Another newbie

R

reidonius

Guest
Hey everyone,

I've been lurking for a few days here and figured I should introduce myself. I'm a grad student at Rutgers (Piscataway) looking to get back into mountain biking. I used to ride a little on weekends (nothing too intense) about...let's say 9 years ago, and I've been getting the urge to give it another go. I'm originally from Vancouver, Canada, been living here a year, and didn't even have a bike out here until this weekend. Visited a few bike shops last week and came home with a Giant Yukon, which I figure should work at least until I figure out how serious I am about this. :)

I've already put about 30 miles on it just riding around the neighbourhood this weekend, but I'm itching for some trails. From what I've been reading, there are a few nearby, including some on Rutgers campus itself. If anybody is planning on riding this week and doesn't mind showing a newb around, I'd love to meet some people and learn my way around a bit. I'm no speed demon, but somewhat technical XC is okay. :)

Also, a question: I'm finding when I go over the slightest bump, the body of my rear derailleur is banging against the chainstay. This never happened on my other bike; I think maybe the body was fixed or there was more tension or something. Anybody have any clue how to fix this? Is this why I always see tape on people's chainstays?

Also it's cool to see there's a whole forum just for mountain biking in NJ. I wouldn't have even imagined such a forum existed until someone over at harmonycentral.com (music forum) directed me here.

Thanks all,
Reid
 

mike_243

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Welcome aboard....
yes this is why we put a protector on that spot of the bike...
do you see this in any gear ratio or just when you are on the granny ring and in the smallest cog? if so this is where your chain would be the loosest and I think this is expected unless it is when things are in the other extreme and you are not doing any rough riding then this could be a problem and you would want to get this checked out.
ther are alot of people here that are more gearheads than I am you will find whats up here for sure....
 

dualfisted

Member
newb!!!!!

Welcome Newb!!!!! Don't ride in yur area, but sure there's plenty o' peeps here that'll give ya a tour.
As for your rear der issue, usually people get "chain slap" from the top section of chain "slapping" the chainstay when there is no pedaling tension on the chain, which is why you'll see tape, foam etc wrapped on the chainstay. If your deraileur is actually hitting, my first guess would be that you have too much chain and need to take out a few links. Take the bike back to where u got it (hopefully LBS-local bike shop) and they should be able to take care of it in a jiffy.
 
R

reidonius

Guest
Thanks everyone for the speedy responses. Just rode around for a few mins yesterday and the derailleur is definitely banging, even when I shift to the big ring and the 2nd-largest cog. It would probably bang on the largest cog too, over bigger bumps, but I was just riding up and down the curb to test. I must be getting some "chain slap" too because my right chainstay is all greasy and dirty and my left one's still clean. Looks like I should at the very least get some tape, and maybe have the bike shop look at the derailleur issue.
 

Madness

New Member
Welcome To The Board......:)
You are right in my area, and right in the middle of some really great trails including 6 Mile, Chimney Rock, and even the Rutgers Eco Preserve to name a few.
As far as the tech issue I would say to take the bike back and have the shop u got it from check it out. As was said before you might have too many links in the chain or it could be something else. I am not a bike tech so I really don't know that's why I always have to take my bike to the shop to get fixed. I should learn how to fix my own bike then maybe I could afford to buy new toys.........:D
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
welcome to the nut house :D

and as the others have said, if you have an issue take the bike back to the shop.
 
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