Originally Posted by
Si
Is there a local bike shop that you can take it to for a look? Most unusual, as I say, without a fairly severe mishap. Another possibility is that you are using a chain that is too narrow externally but on a new bike that is unlikely, I’d have thought.
Did you change to a smaller ring at the front when you were grinding your way up a tricky bit?
Anyway, don’t worry, whatever the cause it can be easily sorted out. Even if an entire new chainset was required to avoid it happening again it wouldn’t be too expensive. The bending that you might be seeing in the second pic could just be the chain forcing one ring to the side, and when the chain is pulled out the ring could spring back into place. However, ideally you want to find and eliminate the cause, for as you have found, things like that are a right pain in the a%se.