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#1
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broken chain
Today I broke the chain on my fixed gear. I had some spare links with me
but no chain tool, which resulted in 10km of walking (except some downhills :-)) From now on, I will take the chaintool with me, at least when on the fixed gear, however most people I know don't do it. This woke my curiosity: is there any tip on this respect? Some quick and dirty hack to put the chain temporarily together? Francesco |
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#2
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broken chain
Francesco Devittori wrote:
Today I broke the chain on my fixed gear. I had some spare links with me but no chain tool, which resulted in 10km of walking (except some downhills :-)) From now on, I will take the chaintool with me, at least when on the fixed gear, however most people I know don't do it. This woke my curiosity: is there any tip on this respect? Some quick and dirty hack to put the chain temporarily together? You can carry a quick link, but that doesn't solve the problem of removing the (typical) damaged link. Since joining is trickier than splitting (especially in the field), I think it's good to carry a quick link or 2, I usually throw some worn ones in my bag. Fortunately, broken chains have become so rare that I don't bother carrying a tool for road riding, although I still do off-road. I would consider a fixed gear to be a less likely candidate for chain breaking. DO you have any idea why it broke? |
#3
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broken chain
Peter Cole wrote:
Francesco Devittori wrote: Today I broke the chain on my fixed gear. I had some spare links with me but no chain tool, which resulted in 10km of walking (except some downhills :-)) From now on, I will take the chaintool with me, at least when on the fixed gear, however most people I know don't do it. This woke my curiosity: is there any tip on this respect? Some quick and dirty hack to put the chain temporarily together? You can carry a quick link, but that doesn't solve the problem of removing the (typical) damaged link. Since joining is trickier than splitting (especially in the field), I think it's good to carry a quick link or 2, I usually throw some worn ones in my bag. Fortunately, broken chains have become so rare that I don't bother carrying a tool for road riding, although I still do off-road. I would consider a fixed gear to be a less likely candidate for chain breaking. DO you have any idea why it broke? I guess it broke because a) it was in bad condition, after a few months of salt/water/snow/... and very few maintenance, b) the chain derailed and got stuck. I admit it's the first time I have a broken chain, and that bike is the winter bike, which I don't care to clean much. On the field I was not able to remove the damaged link, if I were able, then I could have used the spare quick link I always have with me. Lesson learned. Francesco |
#4
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broken chain
Francesco Devittori wrote:
Today I broke the chain on my fixed gear. I had some spare links with me but no chain tool, which resulted in 10km of walking (except some downhills :-)) From now on, I will take the chaintool with me, at least when on the fixed gear, however most people I know don't do it. This woke my curiosity: is there any tip on this respect? Some quick and dirty hack to put the chain temporarily together? Francesco http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename= This chain tool is always in my saddlebag. And the saddlebag always goes along on every ride. I've used the chain tool twice in the past 8 years. |
#5
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broken chain
There are lots of fairly complete folding tool kits which are about the size
of a Swiss Army knife, and which include a chain tool. I'm not comfortable without one of these, a pump and a patch kit. |
#6
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broken chain
Francesco Devittori writes:
Today I broke the chain on my fixed gear. I had some spare links with me but no chain tool, which resulted in 10km of walking (except some downhills. From now on, I will take the chain tool with me, at least when on the fixed gear, however most people I know don't do it. This woke my curiosity: is there any tip on this respect? Some quick and dirty hack to put the chain temporarily together? You can carry a quick link, but that doesn't solve the problem of removing the (typical) damaged link. Since joining is trickier than splitting (especially in the field), I think it's good to carry a quick link or 2, I usually throw some worn ones in my bag. Fortunately, broken chains have become so rare that I don't bother carrying a tool for road riding, although I still do off-road. I would consider a fixed gear to be a less likely candidate for chain breaking. DO you have any idea why it broke? I guess it broke because a) it was in bad condition, after a few months of salt/water/snow/... and very few maintenance, b) the chain derailed and got stuck. If you have the chain it should be obvious what occurred. Water and snow won't cause chain failure and a patina of rust on the surface won't either. I suspect all parts that were there before the chain separated are still there after. Have a look at it and see. What most likely failed was that the pin at the place where the chain was joined on installation was not pressed in correctly, allowing to to back out on the side where it did not fully engage the side plate. I admit it's the first time I have a broken chain, and that bike is the winter bike, which I don't care to clean much. On the field I was not able to remove the damaged link, if I were able, then I could have used the spare quick link I always have with me. Lesson learned. So what was damages and how did it look? I think besides carrying a chain tool, knowing how to press in a pin is at least as important. The reason for a chain tool is that, especially on a derailleur bicycle, a "derailleur stick" can rip off the mechanism, requiring chain shortening to ride as a fixed length chain. Derailleur sticks lie in wait on many roads, especially on windy days. They are about 8 to 10 inches long with a slight curve and as thick as a pencil or so. When it happens, most riders are in disbelief how easily their expensive derailleur was ripped from its moorings. I assume you carry the same spare tube, patch kit, and small tools wen riding regardless of which bicycle you use. Forget about spare links, they have no purpose because your chain won't have link failures if you install the chain properly. Just carry the chain tool for the derailleur bicycle. Jobst Brandt |
#7
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broken chain
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#8
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broken chain
In article ,
wrote: From now on, I will take the chain tool with me, at least when on the fixed gear, however most people I know don't do it. This woke my curiosity: is there any tip on this respect? Some quick and dirty hack to put the chain temporarily together? Can't testify to the veracity of these claims, but I've heard of improvised chain-pins (for FG chains) fashioned from large paperclips. You can carry a quick link, but that doesn't solve the problem of removing the (typical) damaged link. Since joining is trickier than splitting (especially in the field), I think it's good to carry a quick link or 2, I usually throw some worn ones in my bag. Fortunately, broken chains have become so rare that I don't bother carrying a tool for road riding, although I still do off-road. I would consider a fixed gear to be a less likely candidate for chain breaking. DO you have any idea why it broke? I guess it broke because a) it was in bad condition, after a few months of salt/water/snow/... and very few maintenance, b) the chain derailed and got stuck. Do you mean it broke immediately following a derailment and/or jam up? Or was this event of the chain's past? I've ridden bone dry, salted and squeaking chains on my FG and never had one break. My multispeed's chain did suffer a link separation once - my fault, I did not press the pin in properly. It's good policy to always carry a multi-tool (with an integrated chain tool) and, of course, know how to use it. Luke |
#9
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broken chain
Francesco Devittori writes:
[...] If you have the chain it should be obvious what occurred. Water and snow won't cause chain failure and a patina of rust on the surface won't either. I suspect all parts that were there before the chain separated are still there after. Have a look at it and see. What most likely failed was that the pin at the place where the chain was joined on installation was not pressed in correctly, allowing to to back out on the side where it did not fully engage the side plate. [...] I don't have a camera here, but I will take a photo when I get one. The broken link is bent. I guess this is what happened: the chain derailed from the cog, but only partially, so that the chain got stuck in the cog, half engaged and half outside (sorry for the bad english). That's about as bad as not pushing pins in properly... to ride with a fixed length chain run that is too slack and CAN derail. That's usually enough to break any chain. So it wasn't rust or weather as you first suggested. It is also possible that I pressed in the pin incorrectly (even if I connected many chains before without any problem), however it's a bit surprising that it failed after more than 2000 km. Wouldn't have it failed before if this was the problem? That's not far for a chain but not knowing the circumstances it could be a pin not properly home. A slack chain will allow the chain to attempt a derailment which would break the chain at a side plate that was seriously deformed or a pin that was marginally inserted. Jobst Brandt |
#10
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broken chain
Jobst Brandt wrote: ... So what was damages and how did it look? I think besides carrying a chain tool, knowing how to press in a pin is at least as important.... Maybe I am a clumsy oaf, but a riding companion had the 9-speed Shimano chain break during a ride. Not having a spare Power Link or special Shimano replacement pin of the right size (the rest of us were riding bikes with 8-speed chain), I tried for about 20 minutes to get the chain back together (as a temporary repair) after removing the broken link. Finally we gave up, and waited for the SAG so we could buy a replacement chain (SRAM with Power Link). -- Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley (For a bit?) |
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