Chain Reversal?
#1
MichelleMachete
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Oakland, CA, San Jose CA, (Future) Portland OR
Posts: 43
Bikes: old ass Peugot and a Surley Long Haul Trucker
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Chain Reversal?
I was told if you flip your chain around after 500 miles that will make your chain last 2x as long. As in theory I guess it would work. But I have my suspicions .
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 726
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#4
Call me The Breeze
Not all at once at least
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 736
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
In all cases, chain wear (a.k.a. "lengthening") is the result of wear in the pins and rollers, increasing tolerances in each pivot point and making the rollers slacker on the pins. For the flipping theory to work, the wear has to be asymetrical, and the flip must bring new, less-worn contact points into play. If you look at the (extreme) wear pixs in Sheldon's textbook article on chain wear (https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#stretch), you can see that part of the wear is indeed asymetrical: the bushing or plate extension and the pins erode asymetrically, while one can assume that the rollers, since they, well, roll, will wear symetrically.
So do you gain mileage by flipping? The symetrical wear does not care, so it won't improve that part. But the asymetrical? Unfortunately, the wear already done does not disappear, and the wear on one side of the pin still makes the chain longer, even if it's now the other side that's getting worn. In other words: wearing a lot on one side, or half as much on both sides, you still get the same total wear. It's like your socks: turning them over in the middle of the day does not make them more clean at the end of the day.
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 914
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
I think it mainly matters if you cross-chain a lot. Cross-chainining puts more stress on one side of the chain, but by flipping the chain, you then stress the less-stressed side to give it a more even amount of stretch.
#10
Gone, but not forgotten
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Newtonville, Massachusetts
Posts: 2,301
Bikes: See: https://sheldonbrown.org/bicycles
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times
in
5 Posts
Sheldon "Not Convinced" Brown
#11
Bikaholic
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Western, Michigan
Posts: 1,461
Bikes: Trek Fuel 90, Giant OCR, Rans Screamer Tandem
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Did you know that black bikes are faster? It has something to do with the aerodynamic properties of black pigment molecules or some such thing.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: La La Land (We love it!)
Posts: 6,301
Bikes: Gilmour road, Curtlo road; both steel (of course)
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 273 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times
in
9 Posts
No, it's because black is not a color, it's the absence of color, and removing it reduces weight.
__________________
Today, I believe my jurisdiction ends here...
Today, I believe my jurisdiction ends here...
#14
Fattest Thin Man
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Directly above the center of the earth
Posts: 2,648
Bikes: Miyata 610, Vinco V, Rocky Mountain Element
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times
in
1 Post
I also have a time machine. It's not perfect, it only goes forward and at regular speed.
Az
#15
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 18
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
The chain installation is directional, meaning that the chain is several times stronger when installed correctly (side plates should pull). See Shimano or maybe Park tool instructions.
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,053
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 16 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I like to rotate all the pins in my chain by 90 degrees when the wear on the chain starts to reach the replacement point. I am trying to find a source of just pins so that I can use new pins after the old pins have worn too much. Maybe I will be able to find some pins that are 1/10000" larger in diameter so that they would compensate for some of the wear in the chain plates and rollers.
By the way is that bridge tall enough for bungy jumping.
By the way is that bridge tall enough for bungy jumping.
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Edmonton, AB
Posts: 1,143
Bikes: '07 Giant OCR3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 736
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Shimano only states (for 10sp chains) that you must "always shorten a new chain from the inner link side", and that you must "always insert the connector pin in the leading end of the outer link for the chain's direction of travel", and combining these 2 gives only one rotation direction possible (but still 2 sides). Then again, they are the ones that state that "a chain never be removed from the bike for cleaning", and would excommunicate anyone using a quiklink on their chains.
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 914
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
I haven't done any measurements, so this was just a hypothetical argument. The width of the teeth don't perfectly match the width of the chain openings, so there's some wiggle room. The front will have more teeth to hold the chain, so I was thinking that the front and rear will not bend by the exact same amount, due to more stress per teeth on the back. I think you're modeling the chain as a straight line, while I think of it more as a relatively straight curve. Chains do have some side-to-side flex capability, so unless the angle exceeds that flex amount, I don't think there will be much of a difference. Again, just a hypothetical argument.
#25
Geek Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 1,769
Bikes: Bianchi Advantage Fixed Conversion; Specialized Stumpjumper FS Hardtail
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
A black bike alone won't make you faster, you need to pair it with a white saddle and bar tape. It's the balance between the black and white molecules that make you fast. That's why all the TdF riders do it.
__________________
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
Sintesi Conversion Serotta Track
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
Sintesi Conversion Serotta Track