Replace Riveted On Chainring?
06-19-19, 07:04 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Replace Riveted On Chainring?
Thread title should be "Replace Riveted Chainring," because I bought a Motobecane Elite Eight bike that came with a 42T chainring riveted to the spider, and I'm wanting to replace it with a 38T chainring. I'd like to do the work myself, and if I do it, I don't want to open the bottom bracket. I'm thinking about drilling out the rivets to remove the existing chainring and then bolting on a new (~$15) chainring on with self-locking nuts.
Option 2 would be to have my LBS provide a new crankset and install it for me. What do you think the cost of this would be?
Option 2 would be to have my LBS provide a new crankset and install it for me. What do you think the cost of this would be?
Last edited by Payton1221; 06-19-19 at 08:12 AM.
06-19-19, 08:14 AM
#2
Banned
Replace the whole crankset with one that the chainrings can be replaced
Call on the phone and ask those who will be doing the work, for an estimate.
How would 'we' Know, we won't be doing the job, which is unseen.. They may only say after you bring it in .
Option 2 would be to have my LBS provide a new crankset and install it for me. What do you think the cost of this would be?
Call on the phone and ask those who will be doing the work, for an estimate.
How would 'we' Know, we won't be doing the job, which is unseen.. They may only say after you bring it in .
06-19-19, 08:54 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Alabama
Posts: 519
Bikes: Konas: Jake the Snake-Fire Mountain-Zing Supreme, Dew Deluxe,Zone Ltd. (frame, needs parts), Surly Long Haul Trucker, Santana Arriva tandem, Montagues: Paratrooper-Fit, Trek 1200, Bianchi Ocelot, Fantom Cross Uno, Bridgestone 200
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 108 Post(s)
Liked 227 Times
in
122 Posts
Crankset isn't difficult to swap out. Just need to make sure the new one is compatible with the BB interface.
I had a bent chainring on my Montague years ago, and rather than try to replace the cheap riveted one, I went ahead and bought a Hussefelt DH crankset and mounted that. I was pretty hefty at the time, and figured I'd be better off with a downhill crankset... not sure if I was overcautious, but it's held up very well.
I had a bent chainring on my Montague years ago, and rather than try to replace the cheap riveted one, I went ahead and bought a Hussefelt DH crankset and mounted that. I was pretty hefty at the time, and figured I'd be better off with a downhill crankset... not sure if I was overcautious, but it's held up very well.
06-19-19, 09:44 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Mid Atlantic / USA
Posts: 2,115
Bikes: 2017 Specialized Crosstrail / 2013 Trek Crossrip Elite
Mentioned: 43 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1002 Post(s)
Liked 237 Times
in
155 Posts
Well....if you want to get rid of the current chain ring then your only real risk is you can't get the new one on properly. If you destroy the current one...who cares? You don't want it anyway.
You can drill the rivets. You probably don't need to remove the crank arm unless the arm is blocking one of the rivets.
Putting the new ring on properly is the hard part. If you can't do that you may be stuck with a ring you cant' use, so whatever that costs. But you can easily just swap out the whole crank set at that point as you've done no damage to the BB or anything else that wouldn't be replaced with an all new crank set.
You can drill the rivets. You probably don't need to remove the crank arm unless the arm is blocking one of the rivets.
Putting the new ring on properly is the hard part. If you can't do that you may be stuck with a ring you cant' use, so whatever that costs. But you can easily just swap out the whole crank set at that point as you've done no damage to the BB or anything else that wouldn't be replaced with an all new crank set.
06-19-19, 09:54 AM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Putting the new ring on properly is the hard part. If you can't do that you may be stuck with a ring you cant' use, so whatever that costs. But you can easily just swap out the whole crank set at that point as you've done no damage to the BB or anything else that wouldn't be replaced with an all new crank set.
If I have to sheepishly take my bike to the LBS without the chainring, I think that I'll say that I found the bike 
Thanks for the replies guys!
06-20-19, 01:42 AM
#6
Senior Member
My only thought would be that if it's riveted then it may be non-standard in terms of sizing. Chainrings use two or three different bolt circle diameters (BCD) so you have to get one with the correct BCD to replace it with. Once you have drilled it out you then may not be able to use standard chainring bolts to mount the new one. All-in-all I'd be inclined to go with a new chainset. Again, you have to get one that matches the bottom bracket. I would think the most likely fitting would be square taper but if you post a photo someone here will be able to tell you. You'll probably need a special tool to get it off, but tools are always a worthwhile investment.
Likes For jgwilliams:
06-20-19, 07:51 AM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Metro Detroit/AA
Posts: 8,207
Bikes: 2016 Novara Mazama
Mentioned: 63 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3640 Post(s)
Liked 81 Times
in
51 Posts
If you have the skills to drill out a crankset and replace a non-replaceable chainring, you have the skills to simply replace the crankset with something more appropriate.
And what @jgwilliams said about sizing.
And what @jgwilliams said about sizing.
