Schlecks incident

vspa said:

Just read that Andy Schleck actually had the small chainring with the smallest-sprocket in when his derailleur and chain slipped, something we all have been taught not to do.
He paid dearly for that mistake !!

Where's the article? Did it say he dropped the chain because he was in the small/small combo? I'd have thought that he dropped the chain because of an FD limit being off.

Cross chaining isn't the evil that it's been made out to be, especially with 10 and 11 spd chains, which have greater lateral flexibility than chains from older generations. The biggest problem with cross chaining is wear.

It was between the chain cross, and hitting a hole in the road with his back wheel.

I use SRAM Red and have made the same mistake several times while climbing by forgetting what gear I am in and cross chain. With the gruppo it seems to "chain suck" like the SRAM representative mentioned in a video. Doesn't happen all the time, but I have experienced it a few times while being crossed over.

Most of the time I have been able to use my shifters to put the chain back on while pedaling rather than get off the bike.

I guess he must of had the worse case scenario, but I would say it is user error if it is anything. Always is in my case. Like the rep said the gruppo served him well for the remaining miles.

alienator said:

Where's the article? Did it say he dropped the chain because he was in the small/small combo? I'd have thought that he dropped the chain because of an FD limit being off.

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Yes, It was Jean-François BERNARD (ex pro cyclist) in " L'Equipe ", so it's a good source.
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Contador va gagner le Tour avec 39 secondes d'avance sur Schleck, soit l'écart provoqué par l'incident mécanique dans l'étape de Luchon. Que cela vous inspire-t-il ? (Jlbvg)
Andy Schleck lui-même ne parle plus de cet incident. Il faut arrêter de créer une fausse polémique à ce sujet.

***Ce jour-là, il fait une erreur : quand sa chaîne saute, il est sur le petit plateau et sur le petit pignon. Une chaîne croisée, c'est un gros risque de pépin mécanique.

Au-delà de cet épisode, on peut aussi rappeler que le Luxembourgeois a perdu encore plus gros le jour du prologue, en lâchant 42 secondes, ou lorsqu'il n'a pas profité des mauvais jours d'Alberto Contador, notamment à Morzine. Peut-être qu'il reviendra l'an prochain plus fort, plus instinctif et un peu plus méchant. - Jean-François BERNARD

It sounds as if Bernard is postulating or assuming. I thought maybe you'd read something from Schleck, himself.

I'm very surprised that the chain came off with that combo. According to Phil/Paul Schleck was using a 13-tooth sprocket with the inner chainring, which would probably be the 3rd-to-last sprocket on his cassette. I'm guessing that he had an 11-tooth as his smallest for the descent.

Anyway...at least my bike can comfortably handle that combination. Maybe it was the bump in the road he hit? Usually I only get chainsuck when I use a gear I'm not supposed to, like 53/28, which really stretches the chain out. Something like 34/13 or 39/13 doesn't actually seem to be a problem...

Phil Ligget made the same comment about this during the VS. coverage as well, must be something to it.

alienator said:

Where's the article? Did it say he dropped the chain because he was in the small/small combo? I'd have thought that he dropped the chain because of an FD limit being off.

Cross chaining isn't the evil that it's been made out to be, especially with 10 and 11 spd chains, which have greater lateral flexibility than chains from older generations. The biggest problem with cross chaining is wear.

I think he got chainsuck when the pickup pins and doo-dads on the big ring grabbed the chain when small-small.

Peter@vecchios said:

I think he got chainsuck when the pickup pins and doo-dads on the big ring grabbed the chain when small-small.

The video on youtube shows the rear wheel locking up. Looked like classic chain-suck to me.

I read that he was in the 38/12t combo. I'm speculating here, but he was using a modified rear d (Berner design, larger pulleys), and a gear combo that would provide lots of slack. Perhaps the chain was too long and/or the b screw wasn't properly adjusted.

Ironic that the time he lost on that stage was exactly the winning margin for Contador.

PeterF said:

Ironic that the time he lost on that stage was exactly the winning margin for Contador.

yes. life has it strange ways sometimes...

PeterF said:

Ironic that the time he lost on that stage was exactly the winning margin for Contador.

I'm sure the irony isn't lost on Andy Schleck.

vspa said:

yes. life has it strange ways sometimes...

And sram threw Schlek under the bus saying the chain thing was his fault..bet their team won't be using Spam next year.

Peter@vecchios said:

And sram threw Schlek under the bus saying the chain thing was his fault..bet their team won't be using Spam next year.

I saw that interview as well, and thought it was a bit weak. I'm sorry, crossed up or not, a road bike with fairly standard gearing shouldn't be subject to suck. Chain too long due to the berner-design pulleys and b screw not adjusted properly. SRAM is trying to save face as this rather public mechanical likely cost the guy the tdf.

Ok, any system can fail but John-Q-Wanna-go-to-the-local-shop-and-buy-a-$7k bike could have a bad vibe with the SRAM bike and grab the Dura Ace bike next to it.