bike trouble

[giant rock]

Hi not sure if anyone can help or have any idea. I have had my mtb for a little over 6mths and about 2 months into owning it the chain kept slipping. I took it to the LBS and was told that I needed a new chain as it had worn. So I paid for a new chain with no complaints stupid me. Now I take it out and of late I am finding if I ride for an hour or more and go through the gears with no problems it will all of a sudden start slipping again and then it will be fine for another hour or so. Wait is the problem it is starting to drive me bonkers and I am starting to not enjoy taking this bike out with the problem that it is doing.........

 

[T-Rex]

You would have to be doing a lot of riding or ride in bad conditions to wear out a chain in 6 months! Your LBS would have a chain wear indicator tool, did they put it on your chain to prove to you that it was worn?

When you say "slipping", I assume you mean that feeling of the chain skipping a bit, which is really frustrating when you are trying to power up a hill. There are several things it could be, here are some of them, in rough order of probability, along with suggested solutions:

1. gear cable stretched - have a fiddle with the barrel adjuster on the shifter.
2. bent derailleur hanger - you can do a rough job of straightening it youself, otherwise a good LBS will have a special tool for the job.
3. bent derailleur - hard to straighten, never as good as new
4. Twist in your chain, can happen from a bad shift under power or a stack. Straighten with two pairs of pliers, or get a new chain (although you have already done this once...)
5. Bent teeth on your casette. It will skip in particular gears. Pull the casette apart and hammer the offending teeth flat on a hard surface.
6. Mud and crap inside your hub. Dismantle, clean, regrease and reassemble.
7. Badly worn bearings in your hub. Replace bearings.


I'm sure other Farkers (or are we now Rotorburnees?) will have other suggestions as to what could be causing your problem.

 

[smeck]

Is it jumping off occasionally as well? I would be checking your front chain rings for wear, once the teeth wear down the chain can slip when you really crank the power or when the rear wheel hits something and the chain tension spikes. Often chainrings/cassette's and chains get replaced as a set, it might be worth checking why your's only needed a chain.

What bike have you got, and what running gear is fitted?

 

[shane_2Kona]

You probably should have gotten a new chain and cassette when you got your chain. This is a typical scenario. New cahin on old cassette. works for a while but then old cassette wears out new chain incrediably quickly and your'e screwed again. Your bike shop should have told you this.

 

[giant rock]

When I got the chain replaced they did not replace the cassette. But this bike was only about 2-3months old and should never have had this problem. Yes I rode the bike but not enough to wear the chain. I am thinking of taking the bike to another LBS that do not even sell Giant bikes and have them take a look at it and if it is something a little more serious that should not be then I will go the the bike shop and make a huge complaint.. I mean the bike was only bought back in August and my cheap mtb has not had this sort of problem.... Plus it is 10yrs old hahaha

 

[Agame]

I think you've been had.

I've ridden approximately 2000km's on my stock chain. My cassette is definately worn now but still useable, the chain will only be replaced when I do the cassette. Your Giant has similar spec parts to my Apollo.

My last bike had a slightly better Shimano chain and I rode over 3500km's on that with no problems.

Time to look for a new store, maybe email Giant too.