EEEEEKKK! My chain came off

[pardes]

At the worst possible point in a ride....down at the bottom of a hill at the river's edge with help a few miles away, my chain came off.

With a new bike and no knowledge (yet) of how things work I bent over the bike and pondered the situation. It seems a very small bump from the rear pannier did the dirty deed. The chain was off the front.

Harkening back to the 1960's bikes that I knew something about, I thought I was sunk and would have to push the bike for a few miles. I seem to remember there being no way to re-hook up a chain without major surgery on my old (new at the time) "English Racing Bike" as my father called it.

However, I was astonished to notice on this bike (Trek 7.6 FX) that if I turned the pedals backwards slowly I could restring the chain and suddenly it was all together again and worked perfectly.

Doesn't this mean that my chain is too loose for it to be so easily re-strung? It's a brand new bike (2 weeks ago with 45 miles on it so far) so maybe things loosened up?

Fortunately my LBS is open tomorrow and I can get it checked out but I'd like your opinions for this novice who can take her car apart but who is still mystified by my bike chain.

Also fortunately there are a couple of local groups offering training on bike maintenance which I'm taking as soon as possible.

Thanks for your comments.

[Mr. Bloom]

pardes,

It's not uncommon with triples for the chain to drop. Since the bike is new, the cables will require adjustment after 100 miles, but it's probably not a chain problem per se.

I encourage you to go and spend about $20 at the lbs and have them install a "third eye". It's wonderful!

It goes on your seat tube next to the chain ring:

http://www.icyclesusa.com/catalog/th...in-watcher.htm

[madscot13]

when your chain decides that restringing itself is not in the future, here is how to get it back in gear. Give the chain some slack by taking one finger and pushing your deraileur forward towards you pedals. then take another finger or the J part of a spoke and just pull it back on. It's not hard.

[mimitabby]

Pardes, as you get more used to the bike you will throw your chain less often. Sometimes you can get the chain back on without even getting off the bike by switching back to the gear you just left, it's counterintuitive, but it really works!

[pardes]

Thanks folks, for the comments.

I just love how politely and tactfully stated (without really stating it) that dropping the chain was probably due to my inexperience with shifting gears. You gals/guys are jewels.

Mr. Silver, I love the idea of the chain 3rd eye. After installed will my bike also hum "Ohmmmmm" as well as watch my chain?

I shall investigate dropping chains and gears in general. I'm still only using the right shifter only and only up to about 5th gear so far. I'm thinking I'll be 70 before I manage to make it to the left shifter.

Thanks again. As a reclusive and solitary biker it's great to have this community for support.

As for today's ride......I made it up to a 10 mile ride today....which for me is a nice improvement from last week. I also tackled some inclines (had to walk a few) but it was well worth it.

It was worth the dropped chain to be able to get so close to the river and contemplate my navel for a while. The reflections were so surreal that you couldn't tell what was water and what was tree reflections on the water.

A doe, a very large doe who seemed to be inordinately fascinated by my presence waited patiently for me to grab my camera from my backpack. I was able to get within twenty feet of her and she still kept studying me as if I was an alien who had just landed.

After puttering and pedaling around for a couple of hours I was very glad to crawl on the bus and ride the four miles back to a stop near my house. My saddle is wearing a shower cap since rain was threatening. There was another bus passenger who was also wearing the same shower cap. How very odd.

My red backpack and rear panniers are sitting by the bus door. I was able to stuff a 7 lb bag of ice and other groceries into the pannier.....not to mention the roast beef sub for supper.

[Blueberry]

Wow! Thanks for sharing pictures of your bike, and your ride - looks lovely

CA