Factory lube/chaincase experiment (X8 chain, Chainglider, Surly SS & Rohloff)

[macspud]

Hi Andre,
Are you running this experiment again with your new set up?
It would be interesting to see what difference there is, if any, from having the power from the electric motor going through the drive chain compared to the front wheel drive motor.

[Andre Jute]

Hi Andre,
Are you running this experiment again with your new set up?
It would be interesting to see what difference there is, if any, from having the power from the electric motor going through the drive chain compared to the front wheel drive motor.

Well, I think the point was proven: inside a Chainglider, you can run a good chain on the factory lube only for its entire life without suffering any huge loss of mileage.

However, in effect I'm running the experiment again, this time with a mid- rather than a front-motor, and with one of Bafang's pressed steel dished chainrings rather than the Surly stainless steel (which couldn't be made to fit -- that is why the previous experiment was abandoned before completion). But I'm not sure it is worth announcing: the weather has kept me inside, and it looks increasingly like this year's rides will add up to less than a thousand kilometers, not even miles. Monitors will die before this experiment is concluded.

But, since we're discussing it, I don't actually expect the current chain to last the full 4506km set as a benchmark (for me, all other circumstances etc) by the original master KMC X8 chain; I think the chain in the aborted experiment, which made 3562km with less than 0.5mm wear, would have made the 4506km without excessive wear, no problem. But, as you so say, quite a bit more oomph is now going into the chain, and the software is crude enough to jerk if you're careless, not hard enough to worry about the Rohloff but perhaps hard enough if you're careless on a regular basis to matter in chain life, though by how much I wouldn't like to guess. Of course, if you ride mainly on the throttle as I do, with the pedelec (a sort of auto-changer) working only when I forget to switch it off before I set off, the difference may be small enough to disappear in the noise floor of such small-scale statistics, with me anyway, but with someone who routinely rides on the pedelec, which is the default mode, I expect a noticeable shortening of chain life. In any event, that the throttle allows for a noticeably smoother power takeup than the pedelec software is a new consideration.

Thanks for asking.

[il padrone]

Chainglider as fitted. Running much nicer now.

[Andre Jute]

Black'n'yellow, I'm melting with lust!

[David Simpson]

Pete, that's a great picture. You've done a nice job setting up your bike, and it gives me ideas of what I can do on my bike (also a yellow Nomad). But I must point that you (and several others) seem to have put your mirror on the wrong side. 

- Dave

[John Saxby]

Very smart, Pete, great foto. Glad your 'glider's fitted and working, & just in time too, to judge from the slick paving stones.

[Matt2matt2002]

Great looking bike.
Thanks for posting.

Could I see your handle bar set up please?
And does it allow for a mirror?
I think I have the same Ergon grips and have not been able to fit a mirror on the end of mine.

Matt

[Andre Jute]

But I must point that you (and several others) seem to have put your mirror on the wrong side. 

It's just one of those things that happen Down Under, Dave. As much point in worrying about it as in worrying about another strange Ockerfact, that the bathtub plughole swirls the other way in Melbourne than it does in Toronto. And, as my girlfriend at the Australian Tourist Authority said, "If it doesn't, you should stay in a better class of hotel."

[il padrone]

Great looking bike.
Thanks for posting.

Could I see your handle bar set up please?
And does it allow for a mirror?
I think I have the same Ergon grips and have not been able to fit a mirror on the end of mine.

Bar set-up. For the mirror I have the B&M Cyclestar but clamp it using the strap-mount.

[Andre Jute]

What a classy, clean cockpit!

[Danneaux]

As I've mentioned before, I like the rotary bell on the left that mirrors the Rohloff shifter on the right! 

Best,

Dan.

[martinf]

Oh! Julian's added report of success makes me wish even more for a Chainglider to fit a 36x17T combo

There might soon be another way of getting similar low ratios with existing Chainglider parts. In the link below, Rohloff announces new splined sprockets for 2016 in 13-19T, plus in 21T.

http://www.rohloff.de/en/news/news_in_detail/news/detail/News/product-news-2016-eurobike-2015/index.html

Surly make their stainless steel chainrings in 42T and 44T as well as the 38T I have (this is for the 5 arm 110 mm cranksets)

Chainglider front parts are available in  38T, 42T, 44T and 48T.

A Chainglider rear part is available for 18-22T, this is the 0350R D18. I have this on two bikes (Sturmey Archer 5 speed and Nexus Premium 8 speed), it works nicely with 21T or 22T sprockets, not tried smaller.

So I reckon 42x21 or 44x21 should work, the latter is pretty much the same gearing as 36x17 and the larger chainring/sprocket combination should wear even better.

Only caveat is that the 0350R D18 is not specific for Rohloff, so may need a bit of modifying to stop it from rubbing on the hub shell. It might be worth asking Hebie if it is Rohloff compatible "as-is"

My current combination is 38x16, at the time I got my Raven Tour this was the lowest Rohloff-approved combination that would fit a Chainglider.

If buying now I would go for 44x21 instead, with the added advantage of easier sprocket removal with the splined system, which would be a big plus if needing to reverse or replace the sprocket on a really long tour.

[Andre Jute]

Well spotted, Martin. It looks like there will soon be a Chainglider for everyone, every use, every dream.

[John Saxby]

Thanks for this, Martin.

A while back, exploring options for lower overall gearing with a 38T 'glider-compatible Surly ring, I noticed that my current 'glider model, for a 38T ring, showed on the inner-back side of its rear piece, a note saying that it would suit a 15-18T sprocket.

At that time, there was no 18T sprocket available. Since then, I've chopped my 'glider and fitted a 36T chainring, so that I now have a 36 x 17 ratio, and all's good. The reduction is 2.117.

It does seem that a 38 x 18 would be possible with one of the new splined sprockets. That ratio is 2.111 -- the same, for all practical purposes.

Dan, looks like you may be home free!

[Danneaux]

Dan, looks like you may be home free!

Oh! If only!

Martin, I do so appreciate your efforts and the followup by John, but there are some economic barriers I must overcome to go this route.

You see, I went for the Shimano Deore external-bearing crankset with 104mm BCD on my Nomad...and then added a Phil Wood sealed-bearing bottom bracket. Currently, Surly only makes stainless chainrings up to 36t in the 104BCD size ( http://surlybikes.com/parts/drivetrain/stainless_steel_chainrings ), so now I must convince Surly to produce the 'rings in larger sizes -- likely a more fruitful task than my efforts so far to convince Hebie to offer a wider range of Chainglider sizes.

Alternatively, I will need to switch to a different BB and crankset plus purchase a new chainring and the Chainglider, so it may take awhile before I'm home free...and I suspect it won't be free!  Ah, well, Good Things take work and commitment, so I'll get there eventually.

Thanks, fellows!

All the best,

Dan.