Chainlines - A Cautionary Tale
I am writing this in hopes of saving you a LOT of money. A regular customer of ours took his trike to another shop to have some work done. As you can see by the picture, the shop reinstalled the chain idler and tube kit incorrectly. What you probably can’t see is the subsequent damage this caused after five miles of riding with a “chain saw” attached to the underside of the seat. Let me give you a closer look:
This frame is now a wall ornament. Catrike has deemed it a safety hazard and unridable (for obvious reasons).
I beg you…no, I IMPLORE you…please make sure your local mechanic knows how to re-route your chain if working on your drivetrain.
3 comments
I've had LBS's do very bad things. On my Giro 26 I needed the derailleur hanger realigned after the rear derailleur went into the spokes. I asked if they had the Park tool to do this, they said yes … but they lied. I could see the mark from the adjustable spanner. So I ended up buying the Park tool and doing it myself. Luckily it's a steel frame.
You could weld it, but it would take the temper from T5 to T1, i.e. weaken the area considerably.
Are you saying that the damaged cannot be repaired? Welded? I am thinking that it can be fixed. Yes, I agree, in the present state the frame is weakened and unsafe to use.