JTNP Park HQ: