Logs, rocks and my sprocket....

[Elitephotooc]

OK I have a question....Im pretty new to this sport and lately I have been climbing over logs and sometimes they are so big that you dont have a choice but to hit your front sprocket against the logs...and eventually rocks when i get to a trail that has some big enough to climb over. Is there a way to avoid damage to my front sprocket when im doing this? Im sure a lot of you cross over stuff like this. im concerned i may break or damage something....mid ride would be real bad...i dont want to walk home. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

[CalEpic]

Ditch your big ring and put on a bash guard.

[Elitephotooc]

ill have to check into that. yeah I hardly use that big outter gear anyway. Hmmmm.

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by CalEpic

Ditch your big ring and put on a bash guard.

either that or bunny hop the mother!!

[Elitephotooc]

I can only get this thing like a foot off the ground hahaha. I use to be able to bunny hope about 4 feet on my bmx bike back in the day. of coarse that thing was half the weight of my gt iDrive. Anyway I think that bash guard is the way to go. BUT now the next question is....how do I not accidentally shift to the outter ring and toss my chain???? Is there a way to adjust it so it wont shift to that outter ring?

[dstepper]

Slam that puppy into the rocks and logs. Use that outside big ring as a ring guard. Use the teeth on the chainring to climb over stuff. Even if you do break some teeth or bend the ring it will still work, besides you still have two more front rings to get home. Seriously you are not going to damage the bike enough to have to walk out. Take a close look at obstacles on the trails, there are deap chainring gouges on many rocks. Don't worry about it...just ride.

[Krunk]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Grind down the teeth on the big sprocket, Bam instant bash guard !j/k.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Elitephotooc]

dsteepers idea doesnt sound to bad either haha. Only bad thing is when i was going over a log my big ring seemed to catch, like it didnt want to slide over..for obvious reasons. So I either need to learn to pedal over the stuff or get that bash guard from race face

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by Krunk

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Bam instant bash guard !j/k.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Just my point.

I just bought a new big ring replacement on E-Bay. $7, new LX Shimano ring. I buy the cheaper steel rings as I wear the alumiunum ones out too quick.

Originally Posted by Elitephotooc

dsteepers idea doesnt sound to bad either haha. Only bad thing is when i was going over a log my big ring seemed to catch, like it didnt want to slide over..for obvious reasons. So I either need to learn to pedal over the stuff or get that bash guard from race face

Bash guard or not, you are still going to need to pedal to get over things. A bash may be a benifit on drops.

get a MRP bashgaurd, i love mine and i'm sure you'll love yours too. i only used my big ring when hauling ass down live oak road after the luge....i dont miss not having a big ring.

[Winger]

Why not get off the bike and walk over the obstacle? Replacing the ring can get expensive.

[Stray_Bullit]

I've had both the e.13 and the MRP. Either one is fine. I would suggest getting one of the two.

[PHAT TIRE]

Originally Posted by Winger

Why not get off the bike and walk over the obstacle? Replacing the ring can get expensive.

I agree, especially if you are riding Cross Country style. If you are DH mainly, why not bash it up? I just like riding the big ring downhill too much whilce CC riding to bash it. Logs won't damage your chain ring typically and it's often taught in riding techniques.

[PacMan]

Get a bashring. If you ditch the third ring, you only end up loosing the top 2-3 gears anyway. 2:9 is really close, if not equal to 3:7 on most 9-speeds. Here's an example chart, from www.sheldonbrown.com. Just install and set your front derailluer limit screws so it won't shift up into the #3 chainring.

Gear chart using Gain Ratios

For 26 X 2.125 / 54-559 / MTB tire with 175 mm cranks

With 9-speed as 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34 Cassette

---22--32--44
11 3.8/5.5/7.5
13 3.2/4.6/6.4
15 2.8/4.0/5.5
17 2.4/3.5/4.9
20 2.1/3.0/4.1
23 1.8/2.6/3.6
26 1.6/2.3/3.2
30 1.4/2.0/2.8
34 1.2/1.8/2.4

[Elitephotooc]

Thanks for that link and info pacman