The install guide for the K-Edge pro chain catcher says: “All K-Edge products are to be installed by a professional bike mechanic.”. The installation from what I can tell, is comprised of replacing a single bolt and tightening the chain catcher down so that it is very close to the inner chainring without touching it (making sure to account for chainring bolts as well).
If you’re comfortable adjusting a front derailler this should be pretty straight forward. The warning itself sounds like something written by a lawyer.
The install guide for the K-Edge pro chain catcher says: “All K-Edge products are to be installed by a professional bike mechanic.”. The installation from what I can tell, is comprised of replacing a single bolt and tightening the chain catcher down so that it is very close to the inner chainring without touching it (making sure to account for chainring bolts as well).
Is there really that much chance of major error by doing this yourself?
It’s one of those CYA sorts of statements I’m sure their lawyers advise them to make. They really are pretty easy to install correctly. Reasonable torque on the bolt might be the toughest for a non-mechanical type.
I have a torque wrench so I’m not worried about getting the torque wrong. What I’m afraid of is getting the derailleur all out of adjustment by installing this.
I have a torque wrench so I’m not worried about getting the torque wrong. What I’m afraid of is getting the derailleur all out of adjustment by installing this.
It’ll be pretty hard NOT to move the derailleur when installing a chain catcher (unless the Pro version allows you to do it without removing the derailleur attachment screw).
The pro version allows you to adjust the chain catcher without moving the derailleur, but the first time you install it you have to remove the screw holding the derailleur onto the bike.
I trust myself for most of my bike-related tinkering, but I SUCK at setting up a front derailleur. But I think the hard part is getting the limits right, not the angle.
My recommendation is to do what I do - try it yourself and take it into the shop if/when you screw something up.
I installed mine myself. I found it easiest to unclamp the cable during installation, then retension and reattach it afterward.
Wouldn’t recommend installing it the day before a big race, as the angle and vertical position of the derailleur and tension of the cable will probably change when you remove the bolt, possibly affecting your indexing and ring clearance. You just may have to play with it afterwards to get it back to normal.
I installed mine myself. I found it easiest to unclamp the cable during installation, then retension and reattach it afterward.
Wouldn’t recommend installing it the day before a big race, as the angle and vertical position of the derailleur and tension of the cable will probably change when you remove the bolt, possibly affecting your indexing and ring clearance. You just may have to play with it afterwards to get it back to normal.
If you just shift on to the small chain ring and use the shifter to take all the tension off the front derailleur you shouldn’t need to unclamp the cable. The less times I clamp and unclamp a cable the better. You will need to be looking at how close the K-edge is to the chain when on the small chain ring anyway.
Yep, fortunately the derailleur puts the chain in the small chain ring so you can see how close the K-edge is to the chain.
I prefer to index my shifter exactly where the derailleur’s low stop is, so that there is no play in the lever and I have the shortest possible “throw” to the big ring.
If you don’t remove the cable and don’t want play in the lever below the low stop of the derailleur (and don’t have an inline barrel adjuster), your only option is to pull on the derailleur itself to remove slack, which I wouldn’t recommend.
You could try scratching some light scribe marks into the derailleur hanger and the derailleur mount on the derailleur so that when after you install the chain catcher you can line up the marks and perhaps avoid having to do any more adjustments.
The hardest part is getting it perfectly lined up so that it catches the chain but doesn’t hit a crank bolt, and has an edge that is mostly vertically aligned at the point it passes the small ring.
A catcher doesn’t need to be a hair’s width from the chain ring bolt. Look at the thickness of the chain. It’s not getting through a minute opening. Now if you can’t adjust a front derailleur you may want to put in a call to your LBS. Aside from maybe the pedals a mechanical FD is the most simple moving part on a bike.
