CHAIN DROPS
The frequency of chain falls and strandings in professional races this season has become silly (no matter how frustrating for riders). But why is it happening? In four decades of racing / driving it never happened to me, and I think there is a track in that timeline. Obviously, I wasn’t using the recently trendy bike technology, and I still resisted it (even the minor accessory of a chain grip). What exactly is the problem?
In the third stage of the current Tour de France I heard that Nico Roche (co-commentator of the NZ broadcast) was referring in an interesting way to the phenomenon of the “long chain”, and this sounds plausible considering the first chain shots bouncing wildly between the cassette and the chain rings. He went on to speculate that this could be a feature of wide-range cassettes (10/11 to 30/32) and cymbals (54/38). Obviously, at the end, using, for example, a 10 sprocket with a 38 plate will effectively lengthen the chain.
Maybe that’s the answer, but I suspect there are more things, and I’d love to hear the opinions of others. My own intuitions also include the still imperfect technology of electronic shifting (e.g., pilots who suffer from derailleur mechanisms to “restart” them). and the limitations of the unique position of the rear toes, especially the axles passing for disc brakes (and the latter are also complicit in the fall of the chain, I wonder?)
Chain adjustment used to be mechanically more satisfactory and effective. First, with long slot outlets, the wheel could be secured to the correct point of chain tension (using the trackies trick of, eh, a finger). Second, the stop screws on the front and rear derailleurs could be precisely adjusted and threaded to prevent chain displacement.
The old technology had sleek solutions for the competent home mechanic, without the assistance and expense of your LBS.