New horse in the stable
 

Picked up a K2 last week. Got it fairly cheap because the big chain ring has a couple chipped teeth. Main reason I got it was because it actually came with Shimano 105. I rewrapped the handlebar tape a couple days ago because the original stuff was literally rubbing off on anything that touched it, put my aero bars and some cheap pedals on it. I took it out today for my first real ride (beyond testing it in a parking lot), rode 28 miles. Got to say, I'm really happy with this bike. Still need to replace that chain ring but this bike is every bit as quick as my Specialized Roubiax.
I like it!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f059dcbd03.jpg

Nice! Congrats!

Thanks. Don't know much about K2. Little research says they got bought out some time ago. I knew it was an older bike when I got it but aside from some scrapes here and there, it's in really good condition overall. Like I said earlier, main reason I bought it was for the 105 hardware. CF front fork and rear seat stays(?) on an aluminum frame make it pretty light and comfortable. I do need to change that chain ring but even with it, the bike rides fine. I'm really happy with it. Even putting new bar tape and pedals on it I'm still in for under $300. I don't think that's too bad at all.

Now I need to sell off a couple others that just gather dust.

Congrats. I suggest you consider removing the aero bars. Not a fan.

Nice bike! Sure we all have pedals like those laying around somewhere.

A friend had a K2 road bike years ago. It was a fine ride and he went fast on it. I had a K2 mountain bike which broke in half after I flogged it for 10 years.

Do the chipped teeth on the ring cause any issues? If no issues directly caused by them then I wouldn't replace.

We might should eventually get into a discussion of how to photograph your bike! But I'll leave that for later. It's a little more involved than how to properly take a picture of your watch.

Thanks, but I put the bars on for a reason.
Didn't cause any issues when I road it yesterday. It's obvious the chain got really worn and that's what did the damage but all the other gears look good and the chain had to have been replaced because this one looks pretty tight. I'll eventually replace that ring but it's not a priority.

Hard to imagine how a worn chain could chip teeth off the chainring without totally ruining it. More likely, you're looking at teeth that were deliberately shaped to be shorter to aid shifting.

OK. I'll go with that since I really don't know. I assumed it was chipping because it's not all the teeth, only four or five. But I'll post a pic in a bit so you can see what I'm talking about. Maybe some of you with more experience can diagnose what happened here.

So here's a close up pic of the chain ring I'm talking about. I put a RED arrow on the "chipped" teeth and BLUE arrows on teeth that have "scalloping", presumably from a worn chain. If anybody has a better diagnosis, I'm all ears. Not even pretending to know what I'm talking about.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5fc7a1802f.jpg

Aha, yep. They were like that from the factory to aid shifting. You're not the first to take a close look at their chainrings and think they look damaged. :thumb:

Really???? No chit??? Well, I'll be. So that ring is perfectly fine?

Yep, looks like it has many more happy miles left in it. If you look at the middle ring, you'll see some short teeth there, too. No need to replace any of them. :thumb:

Man, that is awesome! Thanks. I guess it's good for me that the seller didn't know any better either. I was going to walk away from this bike because of that but the seller took $100 off his asking price. Wasn't trying to play him but looks like ignorance on both of us worked in my favor.

ThermionicScott is right. They're called "ramps", and they're molded (or milled?) into the chainring to make shifting easier and smoother. You can google "chainring ramps" for info and pictures, to put your mind completely at rest regarding this.

(edit: I was wrong, I've gotten my terminology wrong. The "ramps" are on the inner surface of the chainring. I'm not sure what they call the shaping of the chainring teeth, but TS is right, the shaping is intentional, to aid in shifting. The chainring in your picture looks to be in great shape, many, many miles of wear left.)

almost look never used.

Agree with everyone who said that the teeth of the big chain ring are deliberately shaped that way for shifting. In fact, this photo shows that the original owner rarely used and/or only cleaned the big chain ring.

Not sure - but I believe K2 bikes were sold by REI - and/or retailers that sold winter sports gear etc in addition to bikes ?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...db4b541d1.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3b8d299de.jpeg
years ago I got this K2 from a dumpster

the bike was leaning against a dumpster in the back of a large parking lot where I parked

took a quick look at the bike and saw the rear wheel / drivetrain was damaged - and thought the owner might return with a car to get the bike

but the bike was still sitting in this spot two days later - so I grabbed it before it was taken / destroyed by garbage pickup

new RD, chain, fixed / trued rear wheel and it was ready to go

bike endured two kids - second kid especially rode it fairly hard - and I still use it now and then around our house

Pretty sure they were a ski company first and they bought out Proflex bikes. I got mine at Sports Chalet.