Chain Broke in the Middle of a Rotary
 

Well, between the weather coming in and the fact that my chain broke on the way home tonight, looks like its the T for me tomorrow. :mad:

My indexing was a little finicky on the ride home tonight. As I'm going through a rotary (about 25 miles an hour) where I try to keep my speed up to just stay with the cars I hear this crunching and the unmistakable sound of my chain falling away from my bike. I wasn't standing and was in no danger of falling. I just coasted out of the rotary and stood there pissed for a minute. Figured I'd go back and get the chain to see if I could repair it later.

Probably the most dangerous thing I've ever done in my commute is stop traffic in this rotary to go and fetch my chain (on foot). Most drivers were nice about stopping after I got their attention. On guy, who was already stopped honked. I stood up and gave him a WTF look. Older guy rolls down his window and yells "your're very hard to see." I yelled back "You stopped, right? Whaddya honking for?!"

Got a ride home from my wife who was already out. Blessed be the cell phone and the spouse to the rescue.

If I can't repair the chain, I'm going to have to replace the whole drivetrain. I was hoping to run it into the ground over the winter. After getting home, I also noticed that my BB is not spinning smoothly and my rear hub is making noise. I've got to do these repairs myself this time. I'm starting to not trust my LBS. At least I took advantage of the 20% off at Nashbar to get parts and some tools I need to do the work (and some tires and some booties).

Sorry for the rant. Just a wee bit pissed, tired, and anxious about explaining the Nashbar bill to my wife.

The worst place I have ridden in my life has been some of those rotarys at rush hour.
You're lucky to be alive.

Which rotary? Had it been me, I would have abandoned the chain until a quieter time when I could go back to retrieve it. Or just forget it. Some of those rotaries are death traps for cyclists, since you really aren't seen in the welter of traffic. The JP Centre St rotary at the Arboretum is impossible.

i bet the "finicky" feeling was one of the plates in the chain already loose.

just remember that feeling. next time you feel it inspect the chain ;)

your a brave man to go out to get your chain. i'd have definitely given up on it.

Yep, I know that finnicky chain feeling, too. And yeah, the chain dropped off in the middle of an intersection just minutes later.

The Nashbar bill is probably lower than any single repair on your wife's car. That's how you explain it. Good luck!

I had to run out into the middle of Montague Expressway in SJ to pick up my chain once. (I was making a left and a link snapped.) I just KNEW I was going to die. Somehow, I didn't die, but managed to get the chain and had to spend an aggravating amount of time reassembling it at the street corner.

when I saw the title of this thread I figured it was someone in Massachusetts- does anywhere else have these stupid rotaries the way we do?

Unless I was really far from home and had a chain tool (which I do carry) I wouldn't risk my life in one of those rotaries trying to retrieve it. If the chain is that worn it's time to replace it anyway. I had one break a few months back on the way into Boston. After quite a bit of wrangling with it and realizing the ancient chain tool I'd been carrying in my commuting tool kit was more than inadequate finally gave up and had to walk home and get my folding bike. I was dirty and ticked off by the time I got home.

I understand your desire to ride the exisiting drive train through one more Boston winter- it just seems a waste to get a whole new drivetrain all gunked up with salt and snow. But you'll feel great once you do a little bike overhaul. When bikes get to the point of rattling and rolling and falling to pieces under you it's time to spend a couple of bucks and some time tinkering with them rather than riding them. You've obviously gotten the most out of the old chain might as well invest in a new one.

You have nothing to lose but the chain that binds you- Karl Marx

You deserve to rant. We feel your pain.:rolleyes:

They're starting to become a novelty item in Ohio. See: http://tinyurl.com/yz7m9v

I was born and raised in Rhode Island which had some colossal rotaries at one time. By the time I moved most of them were gone.

The one I linked to above is in a very quiet suburban area so it is rather safe for bicycles. It was introduced with much fanfare! Some people even made special trips just to drive through it...

I notice that they're called roundabouts now, just as they're referred to in Europe.. is there any real difference between a roundabout and rotary?

Actually they've decided to start ADDING rotaries instead of putting in stoplights for side streets. They're cheaper than traffic lights.

whats a rotary?

Probably what some of us call a "round about". It's a circle of road with several streets dead-ending into it. You drive around and around until you decide to exit on one of the adjoining streets.

Note to OP: Good for you on doing the work yourself. It's the only practical way for us commuters. Half my bikes are single speeds just to keep it cheap and easy.

from bikexprt.com

A well designed roundabout has some advantages over stop signs or stop lights.
Can't run a roundabout. You are going to slow down some.
Traffic flows, not pulses.

But multi-lane roundabouts can be a bear to negotiate.

You chain couldn't fall off before you left on your commute? We need to develop a smart chain :)
My new chain arrived in the mail the afternoon my old chain broke. Of course I was 3/4 up a steep hill standing in 1st gear. I did the 150 rpm thing followed by the timber thing ... At the last tenth second my foot pulled free of the SPDs and spared me a few bruises. I was able to push/coast the remaining mile or so to pick up my wifes van.

You guys don't use a master link or even carry one in case a plate lets loose?

The rotary in question was in Newton, MA at West Roxbury Parkway and Hammond Pond Parkway (not sure how to copy and past or link to a map).

I actually don't find rotaries bad at all. The key is to position yourself in the middle of your incoming road and singnaling "left" before entering and well into the rotary. Drivers get that. It also helps that I'm going down hill into and for the first half way around the rotary. If at speed, you can take the corner faster than a car.

squeakywheel, the Nashbar stuff should arrive tomorrow. Once I have this bike back up, get the Snowmuter built up, I've got my eye on the RedLine 925.

NoRacer, I do have a master link on the chain (but not a spare) and I carry a chain tool with me. I just didn't want to hassle with it in the dark. I also knew my wife was already out with the kids so the emergency evac was easy.

The take home message for me is that if the broken chain is in busy traffic, leave it for dead.

I think what he meant with the master link question was that you could pull out X links and reattach - making it a ghetto single speed until you got back home.

Or, you know, a chain tool maybe?

I carry a chain tool. It's tiny and weighs nothing and might just save my butt one day, who knows. :)

I carry a chain tool, yes. However, this was the only time I've ever had to use one "in the field", so there was a learning curve I had to traverse on the fly. Totally saved me from a 5ish-mile walk home, though.

We have a lot of bike advocates here in town pushing round-abouts. I'm not a big fan of them since they rely on yielding behavior which is largely dependent on awareness & recognition of on-coming vehicles. Seems like they work well for autos who are big and visible but I've had several close calls even with my bright lights on. I avoid them whenever possible now.

I don't like roundabouts, for the reasons cited by GTcommuter. Drivers don't seem to know what to do with a bike in a roundabout even when I use arm signals. For the record I don't like to drive through them either!

My chain tool came the same week as the replacement chain. It's either in one saddle bag or my camelback now. After messing with the "quick link" that came with a new chain for an hour I found the chain tool easier. The question now is how easy is using a chain tool in the cold/wet/dark? I hope to stay ignorant.

Yeah, the quick link requires almost as much tooling as simply breaking the chain. I've never been able to open a quick link without the help of needle nose pliers.