Poxy chain broke

FrankGrimes

So there I was storming up (well, not quite) Taney Hill in Dundrum on the way to work this morning out of the saddle giving it plenty when whack my chain snaps out of nowhere. I did well to avoid getting a whack of the crossbar where it would count, but I was still wasn't exactly all smiley faces having to stand around and hail a taxi to work.

Guess I was lucky that it happened within sight of Joe Daly's shop - I brought it in there and they're putting a new chain on, though he's not that pushed about getting it done today so we'll see how it goes.

It's a Giant SCR 2.0 bought last November and not used very often overall until recently, but in fairness I never brought it back for a service....though I was still surprised to see a less than 12 month old chain break like that. Is it common and what should I be doing to avoid it?

ilovelamp2000

I have no idea how common it is, but I recently had a chain break in similar circumstances much to the amusement of a number of motorists on the N11. It was about 12 months old too.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Guess I was lucky that it happened within sight of Joe Daly's shop - I brought it in there and they're putting a new chain on, though he's not that pushed about getting it done today so we'll see how it goes.

It should take about two minutes to get a chain on!

E@gle.

Shimano??


You didnt happen to be in the big ring going up the hill and switch down to the small one half way up??

blorg

Chain breaking is a common enough occurence; you are meant to hurl your bike over the wall when it happens for good luck. A chain could certainly break within 12 months if you don't look after your bike. It's not so much something that a service would make any difference to (they won't clean your bike) but you should be maintaining your drivetrain carefully- washing and re-lubing it regularly particularly if you are cycling in wet/gritty conditions.

I tend to buy SRAM for the ease of fitting but I've had both SRAM and Shimano break, including a pretty new SRAM chain.

FrankGrimes

Yeh, I was kinda hoping they might have done it on the spot as it's a 5 minute job at most for someone that knows what they're doing, but I couldn't see any mechanic around and the fella wasn't too pushed - when I told him I'd have trouble getting home from work so it would be great if they could do it today he said 'sure isn't everyone with a bike in for repairs in the same position?'. Obvious answer to that is not necessarily, but didn't think raising that point would help my case

I was cycling along in the big ring on the front and was staying on it - was in the middle of gearing down on the back ring when it went. The rear derailleur has been slipping gears every now and then for the past while but this morning it was slipping so often I was actually going to post on here for advice on how to address that.....too late though.

E@gle.

FrankGrimes wrote: »

The rear derailleur has been slipping gears every now and then for the past while but this morning it was slipping so often I was actually going to post on here for advice on how to address that.....too late though.

Aye thats a sign that the chain is on the way out alright

stopped_clock

blorg wrote: »

but you should be maintaining your drivetrain carefully- washing and re-lubing it regularly particularly if you are cycling in wet/gritty conditions.

I took a spill a while ago when my chain broke. I hadn't been looking after it... The advice I've had is to clean the chain regularly. I use soap/bike cleaner and water, which I presume removes the lube; but my chain oil is advertised to last 400 miles.

Am I overdoing the cleaning?

Stark

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Yeh, I was kinda hoping they might have done it on the spot as it's a 5 minute job at most for someone that knows what they're doing, but I couldn't see any mechanic around and the fella wasn't too pushed - when I told him I'd have trouble getting home from work so it would be great if they could do it today he said 'sure isn't everyone with a bike in for repairs in the same position?'. Obvious answer to that is not necessarily, but didn't think raising that point would help my case

Wow, I'll know to avoid buying a bike from them anyway.

Chips Lovell

stopped_clock wrote: »

I took a spill a while ago when my chain broke. I hadn't been looking after it... The advice I've had is to clean the chain regularly. I use soap/bike cleaner and water, which I presume removes the lube; but my chain oil is advertised to last 400 miles.

Am I overdoing the cleaning?

You're not overdoing the cleaning, but you should relube after every wash.

Your oil may last 400 miles, but not if you wash it off.

Chips Lovell

Stark wrote: »

Wow, I'll know to avoid buying a bike from them anyway.

I've yet to come across any bike shop that will do any job on the spot.

Stark

Yeah I know. But it did sound like they were being rude for the sake of being rude.

tunney

E@gle. wrote: »

Shimano??


You didnt happen to be in the big ring going up the hill and switch down to the small one half way up??

Shimano chains aren't that bad.

Alot of SRAM teams use shimano chains rather than the sram ones.

blorg

I think they are pretty snowed under at the moment; Dave is just back from holiday and I get the impression they have a bit of a backlog going from that. They are a good shop and good guys in my opinion.

FrankGrimes

Yeh, I didn't think he was being rude, not delibarately unhelpful either, just not overly helpful if that makes sense.

Mmm, didn't know chains needed such looking after - I never cleaned a chain on any of my previous bikes but I guess this one is getting more towards being a performance machine so probably needs better tuning.

I'll buy a chain cleaner so and I have some lube spray so I'll get into the habit of doing that every month or so - I have been oiling the chain every month, just not cleaning it.

Does this mean my derailleur isn't actually the cause of the slipping gears? Guess I'll see when the new chain is on.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I'll buy a chain cleaner so and I have some lube spray so I'll get into the habit of doing that every month or so - I have been oiling the chain every month, just not cleaning it.

Probably best to use something other than WD40, if that's what you mean by lube spray.

Gavin

Aye, what Blorg says. If Dave was upstairs he probably would have swapped the chain there, but Joe can be a bit inflexible.

I went in with a wobbley wheel once, a strange bump had formed on the tyre. Dave sorted it out there and then, no charge, just quick look, deflate, jiggle around and inflate.

If you oil the chain regularly, wiping off the excess after oiling, you don't actually need to degrease/clean the chain too much. The regular oiling keeps the dirt soft so it doesn't grit up the chain.

I carry quick links on the mtb and a chain tool. Easy to quickly repair a broken chain. On the singlespeed, I have a monster heavy 1/8th chain which I would be somewhat surprised if it broke.

blorg

The chain is probably the single most important thing as far as maintenance is concerned.

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Does this mean my derailleur isn't actually the cause of the slipping gears? Guess I'll see when the new chain is on.

As a general rule, if it is slipping between different gears, it is probably your derailleur. If it is slipping in place, it's the chain (and cassette). If it is slipping in place your cassette is probably also worn and will require replacement (don't panic, they are consumables and not that expensive.)

You can measure the chain to determine wear. There is a tool but you can just use a 12-inch ruler as chains are an inch stardard. Just line the 0 up with a rivet and see if the 12 lines up or not:

Sheldon Brown wrote:

If the rivet is less than 1/16" past the mark, all is well.

If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, you should replace the chain, but the sprockets are probably undamaged.

If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point, without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip, but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear state of the sprockets.

If the rivet is past the 1/8" mark, a new chain will almost certainly skip on the worn sprockets, especially the smaller ones.

- http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

Proper maintenance will extend the life of your chain and cassette significantly. If you look after your drivetrain you won't need to replace the cassette with every chain replacement either. As Verb says, you don't need to do a full clean every time, you can re-oil and wipe off excess in between cleans. The wiping is _very_ important or you will be spraying oil all over your bike.

On the Joe Daly front, Dave has also fixed stuff for me on the spot and gratis, most recently on Tuesday! But I do get the impression they are run off their feet right at the moment.

FrankGrimes

Thanks Blorg, it was slipping every now and then when I wasn't in the middle of changing gears, but I'd say it was mostly when I was changing gears.

What I don't get though is I only ever got to put a couple of hundred KMs on it, so maintenance or no maintenance, I wouldn't expect the chain to have packed it in by then.

Just rang Joe Daly's there - they don't have it done yet as he said they're up to their eyes, but he said they'll have it if I call down just before 6, so I'll just get a Luas from Sandyford in all my lovely cycling gear and I'll be able to get home from there. It's a Giant bike and they don't sell them so I'm not surprised at not being jumped to the top of the queue.

Can't remember the name of the lube spray I have, but it was given to me by Staggs cycles when I bought the bike and they said it was the best gear to use (green spray can).

Thomas_S_Hunterson

A chain breaker might be a worthwhile investment for the future. It'll mean you can just pop into a shop, buy a chain and fit it yourself. It also allows you to remove it for cleaning.

blorg

It's probably Weldtite TF2:



This is probably fine (certainly much more so than WD40) but I tend to use the drip on lube for the chain myself, I have both dry and wet versions! Don't know if it really makes much difference but easier to drip it just onto the chain an not anywhere else I guess.

Couple of hunded km should not leave you with a knackered chain/cassette even if you don't maintain all right but chains do break, you can be unlucky.

FrankGrimes

Yep, that's the stuff alright - I spray it on outside and leave the bike there for a while for the excess to drip off. It doesn't seem that it's the stuff that's the problem, more what I'm not doing, though it does seem I just got unlucky in this case. No major hassle caused thankfully.

ROK ON

Sean_K wrote: »

Probably best to use something other than WD40, if that's what you mean by lube spray.

I have noticed that many sites caution against the use of WD40 on bike chains. Why is this?

stopped_clock

Here's another question on cleaning...
I'm going to be moving house soon. I now have a back garden and a hose, so lots of scope for making a mess. Chances are I'll be moving to a flat. I'm a bit worried about keeping the drivetrain clean then. Mind you, I cycle on-road rather than off so I rarely have much muck to get rid of...

Gavin

stopped_clock wrote: »

Here's another question on cleaning...
I'm going to be moving house soon. I now have a back garden and a hose, so lots of scope for making a mess. Chances are I'll be moving to a flat. I'm a bit worried about keeping the drivetrain clean then. Mind you, I cycle on-road rather than off so I rarely have much muck to get rid of...

chain cleaner device is probably handiest and cleanest



Or use a quick link, take the chain off, clean in a bottle and put back on. A bit o newspaper on the ground.

arybvtcw0eolkf

el tonto wrote: »

I've yet to come across any bike shop that will do any job on the spot.

You know, I was thinking along the same lines as Stark.

I wouldn't have been buying a bike from them, but from their reputation here and the fact that I pass regularly I'd intended dropping in for a look around.

But I detest a bad attitude from staff, no matter what the circumstances are.

blorg

I use a chain cleaner like Verb above. Note with the quick links- with SRAM in any case the 10 speed links are not re-usable, you have to replace with a new one each time you break the chain. TBH I do not believe it is 100% necessary to remove the chain to clean it (although you will certainly get it cleaner if you do.)

TinyExplosions

stopped_clock wrote: »

Here's another question on cleaning...
I'm going to be moving house soon. I now have a back garden and a hose, so lots of scope for making a mess. Chances are I'll be moving to a flat. I'm a bit worried about keeping the drivetrain clean then. Mind you, I cycle on-road rather than off so I rarely have much muck to get rid of...

I'm in an apartment and use the bath (not a joke!) the shower and some muc off is just the ticket for a squeaky clean bike

Stark

I usually take the lazy option and hold a soapy cloth over the chain while I run it through with the pedals. Maybe not the best for getting the gunk out from within the links...

TinyExplosions

blorg wrote: »

with SRAM in any case the 10 speed links are not re-usable

As I found out last night -makes them a lil pointless in my mind...

blorg

ROK ON wrote: »

I have noticed that many sites caution against the use of WD40 on bike chains. Why is this?

WD-40 is a penetrating fluid, mostly solvent with only a little lubricating oil. As such it will displace water and get into siezed parts but will also evaporate quickly.

Wikipedia wrote:

Using penetrating fluids as general-purpose lubricants is not advisable, because such oils are relatively volatile. As a result, much of the penetrating oil will evaporate in a short amount of time, leaving little residual lubricant.