Chainglider News: they build 'em tough

[Andre Jute]

I had an odd catastrophe*. A short bungie-cord fell into the gubbins and ripped my Chainglider open and chain off before it was itself ripped into pieces. But in the section of the Chainglider not ripped off, the chain, which I run pretty slack, folded double, which created some sharp cutting edges. Check the photograph below: those thin shavings in the middle of the sheet of kitchen towel are all the damage the Chainglider suffered in an incident that left a substantial bungie-cord ripped apart between the electric motor and the Rohloff gearbox. The slivers were shaved off by the chain at forward end of the Chainglider; the two rear pieces of the Chainglider are just there for scale.



*Actually, no other damage to my bike -- thank you for asking --, but I won't pretend that the half-hour during which I thought that just as the spring arrived my favourite bike would have to go to Germany for repairs was pretty nerve-wracking. People with dickey hearts should avoid stress...

[John Saxby]

A short bungee-cord fell into the gubbins

Jeez, Andre, Wow! -- but I won't ask, so you don't have to tell...

'Bout those bungees, though:  I've seen a number of them get seriously tangled and wrecked by wrapping themselves around rear hubs of motorcycles, and thought, "Don't what that to happen to me..."

So I use Nite Ize Knotbone adjustable bungees instead. These have carabiner-style ends.  Here's a sample from a retail outlet:https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/nite-ize-knot-bone-9-adjustable-bungee-cord/XNKBB90301

These come in different sizes, with the shorty having a minimum length of 6".  BUT, note that when shortened to that length, the adjusted cord has to be tied off.

I have several of these devices, and they've become an essential part of my travelling/touring/camping kit.  So far, nothing even close to a failure.

It's those open-ended hooks on the ends which are the problem.  Close 'em off, if my advice.

Cheers,  J.

[Andre Jute]

A short bungee-cord fell into the gubbins

Jeez, Andre, Wow! -- but I won't ask, so you don't have to tell...

https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/nite-ize-knot-bone-9-adjustable-bungee-cord/XNKBB90301

My rackpack, which has given thirty years of unblemished service, likes to pretend it is set of panniers as well, with pockets to the long sides that are deeper than the rack bag and thus hang a little over the sides of the rack. The net effect is that when these pockets are unzipped, they gape a bit, though they are so carefully packed that it is rare for anything to fall out. I was at the supermarket the other day and saw a five-foot long self-clamping sawing guide, which was just the thing since I'd been looking for the screw-on guides for my electric plane, jigsaw, ripsaw etc, which appeared all to have taken umbrage when I bought a lathe and wandered off. This five-foot saw-guide turned out to be solid ali rather than the hollow extrusion I assumed it to be, and to be heavy and unmanageable what with other groceries, so I one-handedly unzipped the "pannier" bag, grabbed a bungee cord (a German one with closed clips to each side, not as fancy as yours but lighter), and tied the thing into the actual shopping carrier, which is the Dutch firm Basil's Cardiff wire-basket, and packed the other stuff I bought in too without dropping anything. The short bungee cord which caused the upset must have slipped out unnoticed while I was doing all this. I didn't actually handle or use it. Paradoxically I would probably feel better if I had actually caused the problem, as I could then shrug and say, "A bicycle is a mechanism, and mechanisms must be kept under control at all times, or there will costs."

Thanks for the link to a better kind of tie-cord; I've saved it as opportune at a moment when it would be as well to have Bungee-Cord Reckoning.

[John Saxby]

a five-foot long self-clamping sawing guide

Ah, well, that explains it

To fix such things to a bicycle, there's another trick device I'd recommend--maybe complementing, rather than replacing the Knotbone Bungee:

This Quick-Release rubber tie [ http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=65393&cat=2,43319,33283 ] can go around your sawing guide (I think), locking the item to your top tube, and maybe your downtube as well, depending on the angle from the horizontal. Depending on the vertical height of your guide, you might need the 8" or the 12" QR tie.

These things are also essential items for my workshop/camping/etc gear.

Mind you, the catastrophe linked to the sawing guide is surely a Thing Of The Past -- after all, you're not likely to get another one, are you?  In a sense, both adjustable bungee and trick QR ties are tools for fighting the last war.  That said, buy the sample pack of 10, and you'll wonder how you managed to get this far in life without these little critters.

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

Careful using bungee's near Speedhubs, see below, somehow the bits manage to get under the seal lip and pushed through the bearing, seen this more than once.

[John Saxby]

Careful using bungee's near Speedhubs

Thanks, Dave.  Serious bizness indeed--they're destructive things, aren't they?

Wonder who invented the bungee?--probably seemed like a good idea at the time...

[Andre Jute]

You're a fountain of good sources, John. Another link saved. I'll see if I can hunt down the multi-pack someplace where the postage won't be more than the goods.

a five-foot long self-clamping sawing guide

Mind you, the catastrophe linked to the sawing guide is surely a Thing Of The Past -- after all, you're not likely to get another one, are you?

The sawing guide was merely the Enabling Agent, aka Old Nick, ably assisted by my habit of Buying Tools on Impulse. The Original Sin was having the bungee on the bike at all when I have spring-loaded closed-end bungees available. After studying Dave's horrifying photo above, I'll empty the pockets on the rack bag and throw out everything with a hook...