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Snapped chain options

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Started 9 years ago by Kenny
Latest reply from Harts Cyclery
This topic is resolved

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chain snapped

Kenny
Member

Yesterday, I gave my chain a bit of a clean, it wasn't a perfect job, but much better than before. Today on the way home, it was making an odd sound, which suddenly got a lot worse as I neared my destination, and then it snapped. Pic below.

The question is, do I remove the link and hope the rest of it is ok? Or should I just use a new chain? I'm wondering whether I hadn't put this specific link back in properly and it's worked its way loose on the way home. Or maybe the chain was being held together with a year's worth of NEPN sludge. I know it's impossible to know for sure either way, so ultimately I'm asking... if this was your chain, what would you do?

IMG_4708

Posted 9 years ago #
I were right about that saddle
Member

@Kenny

New chain, most definitely.

Posted 9 years ago #
amir
Member

I'd go for a new chain for peace of mind. You can get them pretty cheap if you shop around (at least if not 10speed+)

Posted 9 years ago #
ih
Member

Hi @Kenny. Did you split the chain to clean? Or clean it in situ? If former, I would guess you didn't replace the link quite right. If the latter, it just broke!

Either way, definitely a new chain, but I know some of these 'connecting links' can be tricky to fit.

Posted 9 years ago #
Lizzie
Member

snapped chains are one of the problems of having many rings on the back block. The chain has to be very fine, and can rust through more easily.
Its why I use my Brompton as my bike of choice in winter...yes it needs cleaning more, but the chain is fairly chunky given there is only a 2-speed derailleur and the rest of the gearing is in the hub.
I have rescued a split chain before by just removing 2 links. And really given the fact we are half way through a winter, and so the whole chain is likely to be compromised, this is what I would recommend now.....followed by purchase of a new chain (and if necessary chainset) in spring.

Posted 9 years ago #
Kenny
Member

@ih - I split it. Tbh, I was fairly confident I had reattached it properly, as I work the link once reattached to ensure it moves freely and looks ok. However, it seems a bit of a coincidence. That said, consensus already appears to be a new chain. I have a spare so there's no issues there, but I may also be best to replace the cassette at the same time. Quite glad I didn't need to buy a new front mech now!

Posted 9 years ago #
Kenny
Member

Hmm, Lizzie offers an alternative... I could always carry a spare chain with me if I go down the route of link removal?

Posted 9 years ago #
ih
Member

Lizzie's suggestion would work if the resulting shortened chain is long enough for the largest combo of sprocket and chain ring. You could carry a spare chain first time out just to be sure, but chains are quite heavy; I wouldn't want to lug a spare around on the off-chance of another break.

Posted 9 years ago #
Colin
Member

My pal snapped his chain yesterday when we were riding up the Lyne Valley. I had a quick link and it worked fine as a get home option, but he was off to buy a new one today. The current thinner chains wear more rapidly and need to be replaced more often to preserve the cassette and chain-rings. Also, some quick links are for single use, others are multiple use.

I imagine that the salt and winter grime will increase wear rates, so for peace of mind, I'd suggest replacing your chain.

I don't remove chains to clean them, but give them a good scrub with a rag wrapped round my hand.

Good luck.
Cheers
Colin

Posted 9 years ago #
Kenny
Member

As it turns out, the decision was taken out of my hands. I had a spare link so went to put it on, and then another part of the chain disintegrated. New chain is on and tested. Only slipped once in the short 2 mile spin I went on, which was possibly because I hadn't changed gear properly. I'll leave changing the cassette until after I've commuted to work and back tomorrow, that'll give it a good test, and if it is slipping during that ride, I'll swap it too. I have some confidence it'll be fine though as it was solid the rest of the time.

Oh, and the front mech is still working ;)

Posted 9 years ago #
paddyirish
Member

Chain wear tool, something like this is well worth buying. The idea is to measure the stretch in the chain and replace it before it gets to 1% stretched. Looking at the remains of your chain you'd probably find it was time to replace...

http://www.naden.de/blog/bbvideo-bbpress-video-plugin -->

[+] Embed the video | This guy shows how to use it
" target="_blank">Video Download Get the Flash Video

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I remember Greenroofer saying in a work blog that if you view the chain as a consumable part of the bike (like brake blocks) and replace it regularly, more expensive parts like the cassettes will have a much longer lifetime. Really rings true (and I need to replace my chain...)

Posted 9 years ago #
Kenny
Member

I'd measured it very recently and it wasn't stretched. I'm at a bit of a loss as to why it has disintegrated; maybe my cleaning was a bit over the top...

Posted 9 years ago #
I were right about that saddle
Member

@Kenny

Looked to me like a foreign object got involved and drove the plates apart. Still worth replacing, for peace of mind.

Posted 9 years ago #
Uberuce
Member

For the sake of under a tenner, I'm in the camp of early replacement over intricate care. That does suffer the flaw of me being lazy and not actually replacing it often enough. I finally took the clunky-clunky hint from my fixie's chain on Friday, put a new one in over the weekend, and now wee blue floofy is running slick as an I'm not finishing that sentence here.

Posted 9 years ago #
Kenny
Member

A definite possibility, @IWRATS.

Under a tenner for a chain?? Im going to be lucky finding one under £20 :(

Posted 9 years ago #
CycleCommute.CC
Member

What kind chain do you use?

I got an ultegra one for £13 last month.

Posted 9 years ago #
amir
Member

And you can pick up 8 speed ones for e.g. £7 on well known online retailers

Posted 9 years ago #
Uberuce
Member

Kenny, that's on the daily fixed gear brute; 1/8" chains are pretty Soviet in delicacy, price and fortitude.

I got an Ultegra 10-speed for the Croix for much the same as galaxy. Wiggle, I think.

Posted 9 years ago #
Kenny
Member

I've got the Tiagra 10 speed groupset on these days, installed it last Easter to replace the 2300 groupset the bike came with.

The Ultegra one @ £13 on Wiggle does look more like it. I had been looking at KMC chains, which is what I have on the bike now. Cheapest KMC in-stock one is £21. That said, the Ultegra one is out of stock too, it appears this is not a good time to be getting a chain online! However, Chain Reaction seem to have Tiagra and 105 chains for around £13, and they are in stock, so that's not so bad. I'll probably pick up the 105 chain, unless the Ultegra one comes back in stock soon.

Posted 9 years ago #
Harts Cyclery
Member

Kenny, I suspect you rejoined it without a Shimano joining pin. Shimano chains WILL ALWAYS FAIL if a joining pin is not used.

If you want to break and clean your chain regularly, get a chain with a quicklink, either KMC or SRAM. As mentioned, you can clean on the bike, but there's no harm in removing to do it more thoroughly, if you have a reusable link (to be honest I've never heard of a once-only link failing when reused.)

Day to day wear (chains wear, they don't stretch) aside, your chain was probably fine and it's the lack of joining pin that caused the fail.

In the most polite way, some of the advice on here varies in its validity; speak to your friendly local bike shop for some good advice :-)

Posted 9 years ago #
earthowned
Member

I second the KMC/SRAM quicklink route. You can pick them up pretty cheap in pairs, or they sometimes come with new KMC chains.

Posted 9 years ago #
amir
Member

A tool to go with the quick links is worthwhile e.g. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/park-tool-master-link-pliers-mlp1-2/rp-prod109888 or http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bbb-open-link-closing-link-tool-btl77/rp-prod47439

They are not necessary (you can do this by hand out on the bike) but they make the process lemon-squeezy and less frustrating.

Posted 9 years ago #
Kenny
Member

I suspect you rejoined it without a Shimano joining pin. Shimano chains WILL ALWAYS FAIL if a joining pin is not used

Hmm, that is interesting to know. I certainly didn't change the pin, just rejoined it using the same pin that was in there. I was sure I had done this many times before, but then again, I typically use a KMC chain, and I think I had a Shimano chain as that was all that was available when I got it...

The chain I now have on it is indeed a KMC chain, with a quicklink, so that should make things easier next time. If I was to get an Ultegra chain and it doesn't come with a quicklink, are the joining pins one use only, or can they be removed and reinserted again?

Posted 9 years ago #
Harts Cyclery
Member

Kenny, the pin you used was just a regular pin, which is not designed for rejoining a Shimano chain, because by reusing it removes the peened portion of the pin. You would have needed one of these:

http://www.parktool.com/uploads/images/blog/repair_help/chain_111.jpg

Shimano chains are also rather prone to breaking generally, along with the joining pin issue, it's another reason I don't stock them!

Park have done this rather excellent page, which explains basically everything you'll ever need to know about joining derailleur chains:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/chain-installation-derailleur-bikes

Posted 9 years ago #

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