Chasing a ghost shift for 4 hours on a new bike build

I built up a brand new gravel bike last week. Everything went smooth until the first test ride. Chain kept dropping off the front chainring under any load. Checked the limit screws, checked the hanger alignment, swapped the chain. Nothing. Finally after 4 hours I realized the crankset was just a tiny bit loose. Couple turns on the crank bolt and it was perfect. Anyone else spend way too long on something that dumb?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_butler4d ago

Olivia Hernandez hit the nail on the head with that story. It's funny how the simplest things trip us up the most. This happens all the time in life, not just with bikes. You'll spend hours trying to fix some complicated problem at work or at home when the real answer was something you overlooked because it was too obvious. Kinda like when your car has a weird rattle and you tear the whole door apart only to find a water bottle in the cup holder. The brain loves to assume the worst and skip the easy fix first.

olivia_hernandez4d ago

Couple turns on the crank bolt and it was perfect" man that hurts to hear... My buddy Kevin had almost the exact same thing happen with his mountain bike last summer. He was out at this trail network we ride at and the chain kept slipping under any sort of climb. He spent a whole afternoon messing with the derailleur, checking the cassette, even replaced the chain. Finally another guy rolled up and asked if he checked the crank bolts. Sure enough they were barely hand tight. Kevin said he felt so dumb but also relieved it was that simple.