# can chainring pins be moved?



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

I have a Ritchey 50/34 compact crankset and recently picked up a FSA 48 tooth chainring to replace the Ritchey 50 tooth ring. I just noticed that the big pin on the Ritchey ring which protrudes to the OUTSIDE and is under the crank on the Ritchey is directly across, on the opposite side of the circle, as is the big pin on the FSA ring. In order to mount the FSA ring and get the big pin under the crank, I need to move the big pin to a hole across the chainring, if possible. Can chainring pins be transferred to other holes in the chainring? I have my doubts, it looks like they're riveted or something.

I hope this makes sense. The Ritchey chainring is different than the ones on my other bikes, in that a bolt circle is directly behind the crank, rather than the crank being between 2 bolt circles as on the other chainrings. Thanks for any help, and Happy New Year!!!


----------



## reptilezs (Aug 21, 2007)

im not sure i understand your problem. is the pin on the fas ring too long and touching the crank arm?


----------



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

*FSA pin is between bolt circles*

The FSA pin is between two bolt circles, the Ritchey pin is in line with (just to the outside) of a bolt circle. If I install the FSA ring as it is now, the big pin on the outside of the ring will be either be before or after the crank arm (say, at 11 o'clock or 1 o'clock) instead of behind the crank arm (at 12 o'clock). Hope this helps, maybe I should just take pictures.


----------



## JoelS (Aug 25, 2008)

So what's the problem with the pin in a different place?


----------



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

*maybe nothing*

Since it sticks out to the right (to the outside) as you're sitting on the bike and looking down, I'm thinking maybe I'd gash the inside of my right ankle if I missed a clip-in, but maybe I'm being paranoid. If this does happen, I guess I could just whack the pin off with a hacksaw. 

I'm not really sure what the pin is for anyway, but my guess would be it's to prevent the chain from being jammed between the crank arm and the big front ring if the chain jumps off the outside of the ring.


----------



## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

Some pins are screwed to the chainring, some riveted on. Screwed-on ones usually have a screwdriver slot so just unscrew it. For riveted ones, either file it down flush , or better yet remove the ring and drill it out from the back with a 1/16" drill.

You can probably live without the pin, but if you do need something to keep the chain from jamming behind the crank arm, super glue something to either the ring or arm to make an improvised replacement for the pin.


----------



## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

wait....if the pin is just NOT under the crank arm, can't you just spin the ring so it is and re-bolt?


----------



## Mark Kelly (Oct 27, 2009)

I faced a similar problem putting new 10 speed rings on my old 8 Speed C -record cranks (for those not familiar with the intricacies of Campy gear, the record cranks have one of the chainring bolts mounted on the crank arm.) 

I drilled through the pin with a 2.5 mm drill and tapped to it M3, drilled a countersunk hole in the correct position on the ring and mounted the pin with an M3 screw and Loctite. It's worked perfectly ever since.


----------



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

*that's what I thought initially*



Touch0Gray said:


> wait....if the pin is just NOT under the crank arm, can't you just spin the ring so it is and re-bolt?


The Ritchey crankset set is made in such a way that when a chainring is mounted, one of the bolt circles has to be screwed in behind the crank, which is a pain because the crank blocks access to the bolt circle, and the bolt circle screw has to be removed from the inside, the side by the bottom bracket. If the big pin was located across the chainring, or 180 degrees from where it's currently located, it'd be fine. I hadn't noticed this before, but the Ritchey crankset is different from others in this respect. Maybe that's one of the reasons it was on sale for $50 at Performance .


----------



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

*not screwed in unfortunately*



FBinNY said:


> Some pins are screwed to the chainring, some riveted on. Screwed-on ones usually have a screwdriver slot so just unscrew it. For riveted ones, either file it down flush , or better yet remove the ring and drill it out from the back with a 1/16" drill.
> 
> You can probably live without the pin, but if you do need something to keep the chain from jamming behind the crank arm, super glue something to either the ring or arm to make an improvised replacement for the pin.


There's no slot, it's riveted. I think I will just drill it out. Thanks for your help!


----------



## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

Touch0Gray said:


> wait....if the pin is just NOT under the crank arm, can't you just spin the ring so it is and re-bolt?


Just to clarify. There are two 5 bolt spider arrangements. The typical one has one point of the spider opposite the crank arm and the crank arm in the gap between the two near ones like this one.

The second has one bolt attached to the crank arm like Campagnolo Record. or simply aligned with it.

Depending on the crank, the pin needs to be oriented either on line with the mounting bolt, or in the gap between them. Some chainring makers solve the problem by drilling 2 mounting holes for the pin and letting the user locate it where needed, but rings with the pin mounted can only work with the crank style they were made for.

The user must either make sure to have the right ring, or remove the pin.


----------



## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Or not*



FBinNY said:


> The user must either make sure to have the right ring, or remove the pin.


No real need to remove the pin. You can mount the big ring so that the pin is just in front of or just behind the crank arm and it will serve at least some of its function to prevent the chain from slipping between the chainring and the crankarm. And even if it doesn't do that, it causes no harm if it's left in place.


----------



## rx-79g (Sep 14, 2010)

Kerry Irons said:


> No real need to remove the pin. You can mount the big ring so that the pin is just in front of or just behind the crank arm and it will serve at least some of its function to prevent the chain from slipping between the chainring and the crankarm. And even if it doesn't do that, it causes no harm if it's left in place.


A pin that doesn't do anything looks stupid sticking out into space, regardless of where it is mounted.


----------



## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Looking stupid*



rx-79g said:


> A pin that doesn't do anything looks stupid sticking out into space, regardless of where it is mounted.


Like I said: "No real need to remove the pin."


----------

