Ride1Up 700 Series Chain Falling Off Front Chain Ring

[EmotionLynx6Pro]

I have about 240 miles on my 700 so far (received June) and have not had the chain come off yet. I think the chainline is poorly designed but these things are not Specialized or Santa Cruz bikes. Last week I took my right crank off to see what I could do about adjusting the bottom bracket but my tool would not fit the BB because the crankshaft stuck out too far. I had hoped to adjust the cups or BB but was a no-go.

The other thought I had was if there was a way to put larger spacers between the chainring and the chainring guard. Larger spacers would effectively move the chainring in closer to the bike frame and bring the chainline closer to the midpoint of the cassette/freewheel. Perhaps Ride1Up could have the good folks in China make some spacers about 10 mm wide with corresponding bolts???? Right now there are two washers on each chainring bolt, 1mm thick each.

 

[cldlhd]

I have about 240 miles on my 700 so far (received June) and have not had the chain come off yet. I think the chainline is poorly designed but these things are not Specialized or Santa Cruz bikes. Last week I took my right crank off to see what I could do about adjusting the bottom bracket but my tool would not fit the BB because the crankshaft stuck out too far. I had hoped to adjust the cups or BB but was a no-go.

The other thought I had was if there was a way to put larger spacers between the chainring and the chainring guard. Larger spacers would effectively move the chainring in closer to the bike frame and bring the chainline closer to the midpoint of the cassette/freewheel. Perhaps Ride1Up could have the good folks in China make some spacers about 10 mm wide with corresponding bolts???? Right now there are two washers on each chainring bolt, 1mm thick each.

I just put most if the bike together last night and haven't had a chance to a good look at the alignment but I'm hoping to finish it up and take a ride this morning. I'm no expert but it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to engineer something if they choose

 

[GenXrider]

Here's on person's solution that I just read on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/264729534163214/permalink/660640861238744/

 

[cldlhd]

Here's on person's solution that I just read on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/264729534163214/permalink/660640861238744/

I assume you set the high and low screws on the rear derailleur?

 

[ebikefranky]

Just read this solution and I have a problem with it since the washers move the ring inward the screw length wouldn't be long enough. I started this thread and my bike shop continues to tell me this chain line needs to be corrected. Ride1Up sent me new front chain ring spacers which ended up being the same as the spacers provided and the bike shop looked at putting an additional washer in and the bolt wouldn't be long enough so they couldn't do that.

The bike shop wouldn't cut the chain so I purchased the tools to do this myself because the support from Rid1Up continued to tell me to take links out even though the bike shop said the chain length was correct. SO I cut the chain and took a few links out. I still cannot use gears 1,2, and 3 without the chain falling off and now the bad chain line shows even worse.

So I am still waiting on a good solution to correct a poorly designed chain line. Its been almost 2 months.

 

[harryS]

Just read this solution and I have a problem with it since the washers move the ring inward the screw length wouldn't be long enough. I started this thread and my bike shop continues to tell me this chain line needs to be corrected. Ride1Up sent me new front chain ring spacers which ended up being the same as the spacers provided and the bike shop looked at putting an additional washer in and the bolt wouldn't be long enough so they couldn't do that.

They don't have longer screws? Hardware store probably does.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Just read this solution and I have a problem with it since the washers move the ring inward the screw length wouldn't be long enough. I started this thread and my bike shop continues to tell me this chain line needs to be corrected. Ride1Up sent me new front chain ring spacers which ended up being the same as the spacers provided and the bike shop looked at putting an additional washer in and the bolt wouldn't be long enough so they couldn't do that.

The bike shop wouldn't cut the chain so I purchased the tools to do this myself because the support from Rid1Up continued to tell me to take links out even though the bike shop said the chain length was correct. SO I cut the chain and took a few links out. I still cannot use gears 1,2, and 3 without the chain falling off and now the bad chain line shows even worse.

So I am still waiting on a good solution to correct a poorly designed chain line. Its been almost 2 months.

Sounds like you may have to resort to a DIY solution. It's possible, maybe not easy, depending on the bottom bracket design, and how R1UP designed its cadence sensing mechanism into the ebike, assuming it's at the crank, to install a new bottom bracket assembly with a new crank shaft and crank arm configuration. Your goal would be:
1) get a shorter shaft to bring the chain line in closer
2) secondarily incorporate a narrow wide chain ring, with teeth designed to help the chain stay in place better.
3) stretch consideration - maybe find a chain ring that also has a dual ring guard, though that ring guard is a poor substitute for helping a chain stay on and rather meant for keeping stuff (your pants, twigs, debris) from getting caught in between the chain ring and chain while pedaling.

Points 2 and 3 are not an alternate to 1, but rather complimentary. I won't get into it here, bc too many people will start arguing about it, but 2 and 3 are not a solution in lieu of 1. All sorts of other problems could occur attempting 2 and 3 by themselves in your particular situation, based on the photos you sent me.

P.s. if you pm me I can give you some tips on how to go about determining change out feasibility, and 'pain point' threshold you might be willing to tolerate in a DIY solution like this - part of it depends how handy you are with tools in general and what you are willing to spend. Along with possible risk points, and fall backs. You may hit a go/no go point early on in the process of determining feasibility. Hard to say. This isn't rocket science though.

 

[cldlhd]

As Harry said I would assume just a little bit longer screw would do the trick I'd add a little loctite blue while I was at it.. fortunately I haven't had the issue, I got about 250 mi on the bike. I don't know if it makes a difference but I don't ever really use the two gears closest to the wheel in the back

 

[EmotionLynx6Pro]

The facebook solution is what I suggested but was unable to do on my own (because I couldn't find the proper washers and screws). I wish I knew where they got their screws and washers.

Mikes solution of a new bottom bracket is the correct way to provide a solution, but disassembly and reassembly would be a bit much for most owners. That is what I was attempting to do when I found my bottom bracket tool would not fit because the bottom bracket shaft sticks out so far.

I am lucky enough that my chain has not fallen off while riding, but its a pain in the ass when rolling the bike backwards and the chain is on any of the three largest sprockets in the back.

While this issue is annoying, its still a pretty good bike. All it really needs is a worthwhile fork.

 

[Donald Penn]

SO I STOPPED MY CHAIN RING FROM COMING OFF MY 700 SERIES FOR ABOUT 75 CENTS!

I wanted to offer up an inexpensive fix for those of you who keep having your chain fly off your front chain ring. I ride 3 to 4 times a week and have about 800 miles on my 700 series it since I got it mid-summer, and I would suppose my front chain ring comes off once every two weeks or so. I always lose the chain in the easiest gear either up a hill or over a bump. After trying a substitute 46-tooth, shark-tooth-shaped replacement chain ring off of Amazon that promised to solve this problem (and caused my chain to fall off every 15 feet or so), I came up with this little gem and it's worked perfectly.

I bought a total of five, 13/16" (20.6 mm) washers with a 3/8" hole at my hardware store and, with some dexterity, inserted all 5 of them (1 washer per crank hole) on the RIGHT side of the chain ring between the chain ring and each crank arm. Because of the inexact fitment of the washer against the crank, it actually causes the crank ring to move INWARD (to the LEFT as you look from the back of the bike toward the front) a few millimeters and that minor change straightens the chain path enough on the easiest gear to prevent the chain from coming off the front. Believe me, I've TRIED to get the chain to jump off the front and it is now rock solid for me.

Below is a diagram for those that want to see the correct assembly order of the parts, but it would probably take you about 1/2 hour to try this out on your own bike (Just a warning, do NOT use threadlocker on the chain ring bolts, or it will be nearly impossible to remove them if you change your mind).

I hope this is helpful for someone...

 

[cldlhd]

The facebook solution is what I suggested but was unable to do on my own (because I couldn't find the proper washers and screws). I wish I knew where they got their screws and washers.

Mikes solution of a new bottom bracket is the correct way to provide a solution, but disassembly and reassembly would be a bit much for most owners. That is what I was attempting to do when I found my bottom bracket tool would not fit because the bottom bracket shaft sticks out so far.

I am lucky enough that my chain has not fallen off while riding, but its a pain in the ass when rolling the bike backwards and the chain is on any of the three largest sprockets in the back.

While this issue is annoying, its still a pretty good bike. All it really needs is a worthwhile fork.

I'll have to take a look at the screws I can't imagine they would be that special. So they wouldn't have them in one of those bins at Lowe's or home Depot where they have specialty screws? I would say take one of the screws in there with you and they have those things in the screw aisle where you can thread it in and it'll tell you the exact thread count and size bolt you need

 

[harryS]

I've found Ace hardware (if you're in the USA) a better source for metric screws than HD.

Yesterday, on a Sunday morning I was putting the BB back into my grandkid's bike and noticed two ball bearings had gone missing. I checked the diameter and went to Ace. They sell loose bearings and had 5/16", almost a perfect fit, for 23 cents each.

 

[cldlhd]

I've found Ace hardware (if you're in the USA) a better source for metric screws than HD.

Yesterday, on a Sunday morning I was putting the BB back into my grandkid's bike and noticed two ball bearings had gone missing. I checked the diameter and went to Ace. They sell loose bearings and had 5/16", almost a perfect fit, for 23 cents each.

Yeah Ace hardware is pretty good for stuff like that. Those specially bins at Lowe's and home Depot will have a lot of metric stuff as well The problem is at least half this time the stuff isn't in the bin it's supposed to be in....

 

[AHicks]

I've found Ace hardware (if you're in the USA) a better source for metric screws than HD.

Yesterday, on a Sunday morning I was putting the BB back into my grandkid's bike and noticed two ball bearings had gone missing. I checked the diameter and went to Ace. They sell loose bearings and had 5/16", almost a perfect fit, for 23 cents each.

I was thinking the same thing, especially for those that might need a hand.

 

[GenXrider]

SO I STOPPED MY CHAIN RING FROM COMING OFF MY 700 SERIES FOR ABOUT 75 CENTS!

I wanted to offer up an inexpensive fix for those of you who keep having your chain fly off your front chain ring. I

I see you found your way here with the link I provided on FB. It should provide some people a low cost solution to this problem. Ride1Up apparently doesn't want to address it.

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

[GenXrider]

I assume you set the high and low screws on the rear derailleur?

I'm not sure why you asked me this when all I did was provide a link to a FB comment thread. ??? I don't have an e-bike yet, let alone this problem, so I have not done anything personally in relationship to it. I was just sharing info.

 

[cldlhd]

I'm not sure why you asked me this when all I did was provide a link to a FB comment thread. ??? I don't have an e-bike yet, let alone this problem, so I have not done anything personally in relationship to it. I was just sharing info.

I didn't mean to post it to you

 

[GenXrider]

I didn't mean to post it to you

OK thanks.

 

[BigNerd]

Is this is a low percentage issue or common? I find it strange that R1U will not address it if most of their customers have this problem.

Or is it only people who put high use into their 700s? And is it only the 700?

 

[cldlhd]

Is this is a low percentage issue or common? I find it strange that R1U will not address it if most of their customers have this problem.

Or is it only people who put high use into their 700s? And is it only the 700?

I have over 300 miles on mine and has never happened. I ride it on the Delaware canal trail a lot so I'm not just in smooth pavement