Chain snap, rider seriously injured

I'll be interested in your comments on this story about an incident that
befell a member of our local club -- a very dedicated rider maintains his
equipment.

"You asked how this could have happened. I would have
never thought a chain could snap, but I guess they
can. No, his chain did not get caught in the wheel.
What happened was, we came to small hill and he stood
up on the pedals to speed up the hill. As he applied
force and all of his weight to the pedal, the chain
broke. The chain whipped up in the air and wrapped
itself around his rear light near the seat. Gail, Liz
and I think Sally, were with Steve, saw the chain whip
up in the air. I was a few bike lengths behind him and
saw his front wheel suddenly turn 180 degrees. His
body flipped up in the air. I think that as he was
applying force to the pedal and had most of his weight
on one pedal, the chain broke, the pedal dropped
forward and his body went forward. His hands must have
slipped off the handlebars and he flipped, like doing
a handstand in the air. When he flipped his head was a
few feet from the pavement and he came down hard on
his right shoulder and left hand. The bike also
flipped and at some point the chain ring came into
contact with his left ankle and sliced into it. He
hit on the pavement but somehow ended up in the grass
on the side of the road, where he waited calmly and
patiently for the car to take him to the hospital.

I have really thought all about how a chain can break
suddenly. Having a chain break was strange to me,
until a couple of people have mentioned that they know
people who have had chains break. Steve's chain is not
old or worn. It looks as if one plate came off the pin
and the chain pulled apart. No metal actually snapped.
His chain is not one of the newer lightweight chains
that are marketed these days, those with drilled or
thinner plates and/or hollow pins that reduce weight.
Also, a lot of the chains these days have one link
that can be moved or taken apart along side the road.
I would think these chains are weaker then the old
conventional chains where the pin is forced into place
with a tool. I looked up the technical information on
Steve's particular chain. It is one of their strongest
chains. They make his chain with and without a "quick
link" that can be adjusted by hand without a tool. I
do not know if he had a "quick link". If he did, it is
along side the road in Six Mile. I suspect his chain
had all pins that are forced into place with pressure.
You have to have two pins break in order to lose a
link of chain. It appears the chain only came apart in
one place and no links are missing. It is just one of
those things that happens, I suppose.

So, that is what happened."

This poor guy had his shoulder and collar bone shattered. Ugh.

Bob C.

I bet the problem was with the rejoining method. Most chains requir
careful assembly to ensure the pin is correctly reinstalled. If th
chain tool's drive pin is just slightly larger than the chain pin
removal will swage the hole in the side plate a few thiousandth'
larger, resulting in a poor fit.

A worn chain tool will also do this as the drive pin becomes slightl
"mushroomed" with use.

Still one more problem is incorrect setting. In old days, one jsu
needed to work the stiff link out with lateral pressure and flexing.
Not so today as the stiffness may result in the pin pulling out th
wrong way. Most modern chain tools have an additional "fence" to se
the chain clearance. See the complete instructions.

If you use one of the quick links, the chain tool use becomes les
critical. Most quick links are adequately strong but I have had on
come apart in use. I found the parts and was able to reassemble

--
Weisse Luft

I was riding my usual ride last Friday evening when I saw an ambulance unit
and a fire truck on the trail! Seems a 62 year old ran into a metal post
that divides the trail. The post is meant to prevent cars from riding onto
the trail from the nearby drag strip. He hit the post dead on! He kept
fading in and out of consciousness and could not remember what had happened,
had a six inch gash on his face! The bike was thirty feet from where he
impacted. I must tell you that it gets your attention! People keep telling
me that you'll crash at least once, but I've been lucky so far. I did put
the bike down once but I was drunk and deserved it.


"psycholist" wrote in message
...
I'll be interested in your comments on this story about an incident that
befell a member of our local club -- a very dedicated rider maintains his
equipment.

"You asked how this could have happened. I would have
never thought a chain could snap, but I guess they
can. No, his chain did not get caught in the wheel.
What happened was, we came to small hill and he stood
up on the pedals to speed up the hill. As he applied
force and all of his weight to the pedal, the chain
broke. The chain whipped up in the air and wrapped
itself around his rear light near the seat. Gail, Liz
and I think Sally, were with Steve, saw the chain whip
up in the air. I was a few bike lengths behind him and
saw his front wheel suddenly turn 180 degrees. His
body flipped up in the air. I think that as he was
applying force to the pedal and had most of his weight
on one pedal, the chain broke, the pedal dropped
forward and his body went forward. His hands must have
slipped off the handlebars and he flipped, like doing
a handstand in the air. When he flipped his head was a
few feet from the pavement and he came down hard on
his right shoulder and left hand. The bike also
flipped and at some point the chain ring came into
contact with his left ankle and sliced into it. He
hit on the pavement but somehow ended up in the grass
on the side of the road, where he waited calmly and
patiently for the car to take him to the hospital.

I have really thought all about how a chain can break
suddenly. Having a chain break was strange to me,
until a couple of people have mentioned that they know
people who have had chains break. Steve's chain is not
old or worn. It looks as if one plate came off the pin
and the chain pulled apart. No metal actually snapped.
His chain is not one of the newer lightweight chains
that are marketed these days, those with drilled or
thinner plates and/or hollow pins that reduce weight.
Also, a lot of the chains these days have one link
that can be moved or taken apart along side the road.
I would think these chains are weaker then the old
conventional chains where the pin is forced into place
with a tool. I looked up the technical information on
Steve's particular chain. It is one of their strongest
chains. They make his chain with and without a "quick
link" that can be adjusted by hand without a tool. I
do not know if he had a "quick link". If he did, it is
along side the road in Six Mile. I suspect his chain
had all pins that are forced into place with pressure.
You have to have two pins break in order to lose a
link of chain. It appears the chain only came apart in
one place and no links are missing. It is just one of
those things that happens, I suppose.

So, that is what happened."

This poor guy had his shoulder and collar bone shattered. Ugh.

Bob C.

I've got a SRAM chain that has a removable link, but I haven't put it on
yet. I bought it for when my cassette wears out. Are the removable links
pretty reliable?


"Weisse Luft" wrote in
message ...

I bet the problem was with the rejoining method. Most chains require
careful assembly to ensure the pin is correctly reinstalled. If the
chain tool's drive pin is just slightly larger than the chain pin,
removal will swage the hole in the side plate a few thiousandth's
larger, resulting in a poor fit.

A worn chain tool will also do this as the drive pin becomes slightly
"mushroomed" with use.

Still one more problem is incorrect setting. In old days, one jsut
needed to work the stiff link out with lateral pressure and flexing.
Not so today as the stiffness may result in the pin pulling out the
wrong way. Most modern chain tools have an additional "fence" to set
the chain clearance. See the complete instructions.

If you use one of the quick links, the chain tool use becomes less
critical. Most quick links are adequately strong but I have had one
come apart in use. I found the parts and was able to reassemble.


--
Weisse Luft

"A7N8X-X" wrote in message
...
I've got a SRAM chain that has a removable link, but I haven't put it on
yet. I bought it for when my cassette wears out. Are the removable links
pretty reliable?


I've been abusing them for years on my downhill and crosscountry bikes. No
problems. I did break one SACHs chain due to rejoining a section after I
cut it too short. You HAVE to use the powerlink. Once the peen is broken
they aren't as strong.

Mike

"A7N8X-X" wrote in message
...
I was riding my usual ride last Friday evening when I saw an ambulance
unit
and a fire truck on the trail! Seems a 62 year old ran into a metal post
that divides the trail. The post is meant to prevent cars from riding onto
the trail from the nearby drag strip. He hit the post dead on! He kept
fading in and out of consciousness and could not remember what had
happened,
had a six inch gash on his face! The bike was thirty feet from where he
impacted. I must tell you that it gets your attention! People keep telling
me that you'll crash at least once, but I've been lucky so far. I did put
the bike down once but I was drunk and deserved it.


"psycholist" wrote in message
...
I'll be interested in your comments on this story about an incident that
befell a member of our local club -- a very dedicated rider maintains
his
equipment.

"You asked how this could have happened. I would have
never thought a chain could snap, but I guess they
can. No, his chain did not get caught in the wheel.
What happened was, we came to small hill and he stood
up on the pedals to speed up the hill. As he applied
force and all of his weight to the pedal, the chain
broke. The chain whipped up in the air and wrapped
itself around his rear light near the seat. Gail, Liz
and I think Sally, were with Steve, saw the chain whip
up in the air. I was a few bike lengths behind him and
saw his front wheel suddenly turn 180 degrees. His
body flipped up in the air. I think that as he was
applying force to the pedal and had most of his weight
on one pedal, the chain broke, the pedal dropped
forward and his body went forward. His hands must have
slipped off the handlebars and he flipped, like doing
a handstand in the air. When he flipped his head was a
few feet from the pavement and he came down hard on
his right shoulder and left hand. The bike also
flipped and at some point the chain ring came into
contact with his left ankle and sliced into it. He
hit on the pavement but somehow ended up in the grass
on the side of the road, where he waited calmly and
patiently for the car to take him to the hospital.

I have really thought all about how a chain can break
suddenly. Having a chain break was strange to me,
until a couple of people have mentioned that they know
people who have had chains break. Steve's chain is not
old or worn. It looks as if one plate came off the pin
and the chain pulled apart. No metal actually snapped.
His chain is not one of the newer lightweight chains
that are marketed these days, those with drilled or
thinner plates and/or hollow pins that reduce weight.
Also, a lot of the chains these days have one link
that can be moved or taken apart along side the road.
I would think these chains are weaker then the old
conventional chains where the pin is forced into place
with a tool. I looked up the technical information on
Steve's particular chain. It is one of their strongest
chains. They make his chain with and without a "quick
link" that can be adjusted by hand without a tool. I
do not know if he had a "quick link". If he did, it is
along side the road in Six Mile. I suspect his chain
had all pins that are forced into place with pressure.
You have to have two pins break in order to lose a
link of chain. It appears the chain only came apart in
one place and no links are missing. It is just one of
those things that happens, I suppose.

So, that is what happened."

This poor guy had his shoulder and collar bone shattered. Ugh.

Bob C.



In a decade of serious cycling I've had:

A shattered kneecap
broken pelvis
broken hip (now has 3 titanium screws holding it together)
broken ankle (now has 2 titanium screws)
fractured spine
accompanying road rash
two bikes totalled

That's from two encounters with cars and one paceline mishap. I had a car
pass me, then make a right turn into a driveway directly in front of me. I
had a teenager on a cell phone make a left in an oncoming car and hit me
head-on. And, I was in a pileup on some wet RR tracks while riding in a
fast paceline. Of course, I was the only one who didn't ride away.

I've survived all of it and love cycling just as much today as I ever did!

Bob C.

Removable links are quite reliable IF you install per instructions.
Some have a prefered assembly direction. Other get a bit loose an
either need replacing (if pins are worn) or a bit of tightening.
have carefully clamped them in a vise to reduce the chance of openin
on the trail/road but this is tricky. My current trick is to use
tiny drop of thread locker on each pin/plate joint. Let it cur
overnight, then before riding, flex the chain to break the bond an
remove the stiffness. You still can remove it in the field, with a bi
of difficulty of course

--
Weisse Luft

X-X wrote:

I've got a SRAM chain that has a removable link, but I haven't put it on
yet. I bought it for when my cassette wears out. Are the removable links
pretty reliable?

Yes.

Succinctly,

--
Benjamin Lewis

I regret to say that we of the FBI are powerless to act in cases of
oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way obstructed interstate
commerce. -- J. Edgar Hoover

I broke a chain once. I think I put it together badly.

JT

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In article ,
psycholist wrote:
I'll be interested in your comments on this story about an incident that
"You asked how this could have happened. I would have
never thought a chain could snap, but I guess they
can.

I've had a side plate disengage from the pin. Presumably it was where I
broke the chain and had some sort of reinstallation problem, and switching
to a separate master link might avoid such trauma in the future.

--
a href="http://www.poohsticks.org/drew/"Home Page/a
Life is a terminal sexually transmitted disease.