The first chain ring to wear out

[Sombeech]

It's usually the middle one.

Mine's the small one.

I suck at climbing, ok? Deal with it.

[PunchKing]

Pretty sure your whole bike is worn out. Just sayin'...

[Sombeech]

I retired the horn too.

[blueeyes]

I retired the horn too.

What!! NOOooooooo

[live2ride]

Did you upgrade to an airhorn??

[Sombeech]

The horn was just full of dust and bugs, it's lost it's potency.

Here's the ring I'm replacing.

[REDFOX]

The small ring is usually made of stainless steel, rather than aluminum like the other 2 rings, and they tend to be very durable. I can't tell for sure what material your ring is made from, but it doesn't look worn in your picture. Your chain will skip or stick at your rear derailleur if there is a bent link or if your chain is stretched. There could be a problem with the cassette. If you have to replace that, it is a good idea to replace your rings as well to insure even wear.

[Sombeech]

I just got a new chain, and I notice it sticks and gets sucked back up in the front small ring.

Think it's my chain then? Either way, I'll be getting the ring tomorrow. I might be stopping by your place to borrow that crank tool.

[asdf]

are you still riding that blue Klein?

[theking648]

if your pedaling and the chain stays stuck to the chain ring and sucks up between the frame and chain ring.

then it's called chain suck.... so... CLEAN YOUR BIKE! LOL

also dirt will help wear your chain rings but IMO the chain ring looks good.

[Sombeech]

Yep, still the blue Klein. I've wanted an All Mountain bike for a few years now, trying to save up.

I've cleaned and lubed the gear and chain, but I'm still getting some chain suck. I guess I'll just have to see what happens when I put this new ring on, hopefully tonight.

[Sombeech]

It also seems like the teeth on the small gear are slightly bent to the left in the pic. I'm thinking this is what's grabbnig the chain and wrapping it back up.

[cachehiker]

Sort of. It's actually that the teeth are now farther apart than the chain links. As the load is being taken up by the teeth on the top of the ring, the teeth on the bottom should develop enough slack for the derailleur to overcome. The differing pitch is causing the load to be taken up by the teeth on the bottom of the ring instead.

btw, I don't suck at climbing and I wear out the inner ring too. I'm a spinnner, not a masher.

[greyhair biker]

You are all spot on here.
1 - CLEAN YOUR BIKE so you can properly inspect your drivetrain for a tweaked ring, burrs in the teeth, etc.
2 - take a small flat bastard file to the burrs on the leading edge of the rings to smooth - you have to be kinda careful here...don't want to take off too much.

You have a COMBINATION of little problems that are slowing things up a bit, not the least of which is dirt, abuse and age
You either should A. rebuild/replace your drivetrain since you love your KLEIN or B. UPGRADE to a KONA COILAIR or STINKY

[Sombeech]

I finally replaced the gear, thanks to Shawn for lending me his crank tool.

In putting it back together, I hope I did it right, I just tapped it back in place with a rubber mallet.

It rides/ operates great as far as I can tell, so I guess that's it. Oh and by the way, it's easier to work on once you've taken the crank off correctly.

I cleaned the other rings up with a little Carb Cleaner. I'm sure there's better stuff out there, but this really took all the grime off.