La Cadena Se Tuerce

A young man walked into the shop on Saturday with his mountain bike.  "I need one of these," he said as he pointed to his cassette.  "How much?"  It was obvious another bike shop had told him such a thing.  I told him perhaps not, and asked him what the problem was.  His Spanish was much better than his English, and the converse is true for me.  He moved his arms in a circle and then did a fast half circle and made a clunk sound.  A look of enlightenment came over my face.  I put his bike on the stand.  I put the chain checker on the chain.  "It looks good," I said.  "Buena," he said.  "Cadena," I said, pointing to the chain, and he confirmed the translation.  I pointed to the cassette.  Nuevo?  Si.  I spun the cranks and shifted.  Two turns of the adjusting barrel on the rear derailleur and the bicycle shifted like butter.  Fixed I said, and away he went out the door.

Four minutes later he was back, spinning his arms and making the clunk sound.  I put the bike back on the stand.  He had been in the big ring and smallest cog.  Hmm.  I spun the cranks backwards and carefully watched the chain move over the smallest cog, and there it was, a slight twist in a single link.  "No my friend, you do not need a new cassette or a new chain.  La cadena se tuerce."  I grabbed the chain tool, removed the link, put the chain back together, and out the door he went.  He never came back.