Dealing with loose chain on Rohloff wheel changes; what's your method?

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

As someone new to the Rohloff world, I find myself wondering about how best to deal with the loose chain during rear wheel removals/installations. On a derailleur bike, the rear mech adds complication to the procedure, but does have the advantage of offering two pulleys and a cage to keep the chain off the ground. Some frames have a convenient chain hanger to keep the chain under light tension until the wheel is reinserted.

I realize with a Rohloff drivetrain, there is nothing to keep the chain from flopping onto the chainstay or the ground once the rear wheel is removed.

In recent years, I have taken to using quick-links, and carefully unlink the chain and set it aside on a clean surface before removing the rear wheel. It makes the job much easier, since I don't have to fight derailleur cage tension when reinserting the wheel. A pair of blue nitrile gloves in a plastic bag in my underseat tool bag keep my hands clean of chain oil , which otherwise goes straight to the front of any brand-new jersey.

This leaves me wondering if a similar approach might be useful with the Rohloff. I am not so concerned about dirtying the chain as I am about the possibility of the chain links scratching the chainstay. Of course, a Hebie Chainglider would probably solve this problem, but has some other limitations for me that at present preclude its use by me.

How do you handle the matter, and do you use a chainstay protector as well? I realise there is no chain-slap, but a protector might help during wheel changes...? Thanks very much for any suggestions you may have!

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Ah!

I may just have answered my own question! Has anyone used the Columbine clamp-on chain hanger?  See:
http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/chh.htm

They are far cheaper direct from the maker, here:
http://www.columbinecycle.com/store-accessory.php
Instruction sheet here:
http://www.proteanpaper.com/scart_picture.cgi?comp=howiebik&pic=000000000000004256&part=000000000000006659
Package art:
http://www.proteanpaper.com/scart_picture.cgi?comp=howiebik&pic=000000000000004255&part=000000000000006659
Closeup photo:
http://www.proteanpaper.com/scart_picture.cgi?comp=howiebik&pic=000000000000004257&part=000000000000006659

I remember these from years ago, and thought they were no longer made. There is a braze-on version and this, a clamp-on model.

Looks very promising for holding the chain in place during flat repair/wheel changes...or at least might prevent scratches to the chainstay.

Best,

Dan.

[jags]

i was just about to tell you about that.

[Danneaux]

i was just about to tell you about that...

Ah, jags; I should just ask you first on these things! 

All the best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Since I take the chain off only at home, I use a length of that tube-shaped, slit packing foam, kept specifically for that purpose.

A loose chain will not only fall on your bike's paintwork, but drag over it. Aargh!

Andre Jute

[Danneaux]

Andre,

We are of like mind in trying to avoid scratches (or their possibility). Excellent suggestion for at-home servicing...I have some of that packing material on-hand here, and will employ it at your suggestion for regular servicing. Now, I need something for the on-road, unexpected events (flats...or I could go with your tire/tube setup and be done with flats forever. Bit by bit, you're winning me over, Man!).

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Mmm. The problem with the sort of soldered-on chain rest, and its strap-on aftermarket equivalents, that you're talking about is that they were designed cope with a chain that was joined, and would be broken in a tool that held at least one end until you could deal with it. They don't answer to the case where you use a quick link and then have two loose ends to deal with, and the middle of the chain too if it rolls around the sprocket or the chainring, all the while juggling a tiny linking piece you really don't want to drop.

It looks like the only answer to having three components and two hands is a chainstay protector on which you can rest the chain.

[Danneaux]

It looks like the only answer to having three components and two hands is a chainstay protector on which you can rest the chain.

I'm inclined to agree, Andre. I went with an M:Part carbon-fiber chainstay protector on Sherpa and was happy with it in the main, though it did have some unexpected drawbacks. For one, the carbon is very stiff, as expected. What I had not anticipated was the curve of the mold used to form it might not match that of my chainstay. Because of this, I had to use a zip-tie fore and aft to secure it, and the sides wanted to spring free, with the worriesome result of trapping a slurry of caked dust and grit in the exposed adhesive film beneath the edges where they might harm the paint.

I'm pondering using a strip of the Trim-Brite autmomotive window-trim tape on the chainstay. It is a perfect match for the satin black paint, has a low-creep adhesive, and can be removed pretty easily even after extended periods and exposure to hot days/sunshine. It is cheap (on a roll), replaceable, and would serve as a barrier between a loose chain and paint (powdercoat) for wheel changes in the field.

Still, I feel I may be missing something more obvious in the way of chainstay protection with the Rohloff. I do recall seeing shaped, snap-on chain hangers in the mid-late 1980s that would have done nicely, once I painted them matte black to match. eBay isn't coming through for me on this one, but there may be something like it I can make, perhaps with a nylon clamp intended to affix a reflector to the seatstays.

Best,

Dan. (whose little gray cells are working overtime on this one...)

[swc7916]

I realize with a Rohloff drivetrain, there is nothing to keep the chain from flopping onto the chainstay or the ground once the rear wheel is removed.

I just drop the rear wheel and let the chain hang there.  Since there's no deraiileur to hold the chain up at the back, the chain will hang from the bottom bracket.

When using a chain hanger with a derailleur system you lift the chain onto the hanger before removing the wheel; the chain on a Rohloff system is not under spring tension so you cannot hang the chain until after the wheel is removed, so I don't know how much good that would do.

In recent years, I have taken to using quick-links, and carefully unlink the chain and set it aside on a clean surface before removing the rear wheel

This seems like a real PITA, especially on the road.  If you lost the link you'd be in deep doo-doo.  Besides that, removing the link requires more slack in the chain than you should have in your Rohloff system.  

[NZPeterG]

Dan,
I just remove the wheel and let the chain hang on the chainstay.
In all the year's of using Rohloff Speedhub's I have never damaged the paint work!
You can put on some tape to help if you think you need it.

Pete...
 

[il padrone]

I just remove the wheel and let the chain hang on the chainstay.

I am guessing you are talking about doing this after inverting your bike ?? Otherwise your chain would fall into the dirt.

I never like to tip the bike upside down. It will scratch the top of my Brooks saddle, knock my rear-view mirror out of position, and when  fully loaded is not possible anyway. When on a day ride I slip the wheel out while holding the bike up, and carefully lay it down so the chain is held out of the dirt by the RD (derailleur bikes), and when loaded I just lay the bike on its side on the panniers and slip the wheel out. The Rohloff is a bit of a conundrum as the chain will fall into the dirt.

That clamp-on plastic chain hanger sounds like a good idea. Once the wheel is dropped out I can hook the chain up onto it.

[NZPeterG]

I am guessing you are talking about doing this after inverting your bike ?? Otherwise your chain would fall into the dirt.

I never like to tip the bike upside down. It will scratch the top of my Brooks saddle, knock my rear-view mirror out of position, and when  fully loaded is not possible anyway. When on a day ride I slip the wheel out while holding the bike up, and carefully lay it down so the chain is held out of the dirt by the RD (derailleur bikes), and when loaded I just lay the bike on its side on the panniers and slip the wheel out. The Rohloff is a bit of a conundrum as the chain will fall into the dirt.

That clamp-on plastic chain hanger sounds like a good idea. Once the wheel is dropped out I can hook the chain up onto it.

No,
I just hang my bike from a tree! e.t.c. ( load's of tree's about in N.Z.)

Pete...