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Conference noted::bicycle

Title: Bicycling
Notice:Bicycling for Fun
Moderator:JAMIN::WASSER
Created:Mon Apr 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:3214
Total number of notes:31946

2592.0. "Department Store Bike Problems" by ROWLET::AINSLEY (Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow!) Wed Jun 09 1993 13:06

I tried to find a topic for Dept. Store bikes, but the only one was the humor
note.

A friend has a dept. store bike.  Sometimes when he is riding up a hill with
his 20 month old daughter in the bike seat, his pedals slip about 1/8 turn as
if the chain momentarily slipped off and then back on again.  This only happens
when under a heavy load.

Any ideas?  Is he somehow flexing the frame such that the chain drops off the
rear cog and the deraileur puts it back up?

Thanks,

Bob
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2592.1freewheel?MIMS::HOOD_RWed Jun 09 1993 13:2228
    
    Bob,
    
    
   >A friend has a dept. store bike.  Sometimes when he is riding up a hill
   >with his 20 month old daughter in the bike seat, his pedals slip about 1/8
   >turn as if the chain momentarily slipped off and then back on again.  This
   >only happens when under a heavy load.
    
    Is this a multispeed bike? Back in one of the "freewheel" notes about
    a year an a half ago, I had a similar problem with an old freewheel. 
    I did not open it up, but the ratchet mechanism inside seemed 
    to stick and NOT engage sometimes. It especially did this under heavy
    load, and when it happened, would crank forward with no resistance
    for some portion of a turn of the crank. The first couple of times it
    happened, I thought that I was imagining things. It finally stuck in
    this mode where I could turn it forward or backward and it would not 
    engage at all! Anyway, it was an old freewheel and John Ellis suggested
    I oil it good to get the ratchet mechanism to slide/engage better. 
    It worked for a little while, but I eventually replaced it. 
    
    
    Just a thought
    
    
    doug
     
    
2592.2MIMS::HOOD_RWed Jun 09 1993 13:3314
    
    
    
    Another thought.... I once lost 4 out of 5 chainring bolts on the
    small chainring on a triple crank. The result is that when I would
    shift to the small chainring, it would pivot back and forth on the 
    remaining bolt as I pedaled. I only noticed this under "heavy load"
    because that is the only time a shifted into the small chainring.
    When it pivoted, it would feel like "the chain momentarily slipped off
    and then back on again". Needless to say, I fixed this quickly, and 
    now I regulary check the chainring bolts. 
    
    doug
    
2592.3ROWLET::AINSLEYLess than 150 kts. is TOO slow!Wed Jun 09 1993 13:3610
re: .1

Yep. It's a multispeed bike and what you are describing sounds like what was
described to me.

When you say you oiled it, do you mean more than degreasing the chain, chain
rings, and freewheel cogs, and relubing the chain and running it thru all the
gears to lube the freewheel cogs?

Bob
2592.4MIMS::HOOD_RWed Jun 09 1993 13:5913
    
    
    See the freewheel note(s). As described there: Turn the freewheel while 
    holding the wheel still, and observe  that there is a "slit" 
    between the turning portion of the freewheel and the stationary
    portion. Get oil into this slit by whatever means available until
    it starts to leak out the backside  of the freewheel. That's about
    as good as I can describe it.
    
    
    
    doug
     
2592.5ISLNDS::SCHWABEWed Jun 09 1993 15:054
    
    How old is the bike?
    
    I've seen worn chains and/or worn cogs cause the same symptoms.
2592.6ROWLET::AINSLEYLess than 150 kts. is TOO slow!Wed Jun 09 1993 15:071
The bike is less than 1 year old.
2592.7Chain link sticking?ATIS::BODGEAndy BodgeWed Jun 09 1993 16:421
    A sticky or rusted link in the chain might do this.
2592.8NEWPRT::NEWELL_JODon't wind your toys too tightThu Jun 10 1993 19:0519
    John Lee Ellis just spent five days with my family out here in
    California looking for a job.  I had the complete embarrassment
    of having to admit to him (it would have been difficult to hide)
    that I too owned a ~$115.00 'store' bike.  
    
    I told him I didn't ride it much (it's just a little over a year
    old) because of the same problem the base noter described. I'd
    jump on the pedal to get up an incline and...oops, a slight slip
    in the pedal. Enough to scare the bejeezus out of me a couple 
    times and once I even slipped forward and smashed my chest against
    the handle bars.  John bit his lip and made no snide comments but
    didn't offer any suggestions either. I think it was way out of 
    (read: below) his league :^)
    
    I will never...never buy another cheap bike at a department store.
    I'd like to save myself the embarrassment all around, thank you very
    much.
    
    Jodi-