Put a zip tie on a customer's chainstay as a joke, and now I feel like an idiot

Paul Fisher · 2026-09-14T07:55:06.176602+00:00

A guy brought in a 90s hardtail with a chain slap problem so bad it had chewed through the paint down to bare metal. I put on a new chain and a clutch derailleur, and as a joke I zip tied an old inner tube to the stay to show him what a redneck chainstay protector looks like, told him it was temporary. He rode it for 6 weeks, came back grinning, and said it was the quietest his bike had ever been. I cut the tube open and the stay was bone dry, not one scratch, and the tube cost me about 40 cents. Now I keep a bag of dead tubes by the bench and half my tune ups get one. Has anyone found something that works as well that costs less than a buck?

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Put a zip tie on a customer's chainstay as a joke, and now I feel like an idiot | Bicycle Mechanics - Hub Chatter