Author Topic: Chain whips  (Read 3047 times)

stutho

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Chain whips
« on: October 30, 2007, 10:32:31 AM »
Has anyone found a reliable chain whip for removing the sprocket on a Rohloff hub?  

I broke a cheepo  whip on my very first attempt!  I then bought what I though was a quality whip which had far more leverage and has lasted 2 years (being used ~5 time) but that too has now died.  My sprockets are coated with copper grease.  (And yes I know which way to turn the sprocket to undo it!!)  Others on this list also seam to have had problems so is there are reliable make out there that cost less than £25?



tynevalleycommuter

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Re: Chain whips
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2007, 11:16:55 AM »
Stutho, I don't have a Rohloff myself, but I would be inclined to make one for the Rohloff sprocket using a piece of stout flat steel bar (as long as you want!) and some old 1/8" chain using the picture in the Rohloff hub manual as a guide - or alternatively, since you will only have one size sprocket to deal with, a simpler version with one end of the chain fixed and the other pinned to the flat bar close to the first with a removable pin/bolt of some kind. Cost should be minimal and cheap enough to replace chain, pins, drill new holes in flat bar etc as required to keep it operational.

I need one for the fixie I bought a while back and would probably make my own along these lines from bits and pieces I have lying around.
 

stutho

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Re: Chain whips
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2007, 02:09:44 PM »
Hi Tynevalley,

I almost made my own two years ago - when I broke the first whip.  I am probably going to repair the current one but you would think that there would be a reasonable tool out there without switching to a 'workshop' quality item - with the associated price.

tynevalleycommuter

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Re: Chain whips
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2007, 03:22:08 PM »
Hi Stutho,

I think the problem is that most chain whips these days are made for holding a cassette to undo the lockring, - which is probably never going to get as tight as a screw-on sprocket. So to break away a tight sprocket needs a lot of leverage, or if the whip is too short, means hitting the handle with a lump hammer (in my case!) - which is where the more flimsy handles tend to bend because they have no rigidity in the side-to-side direction. So a track sprocket whip (Park SR2 or similar) is probably the right tool for the job, as you say, the down-side is the price, for occasional use. Which is where a robust DIY job has the advantage.

The other way to do it would be a peg spanner large enough to go around one side of the central locking tool with pegs to fit between the teeth on the sprocket. Again, a piece of (heavier) flat bar would probably do the job, with a cut-out in one side and two bolts protruding through. I have used things like this in the past for dismantling free-wheels and removing track sprockets. I have some old sash-cramps at home and the long flat bars have been seriously modified at times for jobs like this!

I am sure there is a market for a simple, robust tool bearing in mind the number of Rohloff hubs now in use.

Of course, the wheel can always be taken to the LBS to get the sprocket removed, but if you are like me you are probably doing these things at times when the bike shop is not open....

Rgds

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