How To Fix Chain On Diamondback Bike

In order for your cycle to do what it's designed to do, it needs to be able to pedal frontward.

Now that I've stated the obvious…what do you practise when your bike won't pedal forward? Should you buy a new bike? Are you lot resigned to only coast downhill from now on?

Of course not! In that location are many reasons your bike may not pedal forrard, and in this commodity I'm going to place six of the most common ones, help y'all determine which one(southward) is causing you bug, and offer simple solutions so yous can apply those pedals for more simply footrests.

one. Chain / Derailleur Stuck or Leap Up

Before worrying about an consequence with the bike'due south drivetrain, let's look at the chain itself. If you're pedaling, hear a loud metallic snap, and then your pedals suddenly seize up, a broken chain is the most likely culprit. This happened to me recently, and while information technology certainly can exist a pain to fix, it rarely causes damage to your bike.

If this happens, the most important matter to do is stop pedaling immediately. If your chain breaks during a ride, further pedaling tin can cause information technology to get coiled upwards betwixt the cassette and your spokes. At this point it becomes very hard to dislodge, and tin can impairment your cassette, rim or derailleur if y'all're non conscientious.

A chain typically separates at the chief link: the chainlink where one terminate of the concatenation connects to the other, forming a loop. If this happens and the primary link is undamaged, you can employ pliers to snap the master link back together. If the master link is damaged, use a chain tool to remove the broken link and supercede it with a spare master link.

If your chain breaks at whatsoever other link, utilise your chain tool to remove the affected link and replace information technology with a spare main link. Master links are great to go on in your repair kit because they can be used to supervene upon any broken link in a pinch! If multiple links are broken or your chain looks seriously bent out of shape, it'southward time to replace it completely.

Bank check out this video for multiple ways to repair your chain, depending on where the break occurs:

2. Chain Fell Off the Cassette / Chainring

A more than mutual (and less catastrophic) occurrence that will prevent frontward momentum is when your chain simply drops off either the rear cassette or the forepart chainring. It's piece of cake to tell when this happens: your pedals volition all of a sudden spin freely with absolutely no resistance.

Depending on how hard you're pedaling, this could definitely crusade you lot to lose control of your bike. Fortunately, it's a much easier repair than a broken concatenation. You lot simply demand to set up the chain dorsum on the teeth of your cassette or chainring.

To ensure you lot ready it on the correct gear, I recommend kickoff shifting to and and then replacing the concatenation on the smallest cog: that way you know you've placed the chain on the gear your bike is in to prevent it jumping to a different cog as soon as you lot starting time pedaling…which could crusade information technology to fall off all over once again.

While a dropped concatenation is probable a singular occurrence, information technology could also exist possible that your derailleur is not adjusted properly. If this is the case, your chain volition tend to drop frequently.

To get your derailleur dialed, check out my previous article, Bike Won't Shift Into Lowest / Highest Gear (And How To Fix It). You'll learn how the derailleur works and how to adjust its high and low limits to proceed the chain in its proper operating range.

iii. Pedal / Creepo Stuck or Severely Rusted

If the concatenation is still in ane slice and where it belongs, but the pedals aren't turning, there could exist an issue at the crank arms.

To see if this is the case, remove the chain from the front chainring and rear cassette and spin the creepo arms. If they don't spin freely, this is where the issue lies.

On an older or poorly maintained bike, information technology's possible the creepo arms are rusted or corroded enough that they won't move. In this instance, you'll demand to completely replace the cranks; merely also check the lesser bracket and every other component of the drivetrain for rust or impairment. It might exist time for a new cycle if the damage is bad plenty.

But who doesn't love New Bike Day?!

If rust doesn't appear to exist the issue, the bottom bracket bearings may just demand grease or a skilful cleaning. While the bottom bracket should be sealed, water and dirt always manage to find a manner to infiltrate this area. It'due south definitely worth taking apart and cleaning if your cranks aren't spinning as smoothly every bit they used to.

Maintenance of the bottom bracket requires special tools, and then you tin e'er take it to a bicycle shop and have information technology handled by a professional. If you take the tools and love a DIY project, follow along with the video below, which will walk y'all through the steps to removing, cleaning and replacing your lesser bracket:

four. Brakes Rubbing or Stuck Closed

Restriction rub won't completely prevent you from beingness able to pedal…only it sure will make it a lot harder! If your brake pads are too close to the rotor, the contact betwixt these two components will create excess drag and ho-hum you down.

It's easy to tell if this is the trouble. First, at that place will be a telltale auditory cue: get off your bike and spin your wheels. If you heat a metal scraping audio, that's the brake pad rubbing against the rotor. Y'all'll also notice your wheel won't spin freely. Depending on how shut your brake pads are, the wheel may not spin very much at all.

Restriction rub is acquired by your brake calipers pushing in on the brake pads (a normal part of braking) just then not releasing.

Most commonly this occurs when you are transporting or conducting maintenance on your bike. If you remove a bicycle and squeeze the brake lever, the calipers will shut in on each other. Without the brake rotor in between, they will push the brake pads too close together, causing brake rub when the bicycle is replaced.

At that place are a few means to fix this depending on how severe the upshot is and what type of brakes you have. For a complete guide to correcting this annoying problem, check out my article Why Won't My Bike Brakes Release? You'll observe tips and video guides to aid you diagnose the issue and then take care of it to get your wheels rolling complimentary once again.

5. Front Wheel of Bicycle is Locked

What if your front wheel isn't spinning freely and the result isn't the brake?

If y'all've recently replaced your front tire, information technology could simply exist a clearance issue. All wheel forks accept a maximum tire width they will permit. Become wider than the max, and the tire will rub against the fork legs, causing drag similar to restriction rub. If your wheel has a forepart fender, your tire may be rubbing against this as well.

Spin your front bicycle and look to see if the tire contacts either the fender or the fork. If it does, you'll need to choose a narrower front tire. Consult your fork manufacturer's guide to determine how wide a tire the fork is meant to take.

If your tire has enough of clearance, information technology could be an internal issue. Inside your bicycle hubs lie cartridge bearings. If these bearings clothing out, they could prevent your wheels from spinning freely. Once more, water and clay find their manner into the most unlikely of places, so if you lot ride a lot, yous'll inevitably need to service your hubs at some betoken.

Removing and replacing hub bearings requires a few specialty tools, as well as a practiced amount of know-how. If you lot don't possess either of these, I'd recommend taking your bike to a professional mechanic. Still, if you lot prefer to tinker with things on your own and accept a free afternoon, you tin follow along with this video and exercise it yourself. Proficient luck!

6. Dorsum Bike of Bicycle is Locked

Once again, nosotros're assuming hither that your rear brake is in working social club and not causing any pad rub. If that's not the case, your bike'due south frame or rear fender could exist the issue.

Only similar the fork, a bike's rear triangle is only designed to adapt tires up to a maximum width. Any wider, and the tire will rub against the frame causing elevate. And while rear fenders are less mutual on bikes, they too only work with tires upward to a certain width. The solution once once more will be selecting a narrower tire.

If this doesn't seem to be the issue, all that drag is probable being caused past a muddy hub. Removing and accessing the rear hub is a fleck more complicated than the front given that the rear wheel also holds the cassette and derailleur, then y'all'll take to remove all of this as well. It will require a couple more specialty tools, so the above guidance applies hither too…

Seek professional help, or accept the risk of taking your bike apart on your ain!

Pedal Power Restored

Unless your bicycle has a motor on it, pedaling is pretty essential if you want to get anywhere. Hopefully these 6 tips help you fix your bike and become information technology moving in the right direction.

Which is forrard.