Broke Down Yesterday??

[chewie_52]

Went for a late ride at Murphy last night, plenty of time to finish before dark, except I broke down about half-way through and had to hike out--by then it was completely dark outside and I couldn't even see where the trail was:mad: ---def. going to get a headlight this week! Anyhow--the plastic piece on my freewheel cracked into several pieces and got lodged into the rear cogs thus locking up the whole thing--I could get about 1 or 2 revolutions and the chain would just stop. Anyone have any idea how much this is to fix? and whether or not that is covered under my warranty since my bike is no more than a month old?---Or is this something I could fix myself?

[crux]

If it is the plastic lillte spoke protector I have seen those slow down a ride by jamming up the freewheel. If that broke rip it off and go out and ride. Worst one that I hade to pull of mid ride was on an epic trail out in CO. It took a lighter, rock and chain tool to get it off.

Since it is only a month old take it back to the shop and see what they can do to for you. Most have a free adjustment period of a year or two it is about time any way since your cables have streached a bit since the showroom floor.

[chewie_52]

If it is the plastic lillte spoke protector I have seen those slow down a ride by jamming up the freewheel. If that broke rip it off and go out and ride. Worst one that I hade to pull of mid ride was on an epic trail out in CO. It took a lighter, rock and chain tool to get it off.

Since it is only a month old take it back to the shop and see what they can do to for you. Most have a free adjustment period of a year or two it is about time any way since your cables have streached a bit since the showroom floor.

Yup! That is exactly what happened!--The plastic spoke/freewheel proctector broke into several pieces and jammed up my freewheel. I'm going to take it down to Erik's afterwork today and like you said--get it adjusted and get that piece fixed.

[bike>>rider]

Those usually do break off or people just remove them. For a correctly adjusted rear derailler, that piece is completely unnecessary. I bet if you check out most of the bikes you see on the trail, most won't even have that plastic disc, if we're talking about the same thing. If you're talking about something else, then disregard everything I just said.

[Don Youngdahl]

.............The plastic spoke/freewheel proctector broke into several pieces and jammed up my freewheel. I'm going to take it down to Erik's afterwork today and like you said--get it adjusted and get that piece fixed.

Like another post mentioned, that plastic piece is unnecessary for a properly adjusted derailleur, unless you have a low-end bike with components that are difficult to keep in adjustment. Have the shop adjust the derailleur and show you how to adjust the limit stop that keeps the chain from dropping off the big cog into the spokes.

Don Youngdahl

[tedsti]

I wish I had one on my road bike. I somehow tweaked the derailier hanger which threw off the stops. I put the chain over the biggest cog and into the spokes which locked up the rear tire. The problem was, I had on soft race tires and the skidding wore a big hole right through the tire. These things never happen close to home so it was good that I had the cell phone with.

[chewie_52]

FIXED!! I brought it back to Erik's last night and they took the piece off and said I should be fine with it. Also had the cables tightened/adjusted since my bike was just over a month old.---hopefully it stays in adjustment so I don't have to worry about the chain popping off onto the spokes---I think I have good enough components that they will stay adjusted for awhile without worry, however if it becomes a persistent problem I might just put that plastic plate back on.

[soupboy]

The plastic disc is entirely unnecessary and unless you want it to crack and jam into your freewheel again I'd suggest not reinstalling one. Those are just an OE CYA move as they don't prevent your chain from falling off to the inside. They might keep the chain from binding and damaging spokes but as you experienced they are just as likely to shatter and cause other problems.

Friends don't let friends ride with spoke protectors (or kickstands or spoke reflectors). Soooo, not cool!