Chain coming off e-ring of Quest 2

[HeyPadre]

I recently bought a Quest 2 and love the bike. Have ridden primarily with the 26" wheels, but also had a set of 451mm wheels for packing and travel. When I began riding with the 451 mm wheels the chain began coming off the e-ring in the two lowest gears, any range on the internal hub. It is because there is a sharp angle from the e-ring in those low gears.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, is there a simple correction?

It appears that I could put the 26" chain stay back on and run the small tires with it, but then, presumably it would be more difficult to pack in a suitcase. Any suggestions appreciated.
James

 

[Charles.Plager]

One solution is put put on a

One solution is put put on a front derailleur and use the limit screws to just leave it in the right place. You'd want a 34.9mm clamp-on FD.

 

[DaveOBrien]

dropping chain on Quest 451

I have the same problem with my Quest 2.0 451. I drop the chain (to the inside, onto the crank axle) an average of once an hour. It's not hard to put back on, but it's irritating and makes me nervous about ALL my shifts - not the best way to relax on a ride.

At first I thought it was because of a dirty chainline, but I get drops even right after cleaning/re-lubing the chain, so that's not it.

I think it's the angle, but I wonder why more Quest owners don't seem to have this problem, so I've been trying to figure out what else might affect this.

I did notice that my front wheel is not centered within the chainstays that go to the crank - it's about 2mm from the left one, and maybe 10mm from the right. The wheel is true, as far as I can see, so maybe the whole wheel is offset. That would pull the gears over the same distance to the left, which would increase the chain angle and cause more drops.

Can that be fixed by taking the wheel off and adjusting the nuts on either side?

Or could the crank be pushed further into the crank axle, moving it left a bit?

Keen to hear what others have experienced.

 

[DaveOBrien]

or add a chain guide?

Just occurred to me that my Dahon folder has a plastic chain guide that prevents the chain from dropping to the inside.

Wonder if some version of that would prevent chain drops on the Quest.

But would the elliptical e-ring make that problematic?

 

[Eric Winn]

I was dropping the chain

I was dropping the chain every one in a while on the Quest. Pretty much stopped after I spent some time adjusting the RD shifting to get the right balance with chain tension, etc.

-Eric

 

[Romagjack]

Doesn't happen much on my Q2,

Doesn't happen much on my Q2, only when I make a rough shift once per month or so. I've become adept at unclipping my right foot while riding (coasting) and surgically using the tip of my shoe to place the chain at an angle that I can reattach the chain using my clipped left foot to slowly guide the chain back onto the sprocket. It's really quite easy and certainly beats getting off the bike to toss the chain back on.

 

[HeyPadre]

Tried Chain Guide

I tried one of those plastic chain guides today, but it didn't get close enough to the chain
to do any good.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Given that the chain always

Given that the chain always falls of on the inside, you coud try an N-Gear Jumpstop.

I use these on both of my Cruzbikes (because my granny gear is so much smaler than my middle gear). You can adjust it so that is right up to the chain but doesn't touch it when in the biggest cog on the cassette and it should work.

 

[Doug Burton]

Check your chainline and dimensions...

Use a yardstick or carpenters' square to check the alignment of the chainring and center cog of the cassette. These two gears should be pretty close to perfectly aligned.

This alignment is changed by using a longer or shorter BB axle, or by shimming the chainring, or shimming the bottom bracket (BB shims in various thicknesses are available from Problem Solvers). If the chainring alignment error is on the order of 5mm to the inside, the chainring can be moved from the inside of the crank spider to the outside using the same chainring bolts.

The length of the long chainstay (Q559) provides more tolerance for chain deflection; chainline alignment is more critical for the short chainstay.

Inner chainring guards or jumpstops are good insurance on single-chainring multi-cog drivetrains in general.

Also check the condition of your shift cable housing where it enters the derailleur (the short length section at the bottom of the fork). If this is kinked, it can hang the derailleur in place momentarily on a downshift; when the kink releases the derailleur movement is very sudden and can be too quick for the derailleur cage to take up the chain slack. This will jump the chain at the chainring either to the inside or outside, unless a chainring guard is in place to stop it.

Cheers,

Doug

 

[Doug Burton]

These may also be of interest...

http://www.paulcomp.com/chainkeepers.html

 

[HeyPadre]

Checking the Chainline


I've checked the alignment of the chainline and it is perfect,
certainly near perfect.

My guess is that using the longer chainstay for both size wheels
makes the most sense. I changed to the shorter chainstay for the
sake of packing into a suitcase, but I suspect the bike would still
go into the case.

The other suggestion is the one Charles made about the N-gear
jumpstop. That would seem to be practical even with the elliptical
e-ring.

This bike BTW is the Quest 3. I called it a Quest 2 because I hadn't
noticed that it was being called a 3, but this is one of the first of
the Quest's without front suspension, and I like it without the front
suspension. On rough road gravel roads the Quest seems more stable than my Silvio.

I'm working on a bracket for underseat panniers. I'll include pictures when I get that
completed.

James

 

[jwitten]

Haven't experienced this

I haven't had my Quest for long, but I have not had this problem. I probably only have a few hundred miles on it, but it has yet to skip off even a single time. Perhaps I'm just lucky?? I went out for about a 30 mile trip out of Emeryville, Ca (just north of Oakand) on the Bay Trail. Really nice ride along the water, although there was a bit of wind and a few light showers, but not a single problem with the chain. I wonder what is different about my bike?? I do have the 451's with the short chainstay.

For Charles... If you are reading this, my Sofrider triple crank is now a reality. The toolkit was on backorder, so I just took the bike into my LBS and had it back the next day... only $40. I really like the gearing now, and the granny ring seems to shift fine. I also had them mount a set of 1.95 cruising tires. I'll probably be a bit slower on the open road now, but I'll be better off when I venture off into the dirt and gravel. Thanks again for the help in getting the right parts. I actually got the slightly more expensive BB that was all metal.

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Jeff,
I probably should

Hi Jeff,

I probably should have suggested the slightly more expensive bottom bracket - if I had to do it again, I'd do that too (although I've had zero problems with the one I got). Glad it worked out for you.

Cheers,
Charles

 

[John Tolhurst]

You can induce chain offs as

You can induce chain offs as follows:

as you roll up to a corner, pedal but without engaging, change the rear derailleur and or go over some bumps.

This sets up a wave in the chain and because the drive side of the chain is not in proper tension, this wave flips the chain off.

So, either pedal firmly, or don't pedal; this can help.

 

[DaveOBrien]

pilot error + chain guide

Well, the constant drops turned out to be pilot error - that is, when I last fixed a flat on the front wheel, I managed to put the lefthand thick washer on the inside of the fork, offsetting the front wheel to the left and increasing the chain angle = lots of chain drops.

Fixed that and rode today, and had 1 chain drop in 3 hours riding (in the last km, as it turns out).

Because I don't even want infrequent chain drops, I've ordered an N-Gear Jumpstop as suggested by Charles. At $10, it's definitely worth trying. Will post here once it arrives and I've tried it out.

Thanks all!

 

[jwitten]

My first chain drop...

I'm glad that you discovered the washer problem. I was wondering what would cause the issue, amd that makes perfect sense. I also remember almost placing the washers on the wrong side when I first bought the Quest.

I finally did experience a single chain drop. I was climbing a fairly steep hill in Maui and was applying an awful lot of force to the cranks in the lower gears, and it occurred along with a downshift on the rear derailleur, so I wasn't shocked when it happened. After riding the Quest for a while now, I find that the gear ratio is mostly satisfactory, and probably perfectly suited for most geographical areas. Unfortunately, I live in a rather hilly area near Seattle, and seem to ocassionally run into some steeper hills in the areas I travel to as well.

Doug mentioned that converting the Quest to a double crank, and maintaining the E-Ring as the larger ring is an option for achieving a bit lower gearing, for those who might want to do so. The E-Ring can be placed on the outside of the stock Quest crank (removing the chain guard), and a smaller chain ring placed on the inside. It appears to me that a 34 tooth inner ring is the smallest that will fit on the 110 mm diameter spider (the E-Ring is a 44 tooth). Of course a front derailleur and shifter would be required as well. When and if I get around to doing it, I will post a few photos and parts info. I could get by with the single E-Ring, but after converting my Sofrider to a triple crank, I really like the higher cadence for climbing allowed with the granny ring, rather than mashing as hard as I can on the stock ring.

Jeff

 

[HeyPadre]

N-Gear Jumpstop

I've tried Charles' idea about the N-gear Jumpstop and after three good rides have had
no further problems with dropping the chain with my 451 mm chain stay and wheels.

That comes in the nick of time as I am off to France with the bike shortly.

Thanks, Charles

James

 

[HeyPadre]

N-Gear Jumpstop

I've tried Charles' idea about the N-gear Jumpstop and after three good rides have had
no further problems with dropping the chain with my 451 mm chain stay and wheels.

That comes in the nick of time as I am off to France with the bike shortly.

Thanks, Charles

James

 

[DaveOBrien]

Well, it's been 2 years now, and not a single chain drop once I installed the Jumpstop.

And it looks like an original part of the bike. Very happy with it, and recommend it to anyone having chain drops. One less thing to worry about.

 

[Charles.Plager]

N-Gear Jumpstop

I've tried Charles' idea about the N-gear Jumpstop and after three good rides have had
no further problems with dropping the chain with my 451 mm chain stay and wheels.

That comes in the nick of time as I am off to France with the bike shortly.

Thanks, Charles

James

You, sir, are very welcome. Enjoy France! (I'm quite jealous, actually).