BBSHD Setup - Luna Eclipse chain ring has bent tooth

I have a commuter set up based on a 29ER hardtail with a BBSHD and a Luna Eclipse chain ring.

After about 4,000 km, when pulling away from the lights yesterday at high power, my chain was completely jammed on the Eclipse.
Basically, one tooth was substantially bent laterally, catching the chain. See picture.

I have managed to tap it back square with a hammer, and the chain is again flowing freely. I am assuming it is rideable, although I haven't tried yet.

Closer inspection of that tooth showed what I believe to be quite a bit of wear - the tooth is somewhat thinner than some of the others, and it was rough on the back face - i filed it smooth.

I am assuming it is worn out and needs replacing though maybe not urgently.

I am after some advise on what to do.

My setup has been very hard on chain wear, and consequently cassette wear too. I am on about my fourth chain and have to replace the 11 ring on my cassette after about 1,000km. I am suspicious that the Eclipse may be part of my issue. It seems to have much longer teeth than any other chain ring I've seen, and I can imagine that this may be not good for the links of the chain as they have more to rub on as they run over it - not sure about this, it is a theory!

Any other experience of similar?

I am thinking I would be better replacing it with a Lekkie Bling Ring, just because it looks more conventional, and should last longer. Thoughts anyone?

Thanks

At the rate you are ripping through other drive train components, I suspect that ANY chainring will have a hard life. Still, Chainring geometry is certainly important to longevity. It makes me wonder if that one tooth may've gotten a little bent at some point and suffered premature wear. Does the Eclipse look as though it has a "narrow-wide" profile? Do you end up doing most of your riding in the 11T cog? For high-speed commuting, perhaps a 72+V setup is better so one can run in lower gears (and not stress the chain and tiny 11T quite as much.)

Get a bigger chain ring and run higher tooth counts on the rear. 11t sprockets are poor for power transfer both in efficiency and also rapid wear. Running even a 12t is a ~9% improvement in chain tension. Ideally you'd be minimum of about 14t on the rear but this is might be too slow with your current set up- if so go bigger on the front. Keep cadence up to minimise high chain tension situations.

Thanks for your replies. I have ordered a 46T Lekkie that is on its way, so that should help me keep off the 11T on the back. I actually bought a few 11T Sunrace rings for the back as they go so quickly, but this is not an ideal solution.

I think it is quite possible that the bad tooth was already bent, as it seems more worn (and rough) than the others.

Decided not to ride the bike till the Lekkie arrives, a jammed chain with that kind of power is a bit scary!

Not familiar with what 72+V is. Can you clarify please?

two_shirts said:

Not familiar with what 72+V is. Can you clarify please?

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I had read that some folks have replaced the stock controller in the BBSHD with an external controller that allows for higher voltage (RPM). Seems that it has been working quite well. However, I think the intention was more for those off-roading and drawing lots of amps with the stock setup. For your type of riding, perhaps just the bigger gear would be the best solution (instead of having to buy a new control and battery setup.)