poison idea
06-05-2007, 02:44 PM
Last years punk bike enduro killed the shimano drive train on my Fetish. More accurately, it put it out of its misery. The left XT shifter pod spontaneously blew open dumping bits of springs and coils and whatnot into the mud. Then the rear XT utterly failed leaving me in first gear with almost 10 miles to go. With a stick jammed in there I found a workable gear and limped my way through swearing aloud the whole time.
I’d had enough. Since building up the bike, my right shifter pod had blown up during its 3rd ride out. The left blew up after 6 months. I’d already knocked off the hanger 1x and destroyed innumerable front derailleurs. Since I was 12 every rear derailleur I’d ever had ghost shifted no matter how much tweaking I did. SS seemed the way to, but I’m poor and suspicious so I decided to do it cheap.
The LBS had a nice Surly Singleator, but it was +$50 and I wanted a case of good beer so I focused on Pyramid’s $25 tensioner. Its appearance did not inspire confidence. The construction is bare bones. To say there is no artistry there is an understatement; the thing looks like it’s made from an erector set. Like most tensioners, it screws right into the derailleur hanger. Installation is super easy but I noticed the bracket intended to hold the chain on the pulley doesn’t appear to have enough clearance for a BMX chain. There is a simple metal rod attached to the pulley/spring arm that can be adjusted via allen wrench for lateral movement/chain line adjustment. The spring can be set to 2 different tension levels but can only “pull” whereas a Singleator can also push against the chain. The mechanic said it wouldn’t be too difficult to salvage a push spring from an older brake set if I chose to do so. It didn’t seem like too good a deal but I’m not known for smart decisions and I really wanted good beer so I said “Fvck it” and bought the thing and a 32T Salsa ring and headed to Kraynick’s. I dissected an old cassette for spacers and found an 18T cog. 2:1 might work for you but PGH is hilly and I am weak/lazy. After bungling my way to a good chain line I took the bike out for an easy ride. It felt pretty good but the line was still a little off. There was a slight wobble, a slight humming sound and the chain hopped when really cranking down on the pedals. I was frustrated enough to call it quits. Messed with it again the next day and Soupie got the wobble out, but it still skipped on occasion. It seemed that I could not get the Pyramid to pull the chain tight enough. The only thing I could think to do was to either put in a half link or throw on a larger 20t cog to get the chain tight. Still frustrated, but optimistic, I drove home to Philly for Xmas. Went to the LBS and was handed a beer upon entry. That’s my kind of bike shop. Topher dis and then reassembled it with a perfect line while I drowned my lack of mechanical skill in Sierra Nevada. That was all it took. My initial intent was to throw on a push spring and replace it as soon as it failed or go back to geared riding. Well, that was nearly 6 months ago and I’ve never looked back. The pyramid looked flimsy and weak but once a good line was established, it has held up magnificently through snow, mud, ice, rain, sand, dirt, crashes, drops, falls, trees, rocks, etc. Since Dec, it has not skipped. Ever. The vague hum is still there, but it is barely audible. It seems that’s the (small) price you pay for using a tensioner. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a walking disaster and am notoriously hard on my equipment. The pyramid tensioner is the perfect combo of cheap and durable. No clue what it weighs, but it’s less than a XT derailleur. Every time I heard someone talk about the simplistic/Zen nature of riding SS I scoffed, but now thanks in part to Pyramid, I’m totally hooked.
I’d had enough. Since building up the bike, my right shifter pod had blown up during its 3rd ride out. The left blew up after 6 months. I’d already knocked off the hanger 1x and destroyed innumerable front derailleurs. Since I was 12 every rear derailleur I’d ever had ghost shifted no matter how much tweaking I did. SS seemed the way to, but I’m poor and suspicious so I decided to do it cheap.
The LBS had a nice Surly Singleator, but it was +$50 and I wanted a case of good beer so I focused on Pyramid’s $25 tensioner. Its appearance did not inspire confidence. The construction is bare bones. To say there is no artistry there is an understatement; the thing looks like it’s made from an erector set. Like most tensioners, it screws right into the derailleur hanger. Installation is super easy but I noticed the bracket intended to hold the chain on the pulley doesn’t appear to have enough clearance for a BMX chain. There is a simple metal rod attached to the pulley/spring arm that can be adjusted via allen wrench for lateral movement/chain line adjustment. The spring can be set to 2 different tension levels but can only “pull” whereas a Singleator can also push against the chain. The mechanic said it wouldn’t be too difficult to salvage a push spring from an older brake set if I chose to do so. It didn’t seem like too good a deal but I’m not known for smart decisions and I really wanted good beer so I said “Fvck it” and bought the thing and a 32T Salsa ring and headed to Kraynick’s. I dissected an old cassette for spacers and found an 18T cog. 2:1 might work for you but PGH is hilly and I am weak/lazy. After bungling my way to a good chain line I took the bike out for an easy ride. It felt pretty good but the line was still a little off. There was a slight wobble, a slight humming sound and the chain hopped when really cranking down on the pedals. I was frustrated enough to call it quits. Messed with it again the next day and Soupie got the wobble out, but it still skipped on occasion. It seemed that I could not get the Pyramid to pull the chain tight enough. The only thing I could think to do was to either put in a half link or throw on a larger 20t cog to get the chain tight. Still frustrated, but optimistic, I drove home to Philly for Xmas. Went to the LBS and was handed a beer upon entry. That’s my kind of bike shop. Topher dis and then reassembled it with a perfect line while I drowned my lack of mechanical skill in Sierra Nevada. That was all it took. My initial intent was to throw on a push spring and replace it as soon as it failed or go back to geared riding. Well, that was nearly 6 months ago and I’ve never looked back. The pyramid looked flimsy and weak but once a good line was established, it has held up magnificently through snow, mud, ice, rain, sand, dirt, crashes, drops, falls, trees, rocks, etc. Since Dec, it has not skipped. Ever. The vague hum is still there, but it is barely audible. It seems that’s the (small) price you pay for using a tensioner. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a walking disaster and am notoriously hard on my equipment. The pyramid tensioner is the perfect combo of cheap and durable. No clue what it weighs, but it’s less than a XT derailleur. Every time I heard someone talk about the simplistic/Zen nature of riding SS I scoffed, but now thanks in part to Pyramid, I’m totally hooked.