My chain is jumping off the chain ring on my Creo

[mfgrep]

Maybe. I'd it a Praxis 'wave' ring. I had constant trouble on my Vado SL? I switched to a Garbaruk ring and haven't dropped since.

 

[John in CA]

I found a YouTube video about the clutch:

It turns out my clutch is in the down position. Perhaps I should put it into the up position, per the video. I'll try it up and see if I notice a difference.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My SL 5.0 has a Shimano Deore XT, as Stefan said. I didn't know it had a clutch, and I don't know if it engaged or not. I'll look at the manual and see if I can figure it out.

I apologise for not having answered before John (I was sleepy at night).

Yes, please raise the lever to the up position. You won't be able to move the derailleur cage forward with your hand until you disengage the clutch again.

Riding with no clutch is allowed on the road as @mschwett said but there is no reason not to use a practical feature available on higher end Shimano derailleurs. I ride with the clutch all the time and suffer no chain drops. Just to make it clear: Engaging the clutch makes the chain tensioned at all times. No clutch, and the chain will bounce because of the vibration. (Only you must disengage the clutch before the rear wheel removal!)

@mfgrep: Please bear in mind all your derailleurs are SRAM and you cannot benefit from using the clutch. The chainring quality becomes vital with no derailleur clutch present.

 

[Te. S]

It's could be 2 things you either need a derailleur adjustment or a new chain or both, use chain measure tool, to see if your chain is stretch or not .05 to.07 is good any higher you need a new chain, and then check your derailleur up and down adjustment you have two screws on the derailleur one for up and one for down adjustment. Good luck

 

[John in CA]

I apologise for not having answered before John (I was sleepy at night).

Yes, please raise the lever to the up position. You won't be able to move the derailleur cage forward with your hand until you disengage the clutch again.

Riding with no clutch is allowed on the road as @mschwett said but there is no reason not to use a practical feature available on higher end Shimano derailleurs. I ride with the clutch all the time and suffer no chain drops. Just to make it clear: Engaging the clutch makes the chain tensioned at all times. No clutch, and the chain will bounce because of the vibration. (Only you must disengage the clutch before the rear wheel removal!)

@mfgrep: Please bear in mind all your derailleurs are SRAM and you cannot benefit from using the clutch. The chainring quality becomes vital with no derailleur clutch present.

Thank you, Stefan. I am so grateful for all of the knowledge you (and others) share here.

I put my bike onto my Thule hanging rack so I could see what the clutch does. As I mentioned, my clutch has been in the down position (probably since I bought it). After moving the lever up, I could barely move the spring-loaded cage. With the lever down, it's easy to move the cage, so I can see how that cage "looseness" would make it somewhat easy for the chain to jump off the main gear ring when going over a bump while switching gears from the lowest gear to a higher one. With the lever up, switching gears while pedaling seems to be just as easy as when the lever is down (which I think someone else said earlier).

I will leave the lever up (clutch engaged) for now and hope for no more dropped chains!

Thanks again.

 

[BioWheel]

I have a Vado SL 5.0 purchased in 2021, and I have made no modifications to it. My chain has dropped inside a few times. leading to some greasy hands (before I started carrying a rag). It seems that this happens when changing gears, going from the largest ring toward the smaller ones. It also may happen when coasting downhill and peddling gently. I am curious about the comments about the clutch, and I'm wondering what that is referring to. What is the clutch, and when is it engaged or disengaged? Will being sure the clutch is engaged prevent the chain from dropping?

Is there a chain guide for the Vado SL 5.0?

Thanks for any additional info.

hey John

i'll typically drop a chain like you - when I'm coasting down really bumpy terrain. I've found that if I go to a high gear and pedal just to keep some tension on the chain then it doesn't seem to happen. Of course - it's so infrequent I'm not sure about that. And the clutch just keeps the deralieur cage stationary and doesn't allow it to vibrate foward causing the chain to lose max tension. More tension supposedly equaling less drops and I think it is pretty effective mostly. And that's why when you're fixing a flat or just pulling rear wheel you disengage it so you can move the cage forward. Anyway - I will probably get a chain guide of some sort. It's really difficult to get the chain from between ring and frame and typically does some frame damage although minor and hard to see. Rag is a good idea.

 

[BioWheel]

ah, they must have switched to SRAM more recently!

in any case, disengaging the clutch makes for moderately better shifting on road - personally i could hardly tell the difference on GRX 8xx

that's interesting - better shifting - will try it on the road. something i've learned with sl4 is there's a lot more audible clunk when shifting vs a bike but always thought that was due extra torque of motor over just me

 

[mschwett]

that's interesting - better shifting - will try it on the road. something i've learned with sl4 is there's a lot more audible clunk when shifting vs a bike but always thought that was due extra torque of motor over just me

it was kind of a m’eh feature for me, i don’t notice a huge difference in shifting but also never had dropped chains once i switched to the wolftooth chainring. so, good results either way, either way!

 

[John in CA]

It's really difficult to get the chain from between ring and frame and typically does some frame damage although minor and hard to see. Rag is a good idea.

Yep, REALLY hard to get the chain out when it's wedged between the ring and frame, particularly when you're stuck at the side of the road and unable to easily move the pedal forward. In addition to a rag, I take a pair of thin gloves like doctors wear. I'm going to ride with at lever in the up position and see how it goes.

 

[mschwett]

Yep, REALLY hard to get the chain out when it's wedged between the ring and frame, particularly when you're stuck at the side of the road and unable to easily move the pedal forward. In addition to a rag, I take a pair of thin gloves like doctors wear. I'm going to ride with at lever in the up position and see how it goes.

i had one chain drop on my other specialized bike where i could NOT figure out how the chain possible got where it got, wound through the chainring, seemingly completely impossible to remove without opening up the chain. sort of like one of those escher drawings with no obvious way that a physical object could be routed in that way

it's often easier to just pop the quicklink link out and then put it back together

 

[John in CA]

it's often easier to just pop the quicklink link out and then put it back together

I don't even know if I have a quick link!

 

[BioWheel]

i had one chain drop on my other specialized bike where i could NOT figure out how the chain possible got where it got, wound through the chainring, seemingly completely impossible to remove without opening up the chain. sort of like one of those escher drawings with no obvious way that a physical object could be routed in that way

it's often easier to just pop the quicklink link out and then put it back together

Great idea - hadn't thought of pulling chain out that way. I have master link but could carry tool. So far, thankfully, I've been able to get it free with tire levers and patience.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Great idea - hadn't thought of pulling chain out that way. I have master link but could carry tool. So far, thankfully, I've been able to get it free with tire levers and patience.

It is always doable just to loosen the chainring bolts

 

[BioWheel]

It is always doable just to loosen the chainring bolts

Great idea too - 4 bolts - could do this and won't mess frame and fairly quick. Thanks