What did actually happen with Clegg´s bike in Forked Lightning...?

toodlepip

toodlepip

Dedicated Member
I´m not asking what happened to Clegg ;D, but I for the umpteenth time I´m wondering what actually happened with his bike. Something went snap, but when the chain comes off my bicycle´s sprocket wheel (or whatever it´s called), I never fall down onto the saddle if I am riding it standing up like he did, it´s just that the pedals go very lightly without moving the bike. In Forked Lightning it´s more like the whole pedal unit came off so that his feet had nothing to stand on anymore, causing him to crash onto the saddle. I´m probably talking rubbish, but can someone please bring a little light into this case?
 
I work with two blokes who cycle all the time. I'll ask them Monday. I can't recall either of them wearing the pinched, eye watering expression Clegg had! Maybe the bikes these days are 'forked lightening' proof! :D
 
LOL, what a question to ask ;D!! Thank you, I wish I was a fly on the wall. Or perhaps they know the episode and won´t wonder then.
 
**** said:
I´m not asking what happened to Clegg ;D, but I for the umpteenth time I´m wondering what actually happened with his bike. Something went snap, but when the chain comes off my bicycle´s sprocket wheel (or whatever it´s called), I never fall down onto the saddle if I am riding it standing up like he did, it´s just that the pedals go very lightly without moving the bike. In Forked Lightning it´s more like the whole pedal unit came off so that his feet had nothing to stand on anymore, causing him to crash onto the saddle. I´m probably talking rubbish, but can someone please bring a little light into this case?
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His chain kept coming off when under load, hence all tension goes from the pedals and you either slip as all your weight shifts without resistance or you lose the pedal from under you, resulting in a bruised "Under carriage" Sadly I know this from experience....

Hope this helps ;)
 
Foggy Dewhurst said:
**** said:
I´m not asking what happened to Clegg ;D, but I for the umpteenth time I´m wondering what actually happened with his bike. Something went snap, but when the chain comes off my bicycle´s sprocket wheel (or whatever it´s called), I never fall down onto the saddle if I am riding it standing up like he did, it´s just that the pedals go very lightly without moving the bike. In Forked Lightning it´s more like the whole pedal unit came off so that his feet had nothing to stand on anymore, causing him to crash onto the saddle. I´m probably talking rubbish, but can someone please bring a little light into this case?
Click to expand...

Oh dear Foggy!! Hope it heels quickly :D

His chain kept coming off when under load, hence all tension goes from the pedals and you either slip as all your weight shifts without resistance or you lose the pedal from under you, resulting in a bruised "Under carriage" Sadly I know this from experience....

Hope this helps ;)
Click to expand...
 
Thank you, Foggy (now I´ve got a picture in my head of this happening to Foggy as well in the show!). That´s interesting, when I went to uni I had my father´s old bike there, because it wouldn´t matter so much of somebody pinched it, it was about 40 years old and the chain kept coming off all the time, but this "accident" never happened to me, so I wondered. Wouldn´t have been pleasant either, especially as it was a man´s bicycle with a bar in the middle :eek:. Poor Cleggy!
 
It happens when the chain is usually too loose. Chains do stretch with time which is why there are adjusters on the back wheel to take up the slack; however it is quite difficult to keep the wheel parallel with the the rear forks. Can occasionally happen if the chain is too tight or the chain lacks sufficient lubrication (which is why you always wore a cycle clip on your trouser to stop it getting covered in oil/grease from the chain).

I had it happen on a motor cycle, much messier and more dangerous because of the higher speeds although the top speed downhill of my BSA Bantam was all of 45 mph with following wind.
 
I asked in work today. Yes, they both winced and confessed they'd experienced the same thing. They said the same as you, Barmpot, the chain was probably too lose. Nasty business, eh? :eek:
 
**** said:
You all make me wish I hadn´t asked ;D!
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No problem - we are all delighted to explain the problems of older machines. I expect your bicycle may well be more modern and less likely to experience the stretch inherent in chains do 50 or more years ago.
 
You could be right, barmpot, I mean, my father´s bike was only about 40 years old, far too young for that sort of thing :D.
 
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