Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - what kind of chain have you broke?

I was wondering what kind of chains people have broken while riding,skidding ,stopping ,ect.
any that people think are too scary to use?
was it real old or just a sh!te chain?
do you think 1/8 is stronger that 3/32? or is it a myth?

chains of opperetion and of love need not apply.

i broke a 1/8 KMC koolchain before, riding trials.. I was going to pedal hop, and the thing just burst open, and my knee hit the stem at 1,000mph.. it sucked.

I've broken three chains:
A Shadow Conspiracy half-link while stopping.
A KMC Z-410.
A KMC Z510HX.

I've been running a KMC Kool chain for about a year now, and it is still working great. Just checked it out yesterday, and it still has a lot of life left in it.

Broken 3 or 4 KMC chains. Everytime was cranking hard and ate ****. This was over about a 15 year period.

A couple of Sidisport chains in wet and dirty Denver. May have been due to having to leave my commute bike outside in freezing weather. Wet chain links may have been forced apart as the water froze.

I've broken three chains:
A Shadow Conspiracy half-link while stopping.
A KMC Z-410.
A KMC Z510HX.

I've been running a KMC Kool chain for about a year now, and it is still working great. Just checked it out yesterday, and it still has a lot of life left in it.

You broke a half link chain? Dang!

I had... some generic chain that broke halfway. Can't remember the brand and it's in some dump now, sorry.

You broke a half link chain? Dang!

Yea it was odd. The actual link snapped, not the pin. Defective maybe?

Yea it was odd. The actual link snapped, not the pin. Defective maybe?

In my experience, thats how all chains break. At least the ones ive broken.

Oh. All of mine have had the pin snap in half, and the link bend... not completely snap.

rusty.

ive snapped a kmc z chain but im not quite sure how it happened. it wasnt skidding though

I want a Wippermann.

broken.

I broke a KMC 1/8th cheapo chain once- not cranking particularly hard, riding down the bike path on the manhattan bridge, already half an hour late to work. **** sucked.

i'm shocked at all these broken chain stories... anyone ever broken an izumi eco/v or hkk vertex?

Some junk SRAM I found around the shop. Cranked down hard and sheared a pin.

Old + Used + Rusty + Torque = Chain Death

I broke a miche track chain, a SRAM PC-1 chain and some no name 3/32 chain. Its a serious pain in the ass, especially when riding brakeless.

KMC basic 1/8" bushingless.

Although, I put it together in a hurry. And I'd been using it as a chain whip before hand. And before that it was a bike chain.

Haven't broken any riding fixed, just geared, going uphill back when I didn't know any better. I always check my chains.

pictures please. I don't believe that chains break. prove me wrong...

The correct answer to this is "an improperly installed chain." Unless your chain has completely rusted through or you're doing some siqq grinds, your chain shouldn't break. If a pin isn't pushed all the way through, it can likely pull out under a great deal of torque, but chains are rated for an insane amount of torque. For a little perspective, Wipperman lifted up a car with one of their chains at Interbike a few years ago and registered absolutely no chain stretch or fatigue.

I broke a SRAM PC-# (8 I think?) on my MTB. I was way off in the middle of the woods too. Not fun getting out of there.

broke two sram chains at the quicklink. don't have that problem anymore since i don't use quicklinks.

The correct answer to this is "an improperly installed chain." Unless your chain has completely rusted through or you're doing some siqq grinds, your chain shouldn't break. If a pin isn't pushed all the way through, it can likely pull out under a great deal of torque, but chains are rated for an insane amount of torque. For a little perspective, Wipperman lifted up a car with one of their chains at Interbike a few years ago and registered absolutely no chain stretch or fatigue.
Shop did mine. To their credit, when I came in (literally the next day) with a broken chain they gave me a free upgrade.

sounds like you guys have some weak chains...may i suggest something a little stronger?

http://www.interpunk.com/itemimages2/37856.jpg

Shop did mine. To their credit, when I came in (literally the next day) with a broken chain they gave me a free upgrade.

Shops are not infallible. In fact, I've seen some bikes that were "repaired" by shops of good repute, but whose condition were almost worse than before the work had been done. I like to think that I have an eye for minutiae, but I've definitely made some mistakes that our shop's owner looked at and immediately told me was way wrong. Routing of cables on front derailleurs immediately comes to mind as an easy mistake, even for seasoned mechanics, but I've seen bikes leave shops with headsets that were incredibly loose, chains with stiff links, bars that weren't tightened, etc.

sounds like you guys have some weak chains...may i suggest something a little stronger?

http://www.interpunk.com/itemimages2/37856.jpg

IT'S TIME TO BELIEVE!

Holy crap! COS just started playing on my comp! (always on shuffle)

So weeeeihd kid

I was wondering what kind of chains people have broken while riding,skidding ,stopping ,ect.


Every kind.

my friend and i were doing a valentine's day race on a tandem because we wanted to be that cute couple as a joke, and i broke the rear chain when at the very beginning of the race. I have no idea what company it was, but it was as old as dirt... other than that ive only broken one chain that wasnt old. It was a kmc and i was going up a hill and slammed my knee on my drops and ended up with two knee caps.

sram 3/32..

Some junk SRAM I found around the shop. Cranked down hard and sheared a pin.

Old + Used + Rusty + Torque = Chain Death

Thank God you figured that one out.

Please allow me to present http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=242865&highlight=found+in+shed

I might be a bit late jumping onto this thread........

But, I've broken a handful of kmc Z chains, just a few actually.

Kmc drop busters are the jam though. 13 beans, can't go wrong. They barely stretch for about a good 8 months too.

I also though, have been riding a heavy 410 for almost a full year, with like no stretch.


The knowledge I have from riding bmx for the last 12 years of my life, mixed with riding fixed for a about 6 is absolutely priceless. They just keep helping eachother in weird ways.

Yea it was odd. The actual link snapped, not the pin. Defective maybe?

same here, the chain was fairly new as well...

...think i'll stay away from KMC, forever.

...think i'll stay away from KMC, forever.
Why? They've been making chains for a long-ass time, I doubt they'd still be in business if they were doing a crappy job.

Hehe, speaking of chain replacements, I had a customer come in last summer w/ his singlespeed. It was one of those "Oh good God we're replacing your chain right now" moments. Literally, once I took the chain off it was a foot tall free standing structure on the work bench - it was just a pile of brown corrosion. You had to FORCE every single link to move at all ... and that's just how he road.

Why? They've been making chains for a long-ass time, I doubt they'd still be in business if they were doing a crappy job.

Yeah look at other companies that have been in business for a long ass time and must be doing ok jobs because of it.

Like ford.

Oooor United Airlines.

I would have thought those half link chains were hardcore.

So...whats the BEST chain for any money?

I would have thought those half link chains were hardcore.

So...whats the BEST chain for any money?

thats what I thought until I saw this. the first thing I did was take that chain off my bike

http://a646.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/14/m_a75a449830ed4bf4d01f72f18d6193d5.jpg

thats what I thought until I saw this. the first thing I did was take that chain off my bike

http://a646.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/14/m_a75a449830ed4bf4d01f72f18d6193d5.jpg

I had that happen on one side and fortunately I caught it before it caught me...if you know what I mean.

Im 6´6 only broken one chain, but that was like an hour after throwing it. So I might have hurt it then.Anyway PC 1 chains will not be on my working bike anymore..

I would have thought those half link chains were hardcore.


Those half-link chains are a terrible idea.

In a normal chain, you're pulling straight on flat side plates, where there is very little chance for deformation or flexing.
In a half-link chain, the s-shape of the side plate turns it into a little spring, which flexes every time you put force on in. This can lead the the chain actually stretching through deformation of the side plate (as opposed to the "stretch" from wear on normal chains), and also failure of the sideplates, as demonstrated above.

OK, I tried to search for the opposite of this thread, but what are chains that people like? I've seen some brightly colored chains (yellow, Blue, etc. I like shiny pretty parts to go on my grey pista), but want something that won't bust.

So...whats the BEST chain for any money?


KMC 410H !!!


or, if you never want to worry about your chain, the KMC 415H

am i the only one who couldn't care less about this chain and that chain? i've always just bought was pretty much the cheapest and just made sure to replace it when necessary. i've never even had a small issue with a chain failing. i can't believe people get so worked up over a few instances and dismiss the other billion that state the opposite.

am i the only one who couldn't care less about this chain and that chain? i've always just bought was pretty much the cheapest and just made sure to replace it when necessary. i've never even had a small issue with a chain failing. i can't believe people get so worked up over a few instances and dismiss the other billion that state the opposite.
Nope. The only thing I don't like about any chains is that Shimano's want you to buy replacement pins when you break them and don't come with a masterlink. Just about all others are cool with me.

am i the only one who couldn't care less about this chain and that chain? i've always just bought was pretty much the cheapest and just made sure to replace it when necessary. i've never even had a small issue with a chain failing. i can't believe people get so worked up over a few instances and dismiss the other billion that state the opposite.

The only bad luck I ever had with a chain in recent years was a loud obnoxious Izumi track chain. Other than that I've only used variety of KMC chains and a few SRAM chains and they all worked flawlessly and (more or less) silently and smoothly.