ExecuDork posted:

On my ride (almost) to work this morning I noticed my chain was jumping sometimes under heavy load, like when I shift to an easier gear and then push to climb the hill. It jumps once, stays in the same gear, and then I keep going. I had a closer look and there's plenty of black greasy guk on the upper of the two small cogs on the rear derailleur, and if I pedal backwards the chain kinda half-slides-off that cog, which explains the jump when I pedal forwards again.

I guess I missed a spot or two when I cleaned my bike, and I'll try to take care of that this weekend. My medium-term plan is to get this bike up to "acceptable" for my commute, then start thinking about either replacing it, replacing major parts of it, or just getting a second bike of some kind (probably something more mountain-bike-like, there's a small network of trails at my university I'd eventually like to explore). Regarding "replacing major parts", the chain and everything it touches is the obvious candidate.