paris_slim

Hello folks, I am a senior citizen and not very mechanical. I took a ride today and naturally just when I got about as far as I wanted to go, the chain jumped off the sprockets. I have looked over the chain guard on my cheap three-speed and I can see how to get it off. This forum looks like the idea place to get help, as all bike shops are closed here. If you can point me to a document or tutorial that explains how the chain guard is attached and how to get it, off, I'd be grateful.
I've searched on the net on the "brand and model" names, but the only thing that comes up are catalogs in an unidentifiable language I bought a cheap bike because I enjoy riding occasionally.

It kinda looks like the pedal assembly has to be removed. I thought I 'd check here before going down that road.

Thanks in advance for anything you can come up with.

EDIT: Looking this over, it seems the pedals must come off. I removed protective caps and came to a full stop. There's shaft that needs a star-shaped key. I was hoping for an Allen wrench. This looks like a dead end, unless anyone has an idea.

I added photos and get a message about posting URLs. I removed the photos.

Note, the answer was found, thanks to the persistence of everyone! See below.

Model and "brand" (was photo-
Cinzia Retro Bombi


chain guard

Moe Zhoost

Photo assist:



I believe that these chain guards just pop off. First remove the screws that hold it to the chain stay, then look on the back side near the crank. If there are screws or clips, remove or disengage them. If none, stick a thin blade in the gap between front and back and then work your way around prying gently until it pops off. Yes you would have to remove the pedal to completely remove the chain guard; however to just mess with the chain you probably won't have to. Just swing it aside.

Good luck.

Trakhak

I haven't had to deal with full-length chainguards since the days when I worked at a Raleigh dealership in the 1970s. That said, chances are that the chainguard on your bike, like the Raleigh chainguards, was designed to be removable without the need to remove any other parts, such as the crankset.

Looking at a couple of pictures of the bike, it appears that your chainguard is a simpler design than the Raleigh full chainguards and is likely held in place by one bracket at the back and another at the front. The chainguard is probably plastic, so, once you've disconnected it from the mounting brackets (or once you've disconnected the brackets from the frame, if the brackets are integrated with the chainguard), you should be able to flex the chainguard enough to slide it past the crank (with the crank facing forward and the pedal removed).

The right pedal (which has a conventional thread, unlike the left pedal, which is reverse threaded) can probably be unscrewed with a six-inch adjustable wrench. Since pedals are usually installed with a lot of force, you might need to find a pipe that fits over the wrench handle. The pipe will enable you to apply enough leverage to get the pedal off.

Edit: Moe Zhoost said it all.

paris_slim

Thanks so much for the reply! I will check this out, but you know the guard is both sides, right, it's not open like most I've seen. In other words, if you take a photo from the other side, it's still covered. It looks like the pedals need to be removed, but if your solution works, I'm thrilled because I don't have that star wrench and no one around here would.

Again, thanks!

paris_slim

Thanks for the reply, Trakhak , will look into it.

paris_slim

I've looked and looked and find no screws anywhere on the guard which seems to be a light metal. It looks like it's just stuck on, so I assumed it was in relation to taking the pedal assembly off. I don't have any tools strong enough to do that, alas. I see screws in the photo that looks just like the chassis, but no screws on mine!

dedhed

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin//sho...php?p=98155448

paris_slim

That link looks to be identical to my problem. One of the comments is excellent:

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair"

I'll check it out again tomorrow, I'm close to thinking it'll have to wait until 2022 when bike shops open again.

paris_slim

QUESTION: Are torx keys what I need to remove the crank?

Moe Zhoost

This is hard to answer without pictures of your actual crank. I'll make a guess that, no, the crank bolts (or nuts) can be removed with a hex key or socket wrench. Once you get the bolts (nuts) out you would need a crank extractor tool to pull the crank from the spindle (which I assume to be square taper). Why do you want to remove the crank? This should not be necessary to service the chain.

You have almost reached the 10 post threshold for adding pictures.

paris_slim

There are no screws or anything touching the chain guard.
I am pretty sure the star-shape indicates Torx. Otherwise, I just wasted about $15 on a set I'll keep trying until I can post photos.

paris_slim

Let's see... Not yet. This is post 8. I hate to inundate the forum with useless posts. I don't think I have ever studied a piece of metal as extensively as this. I've taken apart and fixed alarm clocks with weather radios. I fixed it, then broke permanently putting it back together. I've fixed many appliances, too, but I was never any good at cars or motorcycles.

But I will take advantage of this comment to say that the Internet is still alive with great resources like this forum. I once needed help with something to do with an electric radiator. I went to a forum where there were several people who were able to answer my queries about an obscure brand of heater, sourced the part I needed, found schematics and manuals. That forum was specialized in ONLY electric heaters, and those folks knew what they were talking about! It's the reason I felt it'd be worth joining here.

I've been on the iNternet at work since before the web and at home for at least 25 years. Today, FaceBook, Twitter etc get all the publicity, but private forums are still the best value. A big thanks to those of you who have replied so quickly with possible solutions. Naturally, I will come back with the outcome in case someone else runs into this. Normally, I could take it to the shop and it'd be 10 minutes for them to do whatever has to be done.

paris_slim

The pedal assembly bolt (forgive the lack of vocabulary) can be seen if you use the domain name Diasp and add "dot org" then add the rest.

/uploads/images/scaled_full_f46884ceb3bda8960190.jpg

Moe Zhoost

Picture assist:

Yes that appears to be a torx bolt; however it also has a hex head. I'd guess that a 14 or 15mm socket would remove it. The crank arm will not come off just by removing the bolt. It is wedged onto the tapered end of the spindle and will require a separate extractor tool.

It's hard for me to believe that you would have to remove the crank to take off the chain guard and get to the chain. It doesn't make sense that they would design such difficulty for a routine maintenance task. That said, I do realise that many manufacturer's design for efficient assembly with little concern about maintenance access. I can't wait to see the details. Good luck on this mystery.

paris_slim

Wow, if I need an extractor tool, that's the end for me. Torx wrenches are occasionally needed so having a whole set of them won't kill me. The last place we lived in had a bunch of them on various fittings. Other parts of the bike look to be hex (Allen) which I have in most sizes. I tried them in the bolt, but they aren't the right size and will strip the inside, I think. I'm wondering whether removing just the bolt on the side where it's near the guard, a job in and of itself, will allow the guard to be moved. There is no question, as the other person pointed out on the other board, the chain could come off again, so it may be just as well to get it off and leave it off.
It's disappointing the bike was made this way. What's sad is how little I've actually been able to ride. Murphy's Law: just a s the weather gets nice enough, something breaks on the thing that you wanted to ride, be it a motorcycle or a bike.

paris_slim

Here, at long last, the offending chain guard from both sides.
OMG, hex head, this just sunk in. I may indeed have something. Nope, I do not own a socket wrench of any kind.

lubloi

It's almost out of the question that you would have to remove the crank to remove the chain guard. Looking at the pictures, I am 100% certain this chain guard is vertically split, i.e. it consists of a left and a right half. Likely, the left hand side is attached to the frame by means of a bracket at the front and at the back. The right hand side just clicks on, there are probably a couple of tabs that hold it in place. I'd take a thin screwdriver and try to pry the right hand side off. Chances are you'll damage a couple of the tabs, but that's nothing that duct tape won't fix. Once it comes off you can probably slide it off the crank arm far enough to allow you to put the chain back.

Your chain tension is probably too low, otherwise the chain wouldn't have fallen off.

paris_slim

Thanks, will check through everything again tomorrow, but I have inspected every inch of the guard, and it seems to be metal and not able to be split.

Iride01 

Removing the crank arm might create some other issues that can require more tools to purchase. I'd wear out the internet and search for whomever makes or services this bike and call them.

If the guard won't split, then removing the crank still isn't going to give you the access you wish. Some how some way, that thing must pop apart if there isn't a fastener.

dedhed

What is going on at the red circle? Looks like an attachment point. CAn you take a picture of the back of the chainstay on the chain side of the frame?

dedhed

dedhed

Have you tried this?

https://www.ciclicinzia.it/en/contact-us

paris_slim

Yup, I was afraid of that, too! And I have no intention of opening a bike repair service
Nothing at any of those points, it floats free of all of them, and by the way that's why it rattles a lot over bumps.
I didn't, but I just wrote them now, although in the current situation, who knows how long a reply might take.

However... dedhed

You hit the nail on the head here. The circular part looked absolutely seamless, until I began prying. This circular metal piece exposes the chain (it can be removed without messing with the pedal).
It was easy to jiggle the chain back in place. It doesn't seem loose to me, there's a little play but not much. I'm tempted to ride a while and keep a screwdriver handy.

To tighten the chain, I guess the rear wheel needs to be moved, or am I wrong about that, too?
At any rate, all of you have come through in a big way.

Moe Zhoost

Excellent! I'm really glad you discovered the secret. If your chain is too slack, it can be tightened by loosening the axle nuts on the rear wheel and pulling back while centering the front of the wheel between the chainstays. You will have to remove the shifter bell crank assembly to get to the right-hand axle nut. There is a hex socket nut on the back side that holds it into place. I did notice in one of your pictures that the axle is positioned relatively far back into the axle slot. This may mean that you don't have much adjustment room remaining to tighten the chain. If this is the case, and the chain is not worn, you could resolve by removing a link pair from the chain. If the chain is worn (meaning that it has stretched over thousand of kms) then your best option is to replace it. Excessive wear on a chain could cause it to jump off the sprockets.

dedhed

I noticed this as well. They do make 1/2 links to fine tune chain length. He would have to determine if 3/32 or 1/8" chain pitch.

https://www.benscycle.com/KMC-Z410-O...xoC500QAvD_BwE