I gave my bike a pre-tour exam and found that the chain was near the end of its life at 0.7% worn out. In English, that means that the chain is 0.7% longer than it was when it was new. This “stretch” happens because the rivets and rollers wear so each connection gets a little bit sloppy. The over-long chain does not mesh properly with the teeth on the gears so it was time to replace the chain.
While replacing the chain, I discovered that my smallest chainring needs replacing, too. I think it’s kind of weird that most of the teeth are so worn that they look like shark fins but there are a few that are squared off.
I spend a lot of time on my smallest chainring because of all the hills in St. Louis. For instance, I rode 45 miles around town on Monday and climbed 3000 feet.
I have ordered a new 24 tooth chainring and, thankfully, it should arrive this week, giving me plenty of time to get it installed. The bike shop is going to check the bottom bracket, too.
I also bought one other part: a third black bottle holder. When it’s hot, I sweat a lot and I drink about a bottle of water every hour. Two is plenty for my around-town rides but I want a third for my tour. I did wimp out and skip the $80 carbon fiber holder, opting for the $20 plastic version. If you feel that carbon fiber would look better on my bike, I agree. Please send me three of them, though, so that I have a matched set. 😉
Weather permitting, I will leave on my bike tour to Minneapolis in less than a week.
Gidday Art,
You will have to come to NZ and do the Tour Aotearoa which is a 3000 km (1800 mile) ride from the top of the North Island to the very bottom of the South Island, taking in many of New Zealand’s most spectacular views !!!
Most people do it in around 30 days !!
That sounds so awesome! I’d love to visit NZ someday.
As to the Shark Fin wear, some sprockets have that shape on some of their teeth to aid gear shifting…