Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

The dreaded chainring tattoo

05.21.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 26 Comments

First of all, thank you to all who rightly threw my whining back in my face and told me to get out and ride some different routes to break out of my pity party. Today, I did. Temperature in the high 70sF, no wind to speak of, and bright sunshine — a glorious day for biking. I rode in an area southeast of the city where I’ve ridden on club rides, but this time I did it alone. I took some roads I haven’t been on before. It was a “lollipop” route: 10 miles out, then a 10-mile loop on some decent country roads, then back home on the same 10-mile route I took to get out there. It’s the longest I’ve ridden since the MS ride last month, and when it was over, I felt great.

One of the attractions on this particular route is an exotic game ranch. If you’re lucky, you can see lots of African wildlife from the road. This morning I saw some antelope with the twisty horns, deer that are different from the North American whitetails, and even a zebra. But I had only my cell phone with me, and the pictures are no good. Next time I’ll take a decent camera.

While I was stopped to look at the critters, I straddled my bike. Not the brightest thing to do, because in no time at all, it was there — the dreaded chainring tattoo.

I’ve heard lots of talk about chainring tattoos being the sign of the rookie biker.ย  What’s a chainring tattoo? It’s that nice greasy mark on your calf from touching the chainring of your bike — usually the large ring, when the chain is on the small one. Sometimes you’ll hear it referred to as the “amateur mark.” I’ve been riding almost two years, and I still get them. So what’s amateur about that?

Tattoo

My own “amateur mark.” A particularly good specimen, I think.

I figure if you’re on the bike, you’re bound to come away with a tattooed calf. Not much you can do about it, and furthermore, it’s not something I’m going to go to great efforts to prevent.

The biggest problem is, it’s tough to completely remove in the shower — even with a slightly abrasive skin cleanser. Oh well, it’ll fade away in a day or three.

Any thoughts about the “amateur mark” slander that accompanies these things?

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categories // Odds 'n ends, Rides Tags // chainrings, Rides

Comments

  1. Ramon H. says

    May 21, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    I too would like to know what makes it an amateur mark. If anything, to satisfy my own sense of curiosity. I get these when I stop at traffic lights. I don’t get them on my skin, but I get them on my socks ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Charles Davis says

      December 11, 2012 at 10:02 am

      I am seriously considering an actual tattoo of a sproket and chain on my right calf to flaunt my interest in riding. It might be fun to see the reaction of people when I sit on their sofa! I have looked for a prototype but may have to create my own.

      Reply
      • Nick S says

        January 10, 2015 at 3:37 am

        Me too! But I cant find a good design that I would be comfortable living with for the rest of my life…

        Reply
  2. Apertome says

    May 22, 2009 at 7:14 am

    Glad to hear you tried a new route. Sounds like a fun one!

    Your post made me realize I haven’t had an “amateur mark” recently. It’s certainly not due to a concerted effort on my part to avoid it, so I’m not sure why. I used to get them frequently, and I’m sure now that I’ve said this, I’ll get one soon.

    Reply
  3. Jared says

    May 22, 2009 at 8:43 am

    Best way to take off grease is to use pure soap on dry skin. Rub it in and then rinse it off. Mark should come right off. Dish soap works well ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      May 22, 2009 at 10:53 am

      You’re right — back in the day when we had to change ribbons in printers and typewriters, I used dish soap a lot. But I typically don’t take it into the shower with me.

      Reply
  4. Jon says

    May 22, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Keeping your drivetrain clean will drastically cut down on the number of these.

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      May 22, 2009 at 10:54 am

      Oh, darn. You’re onto my dirty little secret.

      Reply
    • tracywilkins says

      May 22, 2009 at 12:18 pm

      Another option that helps a lot is to use a wax based lubricant. It needs to be re-applied more frequently, but with it the dirt and junk collected on your drive train isn’t quite as “greasy”. I tend to wipe my chain down and re-apply it every 100-150 miles and most of the time my chain and drive train still have some shine left on them. It seems to wash off your leg a little easier as well.

      Reply
  5. curtis corlew says

    May 22, 2009 at 10:42 am

    I’ve seen photos of people with actual, real tattoos imitating these.
    So, real means you’re an armature, tattoo means you are young and cool. I guess.

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      May 22, 2009 at 10:58 am

      In that case, this guy is really cool.
      http://www.blackbirdsf.org/chainwheels/

      Reply
  6. Dana says

    May 23, 2009 at 4:54 am

    The best thing to remove that grease is Pam cooking spray or a little olive oil. Works like a charm! I use it all the time when my hands are grease covered after cleaning the drivetrain.

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      May 23, 2009 at 8:55 am

      Great tip, Dana. As culinary-challenged as I am, I never would have thought of that!

      Reply
  7. Mike says

    May 23, 2009 at 3:02 pm

    Forget the word “amateur” and ride your ride, Noob! My joy is in the pedaling, not in caring about what other people think of my riding. I am a nice guy and want to get along with everybody, but I am not a big fan of folks who want to differentiate and classify riders. Keep up the great work!

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      May 23, 2009 at 3:24 pm

      Thanks, Mike. It turns out that — from no less an esteemed source than Bicycling Magazine’s online site — that the mark gets the “amateur” name because experienced bikers are supposed to keep their chainrings clean, as Jon alluded to above. I just spent an hour making the drivetrains shine on both my and my wife’s bikes!

      Reply
      • Ramon H. says

        May 23, 2009 at 3:44 pm

        Yea, and I just cleaned the drivetrain last week and this week they are already dirty as heck. Seems that the cleaner you get them, the dirtier they get ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
  8. Sine Botchen says

    May 29, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    My “chainring tattoos” are in the form of two separate scars. One is neat little row of teeth marks on the top of my thigh (I still don’t know how I managed to wind up underneath the bike) and the other is on the back of my ankle where the big ring sliced my leg open thus requiring a trip to the emergency room and stitches and all. After that the grease seems trivial… nothing a little spit and the backside of a glove can’t remove.

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      May 31, 2009 at 5:49 pm

      You mountain bike guys are scary.

      Reply
  9. John says

    July 8, 2009 at 9:48 am

    I’ll bite on this one. I had a much easier time keeping my drivetrain clean with the wax lubes, but got tired of applying it so often. With the lube I use now, it only takes a few miles to make it look like I never cleaned it, so I get a lot of these “tattoos.”

    I also have the Mtn bike variety, since that is what I ride. One set looks like claw marks from when I was not quite used to riding clipless pedals and did a slo-mo fall. The other set is still healing – a line of puncture marks on my calf from being careless while trying to scoot around end of a vehicle gate on a dirt road.

    The scars, I could do without. But the grease marks: Tattoos, indeed, but I sure wouldn’t call them amateur – the only drivetrain that stays clean is one that isn’t used!

    Reply
  10. Bob says

    March 5, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    Funny, I’ve never heard of it being called amateur before. I don’t quite get that, and frankly could care less what people think about it. At what point do are you not an amateur? I’ve been riding for years, used to be pretty fast (although not racing caliber), felt I was a good climber… I held my own with some pretty good riders. Still, I get these from time to time. I actually think they’re pretty cool lookin’ and have thought I might get a real tattoo someday. Maybe I’m weird. ๐Ÿ™‚ Someone above said it best… “My joy is in the pedaling, not in caring about what other people think of my riding.”

    Reply
    • Owen says

      June 11, 2012 at 5:11 pm

      I’m with you Bob they are cool lookin’ I have also been thinking of getting a tattoo as when i see the chain mark its at the end of a great ride and it reminds me of that and makes me smile. In the end, its all about what you get out of it, not what others take from it.

      Reply
  11. RonF says

    September 12, 2012 at 5:24 am

    Put your right foot down at traffic lights….

    Guess what? No more chainring marks!

    Reply
  12. Chuck says

    September 18, 2012 at 8:25 pm

    Straight soap is the answer – liquid hand soap seems best. I am considering getting an actual tattoo of a sprocket on my inside right calf – the more realistic the better. It would be my first and last tattoo but I think it would be kind of fun to scare people when I start to sit on their sofa. Does anyone know of someone with this actual tattoo?

    Reply
  13. Adam says

    December 10, 2012 at 11:55 pm

    I have an appointment for tomorrow to get that tattoo. 15years biking and I don’t find anything amateur about it, just means we enjoy biking so much we don’t care about getting dirty..

    Reply
  14. Jet says

    December 12, 2012 at 11:24 am

    Real cyclists do trackstands.

    Reply
  15. Mick Cooper says

    March 17, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    Hi Ray
    The dreaded tattoo, I liken it to a new driver with “L” plates with one major difference, the driver is actually getting lessons on how to drive and eventually will get better at it.
    For me the tattoo is that “L” plate for a cyclist but without the lessons will be a slow and painful education.
    Most riders, buy the bike and the first thing they want to do is ride the thing as fast as they can. In reality they should be learning the basics on how to ride slow. By riding slow I mean learning the correct way to stop and start, how to look behind safely and how to straddle, these are all skills that will increase your chances on the road but unfortunately are rarely taught.
    I’ve seen lots of crashes, probably half from a low or zero speed and they can do s lot of damage. I’m doing a talk on this very subject next week and the tattoo is the lead in.
    To answer your question in short. Only ever one foot on the ground and the other on the pedal, this forces you to have a wider more stable stance, if you need two feet on the ground, dismount.

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 257 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 ยท Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework ยท WordPress ยท Log in

Go to mobile version
%d