Shift kit and deraileur gears

Wow, took a closer look at my 7 speed hub today. The gears are really messed UP. Teeth bent, teeth broken. I have a shift kit and always back off the throttle to shift and give the deraileur plenty of time to shift gears but MAN...they are MESSED UP.

I'm guessing maybe, since I have a stretch frame and with the extra weight of the longer chain, the deraileur springs aren't quite strong enough to keep the chain tight like it should be...it seems to skip teeth from time to time....I don't know...Anyone else having a similar problem?

Cannonfish said:

How long have you been riding on that cassette and chain? I don't know how much extra wear the shift kit places on those components, but I used to tear up cassettes and chains on my human-powered (no engine) mountain bike every 500 miles or so. Just from grit and crap in the chain, I figured.

How often do you clean and lube your chain and sprockets?

I'm definitely curious to hear more about this, since I'm still in the middle of a shift-kit install on my bike right now.

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Oh, I've driven maybe 150 miles since I put on the shift kit. I keep the chain well lubed and dirt hasn't really accumulated on the gears. The problem is not the gears wearing like normal wear and tear. The teeth are actually twisting so they look more like turbine fans than gears.

The chain on a stretch cruiser is quite long and it bounces alot when I ride. I'm guessing the chain is traveling through the deraileur faster than the spring is able to return tension when it bounces and that's what's causing it to skip teeth. I think I'm going to try to find a way to beef up the springs to accomodate the extra weight of the chain and see if that helps. Or...maybe just dump the whole deraileur and get a 3 speed hub even though I've heard of them turning to mush on a motorized bike.

Was just hoping someone else came across this problem and found a way to rectify it.

BarelyAWake said:

I suppose you've prolly thought of this - but have ya checked sprocket alignment? I was just thinkin' if it's too far out and/or your real axle isn't straight, that would explain the twist to the teeth you described and I'd imagine they wouldn't have much strength laterally so that'd break 'em... but I'm just guessin' here *shrug*

What brand cassette is it Maxvision? Mebbe it's a bad 'un?

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Ya know what...alignment just might be the cause. I changed my rear innertube from a flat the other day, forgot to tighten the axel nuts, went for a short ride and...well, you can figure out the rest. Wheel didn't come off but it sure came out of alignment... Was just about the same angle and the teeth on my gears are now.

Thanks for the post BarelyAWake