Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Why didn't anyone tell me to use a 1/8" chain earlier?! Chain pop fixed.

Among all this talk of fixie this and SS that, I never saw anyone recommend using a 1/8" chain during a conversion. My SS project popped and banged and did all kinds of things like that and really discouraged me. I did all kinds of things to try and fix it. Well, now I know it's because all I did was cut down the 3/32 stock chain during the conversion. Running a 1/8" chain fixed it right up! I'm just tickled. :-) Honestly, I never paid any attention to chain widths.

I've got to say thanks, because someone did recommend that in a topic I started about a month ago, and I just got around to trying it. So the infinite wisdom of the group here showed me the way.

I guess I'm saying we should make sure to tell folks to run a 1/8" chain as part of their conversion.

Take care all!
Pat

Among all this talk of fixie this and SS that, I never saw anyone recommend using a 1/8" chain during a conversion. My SS project popped and banged and did all kinds of things like that and really discouraged me. I did all kinds of things to try and fix it. Well, now I know it's because all I did was cut down the 3/32 stock chain during the conversion. Running a 1/8" chain fixed it right up! I'm just tickled. :-) Honestly, I never paid any attention to chain widths.


I'm not 100% sure what the problem was but I have two SS bikes, one 3/32" and the other 1/8th" and both work fine. If by pops and bangs you mean that the chain was 'jumping' or otherwise binding as it traveled around the cog then that sounds more like a chainline issue. If your fix was to run a 1/8" chain on 3/32" cog/chainwheel then you may just be masking a chainline problem by giving the teeth alot more room within the chainlinks ..... or I may have missed your point completely.

Have you measured your chainline to see if it is correct?

Jim

I think we all wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out. Good job! :D

Umm..not to shiite in your cornflakes...

But, if you were having major problems with a 3/32nd chain, and your "magic fix" was to switch to an 1/8th, then, you are still going to have problems!!

unless it was the actual chain (3/32nd) that was the problem. sounds like an alignment/tension issue.

Of course, during the conversion he may have used 1/8" cog and/or chainring in which case having the correct chain would make all the difference in the world! Ever try running a 3/32" on a 1/8" cog/chainring? It ain't pretty...

Of course, during the conversion he may have used 1/8" cog and/or chainring in which case having the correct chain would make all the difference in the world! Ever try running a 3/32" on a 1/8" cog/chainring? It ain't pretty...

I figured that wasn't an issue....considering it would fail sooo completley miserably..

Was it an old chain with a new ring and cog? That's been the cause of many snap, crackle and pops...

Thanks for the replies. Here's some more info.

Originally I started with great original cogs and 3/32 chain. No wear anywhere. The chainline looks good, although it could be better if I could have used the smaller front chainring. That's not the issue.

What's causing the pop is that the chain will start to "flap" up and down (same plane as wheel) and then it gets some side-to-side sway in it's bottom loop. When that happens sometimes it does not seat in the rear cog teeth. Then, that chain link tries to ride on the top of the tooth and binds everything up. The pop is when the chain seats in the teeth. It's a weird deal. With the 1/8 chain, it can still happen, but is super rare. With the 3/32, you couldn't ride it. It was bad. I can reproduce this if pedaling quickly on a stand. The rear wheel has a little hop in it (no wobble, but not perfectly round) and at high rpms it sets up this scenerio.

The wider chain seems to give a little more space for everything to seat and match. If I could fabricate a simple and effective "guide" that could take the up/down movement out of the chain it would never happen again. I really think this is due to running the 52 chainring. There is a lot of open chain out there that can get moving over bumps and such. Tension is set properly, and anymore would cause it's own set of problems.

Thanks for the ideas. I have a love/hate relationship with this Frenchie.

Pat