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I've read that the chainring is that spikey gear wheel at the bike's pedals that the chain egages with.

The teeth on that chainring are so worn on my bike that the chain jumps off depite adjusting the derailleur.

The teeth of the chainring at the back wheel don't seem as worn, although this answer says they wear faster.

When replacing the chainring, it seems I should purchase:

  • Crankset
  • Chain
  • Chain adjuster tool

Are there other parts that should be changed at the same time?

Here are three photos of different parts of the chainring:

enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here

Community
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edev
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  • The chainrings are on the crankset (the gears in the front). The cassette or freewheel is the gears in the back. You need a compatible crankset with the bottom bracket on your bike and a crank puller as well. Are you sure they're actually worn? – Batman Jun 28 '16 at 13:55
  • As to whether they're worn on the chainring, I'm pretty sure they are. Most notably is that some of the teeth are not as high as those around them, they look like the top of the spike is worn away. It's about 7 years old, gets a daily commute of maybe 3 miles a day. – edev Jun 28 '16 at 15:10
  • Yeah, that's probably by design to aide shifting. 8k miles is low for a chainring to go. – Batman Jun 28 '16 at 15:17
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    Welcome to [bicycles.se] @edev. Adding a picture of of the teeth on the chain ring would help us help you. – andy256 Jun 29 '16 at 00:50
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    Don;t worry about the height, its design for shifting. Do the teeth look "Sharks tooth" shaped. – mattnz Jun 29 '16 at 01:02
  • I suspect your chain is worn well beyond acceptable limits, and that is your main problem. The chain is the piece that wears out first -- maybe 2000 miles, and this will cause shifting problems. The rear cluster is good for about 5000 miles and the front chainrings are good for 10-15 thousand. There is an inexpensive tool for measuring chain wear -- every serious cyclists should have one. The crankset only needs replacement if it's a cheap one that does not permit chainring replacement, or it's actually defective. – Daniel R Hicks Jun 29 '16 at 11:48
  • I've uploaded photos of three chips in the chainring. That seems to be the most damage. Maybe the height of the teeth don't matter. http://imgur.com/a/eIFyO – edev Jul 01 '16 at 10:17
  • Based on your pictures, the large chainring is hardly worn at all. The "chips" likely were there when the thing was manufactured, and are of no concern. However, the smaller chainring behind the large one appears to be badly worn -- I'm guessing you use that ring the most. I can guarantee you that the chain and rear cluster are also worn out. – Daniel R Hicks Jul 01 '16 at 12:20
  • A replacement of the chainring, cassette and chain sounds like the answer, thank you. – edev Jul 01 '16 at 13:36
  • The "chips" look like shifting features, but they are on the wrong side of the ring; they should face the smaller ring, so the chain can catch on them and be lifted up as the derailleur pushes it over. – riderBill Jan 08 '18 at 21:59
  • Your chain is grungy. Fine, abrasive dirt wears out chains quickly. Worn chains wear out gears. Inside the rollers is where it matters most, and the hardest part to clean. Sheldon Brown's site suggests never oiling a chain while it's on the bike; it washes dirt into the rollers. Best and easiest (not counting the cost of a pin or a new power link), is to remove the chain and drop it in an ultrasonic cleaner with a good degreaser. The gimmicky looking chain cleaning tools with 3 counter rotating brushes work better than anything else I've tried for cleaning it on the bike. – riderBill Jan 08 '18 at 22:24

3 Answers3

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If the chain rings are badly worn, its almost certain the cassette (rear cogs) and chain need replacing. do not change the chain rings on their own.

The chain rings on most cranks can be replaced. Some cheaper ones (mostly kids bikes) use rivets, and you need to replace the whole crank set. If possible, the easiest thing to do is replace chain rings with identically sized ones. The BCD (Bolt circle diameter) must match, you can vary the number of teeth but that changes the gearing and might need to adjust or (worst case) replace the front dérailleur, and may also need to replace the rear derailuer.

If you decide to changing cranks, you will need to match the bottom bracket you have, or get a new bottom bracket. if you need to change BB, you can end up in BB standards hell sooner than you can imagine. Keeping the same BB and Crank set is by far the easiest.

Rear cassette - easiest is replace like for like - same speeds and number of teeth on the big cog. As with the chain rings, if you change the number of teeth you may need to adjust or replace the rear derailleur.

Chain - if you keep all the gears the same number of teeth, you can make the new chain the same length as the old one (presuming old was correct), otherwise you will need to work out the correct length for the new chain.

Tools required:

  • Chain whip
  • cassette removal tool.
  • Hex keys
  • maybe a chain ring bolt spanner
  • Crank removal tool for your cranks (usually square taper, but a dozen others exist)
  • Maybe a BB spanner if replacing BB.
  • Chain breaker.
Criggie
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mattnz
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  • Important point. Since the chain is undoubtedly "stretched", do not make the new chain the same length as the old one, but make it have the same number of links. – Daniel R Hicks Jun 29 '16 at 11:50
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If your crank arms are in good shape, you could just get the chainring(s) and not the whole crankset. You "should" also get chain and cassette as the rear cassette could be more worn than you can see and the chain will not run smoothly and could jump around on you.

Dale
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That last photo shows the chain on a smaller chainring.

Notice the air-gap under the chain? That is a clear sign that the chainring is worn and the "effective" gap between teeth is now larger. So instead of the load being shouldered by multiple teeth, one single tooth carries the load for an instant, accelerating wear of the chain and the tooth.

You're up for chain and chainrings, and its worth doing the cassette at this time too. You might even want to do the jockey wheels for a clean sweep.

Criggie
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