Originally Posted by
non-fixie
Case # 1: The Broken Chain
Case # 2: The Split Link
This happened three days ago. Mrs non-fixie had just done a 70k ride in the rain. I had the bike on the stand, had cleaned it and was doing a final check of the derailleurs. Suddenly the chain jammed in the RD, apparently because a chain plate had caught the derailleur cage. I un-jammed it and this was what the chain, an almost new SRAM PC-1, looked like:
As this chain was a little too long anyway I just removed the link, put it back together and everything seemed fine after that, but since I don't know what caused the problem, I'm not fully comfortable with the situation. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance for any input.
Regarding case no 2, I can see that the pin that separated is protruding out more than the others, leading me to think that it wasn't installed perfectly and evenly. Use a micrometer and magnifying glasses if needed. It's important that the rivet protrudes evenly from both sides, assuming it's an old fashioned chain that is actually self joinable.
That said, IMO that's too much assumption. I'm not familiar with that particular chain, but it wouldn't surprise me if the rivets were at least partly peened. The whole skill of joining a chain to itself is becoming a lost art, and I am skeptical that any modern 1/8" chains are designed to be self joined. Safe bet is to use the provided masterlink. Since this particular SRAM masterlink is appparently designed for fixed/single speed applications only, the KMC sounds like the best option at this point. Let us know if it works.
From what I can tell though, the KMC 1/8" chain use the old type of masterlink with a circlip. I don't think that would work with a derailleur. Maybe it will join better using it's own rivets. EDIT - strike that. It won't. Fully peened rivets.