ChrisO

Just a quick PSA that I think especially applies to us Clydes/Athenas since I am always amazed at the abuse I can throw at a bike chain...

I broke my Surly's chain tonight; no big deal, starting from a light, didn't get hurt. What shocked the hell out of me was when I got home and found this...

^^^that's the break that got my attention. But then I noticed-


(Insert Ron Popiel voice here>) "But wait, there's more..."
to the right of the big break,
and...


Bare with me if I doubled up on any of the pics as I know I also left some pics out (how much busted chain can you really bare to look at?), but in the end I counted TWELVE broken links on this chain.

Fatties unite, and let's all check our chains before someone loses some teeth.

jsigone

how many miles are on that chain? I love the sram chains on my MTB, KMC makes some good stuff too that last a bit longer for roadie use

guybierhaus

How many miles you got on that chain, if I may ask?

Mr. Beanz

Wow, that is pretty bad. There was a period where SRAM had some chains that were breaking very often. Read the reviews in on the chain about a year back, not very good. Some said their chains broke on the first and second rides. MTB. I'm running a PC51 on my roadie and don't see any problem. Hopefully it was bad lot.

But I did just inspect mine after your post.

How old is your chain?

ChrisO

I don't know the exact mileage on the chain, it's been replaced a several times and there are about 5500 miles on the bike. I'm thinking at most 1100 miles on it, but I could be off by a couple hundred either way. I live in a hilly area which is notoriously hard on chains, but I'm pretty good about shifting down and not hammering on that bike (flexy frame, hammering doesn't help).

Mr. Beanz

I just check, have 1280 miles on my chain and still looks great!

ChrisO

Beanz, I think that chain was new last fall. I tend to change my chains in the fall wether they appear to need it or not; an ounce of prevention type thing. My roadie bike has ten speed Sram, thinner chain and it gets changed more frequently because I do hammer on that bike.

Mr. Beanz

Could be our weather too. I don't deal much with wet conditions which may have contributed.

But I have kept a good eye on my chain after reading the sad reviews.

Acquaspin

I'm jealous. I'd be in cloud nine when/if i ever get close to causing such chain wear.

ChrisO

Just keep spinning!

ChrisO

Could be a bad lot from Sram, not disparaging them, dig there stuff and all. Could be the ever prevalent rain,road grime, sandy-grit-stuff mix that I tend to be forever wiping off my chain. Maybe it's the cleaning method (I use diluted Simple Green and a tooth brush then a few rinse cycles in isopropyl alcohol). Just shocked the heck out of me to find so many breaks at once.

bbeasley

I clean mine, on a road bike, about the same way. I've taken to cleaning and lubing more often, about every 200 miles, than I used to. I lube mine link by link so I'm looking at it fairly close. I hope I'd see damage if there is any. At least I keep telling myself that.

Mr. Beanz

I used simple green long ago. I had stuff break on me, front der, spokes, and other stuff. I read somewhere that others had the same problem with sg. I quit using it and haven't had any similar problems. I've read sg can be real tough on stuff.

I only use citrus based degreasers now. I us a chain cleaner machine every so often and also lube link by link. Or I just wipe with a DW40 saturated rag, allow to dry then relube depending on how dirty the chain seems. I do keep it clean and lubed and away from wet weather.

ILClyde

I seriously read the title of this thread and though someone had invented a faster prostate test.

bigfred 

There are a couple threads around about the negative effects of Simple Green. If my recollection serves, mostly about not leaving chains to soak in the stuff.

chefisaac

Chains tend to do this when you mash a lot, especially from the start. Its the torch (sp?) we have, especially when starting.

Spin more. And when you are about ready to stop or slow down, change to an easier gear so when you start back up you are spinning and not mashing.

melvinator

hahahahah

indyfabz

+1. Nothing but KMC goes on my road bike.

Wolfwerx

Holy cow, I'm going home to eyeball my chains! Good thing you weren't hurt.



I like KMC chains, too. Good prices, good quality, in my experiences with them.

RichardGlover

I had a KMC on my road bike until it died on me. Replaced it with an SRAM chain.

Chain failures seem to be caused by a few things. Bad install of the master link; screwing up a link when shortening or lengthening the chain (leaving a link too tight). Improper cleaning and re-lubing.

When I clean my chain, I use Dawn dish soap, and scrub the heck out of the chain, cassette, and crank rings. Then I rinse, and liberally apply chain lube, and wipe the chain clean as I spin the cranks and change gears to get lube on all the cassettes and front rings. Repeat the lube/wipe process until the only thing coming off the rag is lube instead of dirt and grime.

If I haven't cleaned the chain in a while, it can be a LONG process to get all the grime out of the links.

fly7hotel

Strangely short life. I just checked and I've got 5300 miles on my 9-speed dura ace chain since I changed it last October. I clean on the bike with citrus and lube every week or two. No answers but another data point.

ChrisO

Have you ever tried putting the chain in a jar with some ipa and shaking it up a bit after you've cleaned it? For me this was a carry over from my military days, but was still amused at how much more black grease and grime comes out from deep down inside the chain. I think that the alcohol penetrates down in and displaces degreaser/grime that is otherwise missed.

Regardless I am going to switch back to the citrus stuff I used in the past just in case it is SG related. Or maybe I'll give Dawn a shot; I've heard of other people swearing by the stuff.

Mr. Beanz

If you're putting a torch to your chains, it's no wonder they fail.

I must not have much torque cause I've never had a chain fail.

ahultin

Beanz you clearly put all your torque straight into the frame somehow bypassing the chain

goldfinch

When I went to bike school the teacher said do not clean your chain with any cleaner unless you absolutely have to. Instead, wipe your chain down with a dry lube. It cleans the chain but does not remove lube from the inside of the links and the excess can be easily wiped off. I now just use lube to clean my chain.