Mtb Adventures

Have you ever read one of those Bicycling magazine (or any other for that matter) articles where they give you "tips and tricks" for on the road/trail problems? Well...

As I recall, it happened like this:
1. Head up a hill/wall that doesn't look as steep as you think,
2. Attempt a ring shift, but there's too much tension on the drivetrain to allow it,
3. Shift back to where you were,
4. Stand up, weight back
5. Break chain
6. Fall over, smashing kneecap on top tube in the process.

My first broken chain while mountain biking (or ever for that matter)! Intelligently, I had neither a spare chain pin, chain tool, or even my cell phone with me. And a titanium mtb frame is very hard/strong, so my knee wasn't feeling so great. BUT...I had once read an article somewhere that said you could "limp the bike home by using a stick/etc. as a chain pin." ALRIGHT, crisis averted! (Editor's Note: I think I read an article to that nature somewhere at sometime, but maybe I'm just imagining it all, in which case my whole point here is tragically flawed.)

Yeah...that DOES NOT WORK. I don't know what kind of sticks they had lying around where the article's author broke their chain, but I can't imagine any trailside material (except scrap metal) able to withstand the double shear present in a chain. Has anybody actually ever gotten that to work???

I tried several different types of tiny sticks (mostly live, since they wouldn't be as brittle), each failing as miserably as the last. Even in a stupid small gear (22x34) it would break with the slightest force on the pedals. I also scoured the random piles of garbage (ah, Long Island), attempting to use a ballpoint pen tip before I gave up, lowered my seat, and scooter'd my bike several miles out to the trailhead. The pen tip kind of worked, except I couldn't shave it down enough to make it through the derailleur pulleys. Ratcheting the cranks was far more annoying than looking stupid and scootering.

Lesson learned...always bring a chain tool when mountain biking.