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  • Seeing as how nobody has added to this thread in the last year and a half I thought it might be worth reviving it with a happy tale from my weekend. Drivetrain on my bike is wearing out (as well it might, given that I've had the same steel chainring on it for over four years, the same DA sprocket for about two years and the same chain for about a year) so time to replace. Off with the chain and chainring, all easy as pie. Off comes the lockring, nice and easy. Uh-oh, chainwhip doesn't shift the sprocket. Chainwhip then breaks.

    Then I remember the reverse rotafixa method. Spend rather too long working out which way to wrap the chain, and wrapping the BB shell to protect it. Give it some welly, one hand on the tyre and the other pushing on the frame. Oh look, I had it wrapped the wrong way and I have just tightened it a bit! Never mind. Have a go with the chain wrapped the other way. Yippee, sprocket comes free, and the thread looks undamaged. Unlike my last sprocket, this one still has all its teeth but they're quite hooked, as are the chainring teeth. Even Mrs R has to acknowledge that they need replacing.

    I then go to Evans on the Cut (well, they were open at 10 yesterday and I was not going to head over to BLB as I had to be on the Strand before 11) but alas they don't have a the right combination of bits - they can do a 16T sprocket in 1/8" and a 42T chainring in 3/32" with 130mm BCD, but not a set in the same width. I say, "But don't all those Charge bikes come with 130mm 3/32" chainrings?". "No, don't think so," says friendly chap, but has the good grace to check and confirm that they do indeed come with 130mm 3/32" chainrings, and that the 1/8" chain slides nicely from side to side over them.

    Anyway, hurrah for reverse rotafixa! I'm going to have a coffee and a doughnut now.

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