"If it's stupid but it works it's not stupid... I think": Cyclists pleasantly surprised by front derailleur "hack" that turns your bike 1x using just a roadside rock... (sort of)... but is it really a "rock-solid solution"? + more on the live blog

Back to the joys of Reddit to kick off Thursday's live blog, more mechanical musings, this time in the form of a front mech "hack" that'll turn your bike 1x for free. All it costs is the time to find a roadside rock and presumably some scratching to your frame. I present to you... the "rock-solid solution".

First things first, please don't let your chain get into this state, it's had a hard life. 

Anyway, back to the rock wedged between the derailleur and the frame, keeping it in place. Now, obviously if your cable is still in place the rock is, well, a bit redundant. However, among the good people of Reddit who were fascinated by this was a bike shop mechanic who'd seen someone use this method before too to get them through a multi-day ride and keep them in the big ring when their front cable snapped.

"It's a legit solution when FD cable snaps," another commented.

"I had someone come into the shop with this set-up because his cable snapped on a multi day trip. Hey, if it works…" the mechanic said.

Negatives: we can already see the damage that rock is doing to the frame, plus you could get a bit of a cadence shock if it dislodged... but desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. We mainly just enjoyed reading the comments... some excellent work...

"Rock-solid solution, that is."

"If it's stupid but it works it's not stupid. I think."

"Not great for the frame but I'd call it a hack."

"Did you consider adjusting the limit… NO. ROCK."

Others were more concerned with the "seasoning" of the chain...

"I can hear this pic."

"I also love the seasoning of the chain. I can hear it from here."

"You'd think the rust would make it hard to shift anyway."

Can anyone vouch for the rock 1x "hack"? Pulled this trick when your cable snapped? Don't worry, we won't assume your chain looked like this one...

That sound 🎶

Omloop in two days 😍 pic.twitter.com/6qRV9KXmNf

— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) February 27, 2025

Two types of people: 

In the blog comments, similar discussion:

BIGWATTS: "Why not just adjust the lower limit screw? Usually have enough range for this, I've done it with an old 10-speed Centaur front mech successfully. But the chain state explains everything..."

SimoninSpalding: "Exactly, my eldest daughter's bike has a 2x8 set-up except it only has a single chainring, so I have retained the front derailleur and simply set both limit screws so that it acts as a chainkeeper and does not move."

Pub bike: "Likely didn't have a screwdriver. Or any tools for that matter. But then why bother when you can just pick something up from the side of the road? 

"I've used a twig to get my chain back on but now I'm reevaluating my entire touring toolkit - maybe all I need is a small bag of gravel, if that, and I can ditch all the lube, cables, brake pads, multitool, spanners, cutters, puncture repair kit, NBT etc, especially after reading the article about puncture repairs using grass. Banana skins can also be used."

HLaB: "I'll not sleep tonight thinking about the poor state of the chain! No wonder the front derailleur cable snapped."

AidanR: "I've used that hack more than once in my time, but using a stick rather than a rock, which has obviously drawbacks!"

And comment of the day/week/month?

GMBasix: "You've got to be firm with these things. I tried using a carrot once, and it just didn't work at all."  

> Shocking footage shows violent bikejacker swinging hammer at cyclist before stealing bike in latest Regent's Park attack

Lime and Forest e-bikes are booming in London. If you live in or visit the city then you probably don't need a newspaper to tell you this, it's fairly obvious as soon as you take a short journey anywhere. With that said, the Standard's transport editor Ross Lydall has done some sterling work crunching the numbers.

His research of council documents found that in October alone 664,000 e-bike and e-scooter hires were made from parking bays in Westminster. Such is the popularity of Lime and Forest's dockless hire bikes, Westminster council is converting almost 200 car parking spaces into bike bays.

Lydall also found that last summer there were up to 5,000 fines a month for riders breaching the bikes' parking rules in Westminster, cases where the e-bikes were not left in designated parking bays. Westminster said it spent £945,000 designating the bays but recouped £845,000 from Lime and Forest. A £100,000 grant from TfL meant the council was not left out of pocket.

The fines in Westminster start at £10, increasing depending on number of breaches, repeat offenders having their accounts closed. Last month, actor Timothée Chalamet was slapped with a £65 fine for failing to correctly park the Lime bike he rode to the London premiere of his upcoming Dylan biopic.

Speculation about a potential Pogačar Paris-Roubaix raid has been rife since these pictures emerged a few weeks ago, the world champion taking a casual training ride over the cobbles of the Arenberg.

Well, UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Nils Politt, who finished second behind Philippe Gilbert at the Hell of the North back in 2019, is certain Pogačar can win the race.

"110% sure he can win it," the German told Cyclingnews. "You saw him going up the Kwaremont [in the 2023 Tour of Flanders], he went past me like he was on a motorbike. If he does the same thing in a sector like Mons-en-Pevele in Paris-Roubaix or some other paves that are even a little bit uphill, he can put down a lot of power on the pedals."

That would pose a tiny problem for Politt, Roubaix one of his big goals of the classics... "For sure if he doesn't do it, it gives me more of a chance," Pogačar's teammate added.

"Pogačar will be back at the start in the classics and if he's there in Roubaix, he'll be at the front of the race and our own goals move back. But when it comes to me going for a good result, it's not a problem either way. Sometimes it's actually easier to have him as a leader in the race because you're more focused. Then if he's in front, you can relax and put more pressure on the other rivals that way."