trail side repairs

[gazooks]

whilst out today had the misfortune to take a ride over the bars then snap my rear mech hanger, removed the rear mech then took a few links out of the chain tried riding on(singlespeed) but the chain kept riding up/down the cassette and snapped then jumping. has anyone got any tips for repairs in this situation if it happened again apart from a spare hanger.

[martinw]

Its really hard to turn your bike into singlespeed to get you home, there is no real way of getting the right tension on the chain unless you have some sort of chain tentioner.

Mtbman tried it on a ride on the marin where he bent his mech hanger and there was no way of getting the chain back on and riding, the chain was either too tight and wouldnt fit or too long and would skip and loose grip on the sprockets.

After experiencing this I went out and bought myself a spare mech hanger, I think its the only way to combat it. I think mine cost me about £18, I may never use it but its there just incase.

[dyls]

Only a spare hanger in your situation.

Depends how much spare gear you want to carry around on the trails with you as many things can go wrong on a bike. Did you know that I have walked over half of the Marin! ;D

[psycholist]

I lost the rear mech on Drum. I managed to make a single speed. I used the middle ring front and back, which got me home. However, the chain became so tight that it bent the front middle sprocket. I certainly wouldn't make that repair again unless I was really desparate. I read somewhere that you can wedge a stick in the rear sprocket to stop it jumping down.

I guess Martin's tip is the only one to ensure you reliably get home.