Ghost shifting on the Clem

[Wayne Naha]

I should have posted this a while ago, when I figured this out, but that clearly didn't happen.  Now with lots of time on my hands, why not?  I had posted a coupe of times about the shifting problems the Clem was having.  Ghost shifting, never wanting to settle down on a cog, very sensitive to the slightest input from the shifter, etc.  At first, I blamed myself.  The last time I had friction shifted was back when five cogs in the rear were standard.  I figured that I just wasn't doing it right.  I had tightened the screw on the hex bolt on the stock shifters to prevent them from slipping.  This reduced the problem some, but did not eliminate it.  For some time, I rode the Clem as a single speed, since when I would finally get the drive train happy, I never wanted to disturb it again.  This was, of course, unsatisfactory.  And even though I had been told that the rear derailer was not the cause of this problem, I began giving the wonky looking Claris RD the stink eye.  Finally, I decided to replace it.  Even though it could not be the cause of the problem.  I did have what I thought was a sexier looking Deore LX RD in my parts bin.  If I was doomed to have a chattering drive train, it would be with a nicer RD.  But it was in the process of changing out the RD that the root cause of my problem was revealed.  For as I am adjusting the travel of the derailer, and running the chain through, lo and behold I discover there is a frozen link in the chain!

After a few minutes of flexing the chain, the frozen link is freed, and I finish the install.  Now, when I go for the test ride, my Clem is blissfully silent!  Shifting is a breeze!  I can have any gear I want!  Now, some of you old hands at bike maintenance are probably saying to yourselves, "Of course, you big dummy!  You should have checked that right away!"  Probably true, but I never expected this on a new chain.  I've only seen this on old, beat, rusty chains.  Anyway, I have since apologized to the Claris for wronging it in my heart, but it's still not going back on my Clem.  The Deore remains completely better looking.

[Joe Bernard]

Ah yes, this can certainly be an issue at the quick-link on a new chain. I don't know if that was where your problem was, but I recently installed a new 8-speed KMC chain on my Frank Jones and it took a couple reconnects and bendings to free it up.

[Patrick Moore]

I feel your pain. I've suffered from that very elusive problem many times, and gave forth a great deal of cussing before I wised up to the cause. The problem is all the worse in that sometimes the chain will track fine in the stand, and only start skipping when torque is applied. I took to rotating the chain backward through my fingers to find the stiff link by feel.

Now that I use masterlinks almost exclusively, I don't have to worry, and when I do reinstall a pin, I take proactive care to loosen the link when I install the chain.

The stiff link ranks with punctures caused by slipping rim tape as the top frustraters of bike maintenance.

On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 1:56 PM Wayne Naha <w.r....@gmail.com> wrote:

I should have posted this a while ago, when I figured this out, but that clearly didn't happen.  Now with lots of time on my hands, why not?  I had posted a coupe of times about the shifting problems the Clem was having.  Ghost shifting, never wanting to settle down on a cog, very sensitive to the slightest input from the shifter, etc.  At first, I blamed myself.  The last time I had friction shifted was back when five cogs in the rear were standard.  I figured that I just wasn't doing it right.  I had tightened the screw on the hex bolt on the stock shifters to prevent them from slipping.  This reduced the problem some, but did not eliminate it.  For some time, I rode the Clem as a single speed, since when I would finally get the drive train happy, I never wanted to disturb it again.  This was, of course, unsatisfactory.  And even though I had been told that the rear derailer was not the cause of this problem, I began giving the wonky looking Claris RD the stink eye.  Finally, I decided to replace it.  Even though it could not be the cause of the problem.  I did have what I thought was a sexier looking Deore LX RD in my parts bin.  If I was doomed to have a chattering drive train, it would be with a nicer RD.  But it was in the process of changing out the RD that the root cause of my problem was revealed.  For as I am adjusting the travel of the derailer, and running the chain through, lo and behold I discover there is a frozen link in the chain!

After a few minutes of flexing the chain, the frozen link is freed, and I finish the install.  Now, when I go for the test ride, my Clem is blissfully silent!  Shifting is a breeze!  I can have any gear I want!  Now, some of you old hands at bike maintenance are probably saying to yourselves, "Of course, you big dummy!  You should have checked that right away!"  Probably true, but I never expected this on a new chain.  I've only seen this on old, beat, rusty chains.  Anyway, I have since apologized to the Claris for wronging it in my heart, but it's still not going back on my Clem.  The Deore remains completely better looking.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[John Hawrylak]

Wayne

was the 'stiff link' a link you inserted the pin into or was it just a random pin on the chain??

John Hawrylak

Woodstown NJ

[Wayne Naha]

Just a random pin, as far as I can figure.  I've never had that chain apart.  That's how I received it

 

[Mark Roland]

Clem Smith Jr.'s require a chain plus extra. So unless the chain came from a spool of chain and was made exactly to length, it would have required pinning on an additional section, and then using a master link. As Patrick does, whenever I put back a rivet I check to make sure it protrudes the same amount as the nearby rivets, then bend it a few times to make sure it moves freely.

On Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 8:30:50 PM UTC-4, John Hawrylak wrote:

[Wayne Naha]

Yeah, but this is the stock chain from Riv, so other than the frozen link, I haven't messed with it

[Mark Roland]

I wasn't saying that you messed with it. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I believe a "stock" Clem chain still needs to be lengthened by adding additional links, even at Riv headquarters. Which would mean that is the possible cause of your stiff link.

(Do they really make rolls of bicycle chain? I was just kidding about that. Unlike, say, brake cable housing, never heard of chain coming in rolls.)

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

I think it's more of a bucket than a roll, but yes. Rivendell cuts them to length, no more than one master link needed (not that two is bad)
-Kai

[Mark Roland]

Interesting. I guess that was in the back of my mind, maybe saw it on a blog post. Still, they could have emptied the bucket  and added an extension the old fashioned way. I always thought 2 master links was not recommended. Can't think why. Or, it was simply a case of TUSL (Totally Undiagnosable Stiff Link)

[Zed Martinez]

I can see the argument for two master links weakening the chain, but I rode my larger Clem with a two master link splice the entire time I had it and never had any issue really. Actually, I kinda miss that little two master link set-up, since the master links didn't wear the same as the chain around them but they'd both be on the chainring at once it made a really unique set of ticking noises as the chain started to wear and it was a useful reminder that I had probably been ignoring my chain, once I figured that out anyway.