An interesting gear problem

This is quite an interesting but somewhat annoying problem!



When the drive chain is running on either of the two large front chain rings and the rear shifter is operated, the chain glides smoothly from one cog to another without a problem. However if the front shifter is then set to use the smallest inner (22T) chain ring, the top jockey wheel on the rear derailleur fouls the block when the chain reaches the largest 34T inner cog. I've checked all possible gear combinations and as far as I'm aware, this only occurs when I'm using the exact gear combination mentioned above!

On the road again

My nearly 7-year old ICE QNT

A recent check of my bicycle computer revealed that since I replaced both the tyres and drive chain back in May of 2010, my trike has actually covered a little over 400 miles. I know that very few of those miles were done last year and if pressed, I'm reasonably confident that I could dream up a number of plausible excuses for not using the thing. However the simple truth is, I've not been in the best of health and I really haven't felt well enough to ride. Throughout this time my fairly expensive toy has sat forlornly in our garden shed doing nothing more adventurous than gathering cobwebs and dust! But all that changed last week when I decided to try cycling again.

What surprised me most is the strength that remains in my legs. Even though I've not ridden for such a long time, my legs are still strong enough to cope with the many uphill climbs that are so much a feature of the Shropshire countryside in which I live and ride. For me the great thing about riding recumbent is the almost total absence of pain, even when I'm pedalling uphill for prolonged periods. I do get occasional discomfort but this is mostly limited to my knees. Because my legs are different lengths, I have learnt to adjust the boom to suit my shorter right leg. Unfortunately doing this can and sometimes does cause pain in my left knee. So far any pain I've experienced has been fleeting and certainly not enough to stop me riding or force me rethink my current setup. According to my old but trusty Garmin GPS, in 3 separate trips the trike covered exactly 43.6 miles (about 70 Km) and I have to say I enjoyed travelling every single mile!

The attached picture shows what my nearly 7-year old ICE QNT looks like today - I think it still looks pretty good, don't you?
(to view a larger image, please click the picture)