Hi i'm in the process of building a fixie. I tried a PC 99 hollow pin SRAM chain, but it's making some noise. Is the chain the wrong size? Not sure what size it is. My rear cog is 3/32.

p.s. when pedaling, the chain tends to stick to the cog at places, as if it does'nt wan't to disengage, and kind of 'reluctantly' disingages at the last moment. Any thoughts?

Thanks...

No one has any suggestions. What's up with all the fixed gear mechanics.


p.s. I miss Sidney

So how close is your chain line? Measure from the center of your chainring to the center of your seat tube and from the center of your cog to the middle of your hub. If they're not pretty darn close you'll have trouble.

Hello,

Grouch is right, chainline is one of the most important things in a fixed/singlespeed bike.
If it's more then 3-4 mm out of alignment, there is a great chance that there will be binding, and chain throwing. Also, chain tension. you can't have it too tight or too slack. That usually results in binding, and chain throwing respectively.

What kind of cog are you using in the back? how many teeth? I'd say go with 14 and up due to the amount of chain wrap.

The noise is probably from your chainline alignment, and or worn out gears.

I used to fiddle with SS a lot, then I went to fixie. The greatest improvement I found was to use a 1/8" wide chain. It's no PC99, but the PC99 from what I know is a 9-10 speed chain, super thin made for shifting.

Regardless, you CAN make it work, but I suggest using 1/8" FTW

You shouldn't be using SRAM *masterlink on a fixed gear. Especially not one for a 9-10 speed. You need to get a regular chain 3/32 without masterlink or a fixed gear 1/8 without masterlink.

Right. Masterlinks are for people who are afraid of chain tools, who don't ride fixed gears. If this is a conversion, you should just use the cheapest 3/32" chain available, or just use the chain that came with the bike.

For chainline:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainline.html

Why not?

Why is 1/8" chain better for fixed gear?

Ok I removed the master link, and tightened the chain up a bit. The Chainline is about as straight as it can get. Theres still a slight amount of noise. Im going to take it out for a spin once I get the seat post and front brake installed. Ill keep you updated.

Thanks for the replies.

P.S it's a Milwaukee bicycle co. frame with everything brand new. Wheelset is 700c x 23c...

p.p.s worst comes to worst, ill get a new 3/32 chain made for a fixed gear...

Simon says

It's not. 1/8" isn't any stronger or more durable. The only advantages I see are to build a "pure" track bike, which is somewhat negated by the fact that "pure" track bikes aren't ridden on the street, and some track racers prefer 3/32" drivetrains.



I would find a cheaper chain to use, I run $10 6/7/8 speed KMC chains, which work great, are cheap, and are silent. The cogs on a 9 speed casette are slightly thinnner than the track cog you have, so this may have something to do with it. SRAM makes a few chains which would work for you. The SRAM PC-1, or some of the other 8 speed chains would work best.

https://www.sram.com/en/sram/mountain/chains/

Again- Nothing 9 or 10 speed. 6/7/8 speed chains will work much better for you.


And powerlinks are fine on a fixed gear. Some people are freaked out by the fact that you can break your chain with only your fingers, and don't use them.

Why 1/8" chains?

Like someone mentioned, it's not stronger, nor lighter..

The fact is that the sideways flex in a 1/8" chain is far less then any 3/32 chain built for shifting.
With that, you can run 1/8" chains on 3/32 cogs with no real disadvantages.

I used to muck with 3/32 shifting cogs, and 3/32 chains. With a lot of torque the chain would force itself off. When I switched to 1/8" the chian never came off anymore. This is assuming your chain line is STRAIGHT.

You mentioned lots of sound when riding, well a 1/8" chain is actually a bit looser on the cogs and chainring so it'll allow some "breathing space". That would help with noise.

Okay hope that helps. You can always run 3/32 on a fixie.. it's really just preference. KMC BMX chains are what I use.

as long as your chain isn't slack, there's nothing wrong with using a masterlink on a fixed gear.

as long as the chain is straight, a little noise isn't gonna hurt anything. sometimes chains make noise when they're too tight as well, you should be able to wiggle it about 3/4" vertically.

if anything's questionable with the drivetrain, keep the brake. if you have any more fixed-specific issues, try the fixed gear/ss forum. many of us work on our own bikes. cheers.

agreed, providing of course that your cog and chainring are also 3/32. if the chain is sticking to the cog, you might want to make sure that it's 3/32.

i've been running 3/32 and a sram masterlink for over a year, including plenty of skidding, with no problems at all. i'd go for a cheaper PC48 and forget the skinny hollow pin 99.