ICE Trice - Chain falls off

[MuirSR]

I have a friend who has owned an ICE Trice T from new for about 18 months. He's beset by problems with the chain coming off, dropping down onto the front bracket at the front of the trike. Kevin at DTek fitted a chain retention device to the chain guard, but this seems to have produced no improvement (in fact, it can make it more difficult to get the chain back in place!).

My friend thinks there's a design fault in the Trice Q&T models (he thinks it's related to the design of the rear suspension element with the bit of velcro which stops the whole lot flopping down if the trike is lifted. I note a review of a Trice QNT on the foldsoc website mentioned the chain falling off (but suggested a different reason):

One thing I have found a problem is that when pushing the machine backwards (necessary quite often when manoevering, given the poor turning circle), the chain will come off the rings at the front. I think this is due to the fact that the chain line at the bottom, imposed by the chain tubes and their fixing point, pulls the chain quite strongly towards the centre of the machine, resulting in it coming off the sprockets when the transmission is working in the opposite direction to normal. It is best to makes sure the smallest front ring is selected in this situation, but even then the chain is likely to come adrift.

My friend's experience seems similar: if he pulls the trike backwards, he often finds the chain comes off. It happened again this morning, when we had to do a 3-point turn. The worst occurrence was one time at a cross roads. Having waited for a gap in the traffic, he then pulled away and the chain came off leaving him stranded in the middle of the road with fast-moving traffic bearing down on him.

Do other Trice Q|T users experience trouble from the chain falling off? (Could this be a reason for the substantial re-design of the rear end of the trike in ICE's latest models?)

Has anyone had this, and solved it?

[byegad]

If the front dérailleur is set right and there is a reasonable but not excessive tension form the rear mech' then it shouldn't fall off. Certainly mine stays on.

[CW]

I`ve not had any problems like this with my Q when I had chain tubes on, nor since I took them off. And I`ve not heard of a problem
I would think that if this only happening when the T is reversed then the tube from the return idler to the chain ring may be putting some pressure on the chain towards the boom. So a suggestion, bend the tube halfway along away from the boom. If it also does in whilst pedalling then it`ll be the front derailleur alignment/throw.
Personally I`d remove the chain tubes

[dkmwt]

Yes I've had the problem and solved it on both mine and my brothers trike.

As you said the problem is when reversing the chain tube pulls the chain towards the middle of the trike working in the same way that the dérailleur works when going forward but there are no screws to limit this movement.

The way I solved this is by replacing the bolt that holds the "P" clip for the return tube under the main pulley with a 50mm bolt and 3 nuts. The first nut on the bolt goes right up to the bracket to hold the bolt square. The next bolt goes far enough down the bolt to allow room for washer, "P" clip, washer and nut. Doing this should put the chain line on the outside of the pulley therefore centring the chain on the middle ring. Since doing this I've not had the chain fall off.

I'll take a picture of it tomorrow to show you what I mean.

[squeaker]

Never had that problem with our (OK, SWMBO's) 'T', but suspect that return tube shape is relevant, also rear mech tension (i.e. chain not too long).
dkmwt's mod sounds sensible, but I suspect that some careful tube bending could achieve similar results.

[MuirSR]

dkmwt: thanks for the tip. I'll let my friend know (his PC's currently out of action), and I look forward to seeing the picture, if you're able to post one.

squeaker: My own impression, when this first started happening, was the chain was too long, and I suggested removing some links. I'm not sure if this has been done (probably hasn't). Usually, for chain sizing, it's recommended you run the chain round the largest chain ring and the largest rear sprocket, by-passing the rear derailleur, and then add a couple of links to that length. Does this method apply to the Trice? (Can't see why it shouldn't -- the rear derailleur is standard.)

As I said, my friend sees this as a design fault with these models, and he's pretty much made up his mind to trade in his current trike for one of the new models, assuming the "fault" is fixed, which he will have to determine following some test rides (though, of course, the "fault" wasn't apparent when he tested the T originally).

[Wildduck]

Never had the problem, nor had to modify the design. Can see no design fault.

[Starfire]

I have a Trice Q, owned from new since 2006 and I've never experience any problems at all with the chain coming off.

[squeaker]

Usually, for chain sizing, it's recommended you run the chain round the largest chain ring and the largest rear sprocket, by-passing the rear derailleur, and then add a couple of links to that length. Does this method apply to the Trice? (Can't see why it shouldn't -- the rear derailleur is standard.)

Rear suspension! RTFM to coin a phrase

[7_lives_left]

I have a post 2006 model trice Q.
The chain falls off the small chain ring when back pedaling/reversing frequently.

I have a chain guard. Getting the chain caught between the guard and the spider can be interesting.

Though I can make this work to my advantage if I am on a hill and fail to change down and grind to a halt. If I back pedal, the chain drops from the big chain ring to the little chain ring while holding the bike stationary with the brakes. It would be better if I didn't mess up the gear changes and that the chain didn't fall off.

[byegad]

Why not move the chainring guard in a bit to act as a stop for an overchange? I did it on mine.

[Tigerbiten]

I've had this trouble with the chain falling off the smallest chain ring.
I was turning tube 90 degrees anticlockwise so the bent bit kept pointing outwards to fit it.
But it soon sagged back downwards and started falling off again.
After reading dkmwt fix ...........

The way I solved this is by replacing the bolt that holds the "P" clip for the return tube under the main pulley with a 50mm bolt and 3 nuts. The first nut on the bolt goes right up to the bracket to hold the bolt square. The next bolt goes far enough down the bolt to allow room for washer, "P" clip, washer and nut. Doing this should put the chain line on the outside of the pulley therefore centring the chain on the middle ring. Since doing this I've not had the chain fall off.

......... I tried something similar.
I didn't like how close the chain was to the longer bolt but I had a spare P clip.
So I replaced the top two P clips bolts with longer ones.
And used these to hold two P clips, so the return tube now runs on the outside of the pully.
With a couple of washers between the two P clips there is no risk of the tube rubbing on the pully.

Luck ..............

[TedWB]

I had this problem with the non suspended version! of a Qnt. I changed to rear suspension dumped the tubes and fitted a terracycle idler, fitting rear suspension also involved getting a new wheel! It cost almost as much as a new Trike. Problem resolved I do not know which part resolved the problem as I completed the lot together! one advantage was I reduced the weight by a staggering 2.5 ounces!! It still weighs a tonne.
Ted