Trying to figure out how common is breaking a road bike chain while riding.
-How old was the chain when it broke
-Was it lack of maintenance.
-Snapped during a bad shift.
Just wondering if its really necessary to bring a chain tool and a extra link.

my teammate has. he broke a bunch in a short time periode. once when he was in the winning break of a big road race.

I have had a SRAM master link/power link (?) fail, but that is all.

Never broke a chain.
Incidentally, I've used only master links since the 90's.

I broke a brand new chain. It had a master link, but that's not where it broke. I had never carried a chain tool until a week or so before the incident, I now will not leave my house without one. The one I have is part of a multi-tool that fits in my seat bag or jersey pocket.... so there's really no reason to not have one, along with almost every other tool you will need for roadside repairs.

20 miles in on my first century ride. Lucky there were SAG support to take me to the next station. The mechs took out a link, and i lost a few ratios (big/big)...

A & B. I had a chain partially come apart on me a couple years ago, likely due to operator error when installing the pin to close the chain when installed on the bike - which was done by me. Also had a chain fail on another rider's bike a few months later when we were out in BFE. Since then I started carrying a good chain tool in my saddle bag - and no chain problems since.

I've broken several chains, but always on a tandem.

It's pretty rare to break a chain on a single road bike.

There's still a reason to ride with a chain tool though. If you crash and bend a derailleur hanger, or get debris in the wheel/ derailleur and trash a derailleur hanger, with a chain tool you have single speed to ride home.

So if you want to be self sufficient, the added 50g on a multi tool is a reasonable thing to carry.

yes and it was my fault

I just broke one last sunday. Stood up on a flat section and after a couple of strokes it just snapped.
Sram 951, it broke two full links away from the master link. I was able to remove those links and reuse the master link to finish the ride, which only had a few miles left out of 124.
The outer plates 'splayed' open, chain had probably 800 miles on it. I had just checked it for stretch and it was fine.

Just put some of your company's kitchen lubricant on the chain, and you shouldn't have any future problems.

A buddy of mine broke his on a ride we were on. He then admitted that it needed to be changed a long time ago.

We had a chain tool, and extra link was unnecessary. I don't carry a chain tool anymore. If I break a chain I plan to call my SO for a ride. Failing that I plan to call and beg friends to come get me.

Last month, my chain broke during a ride. I wish I had a chain tool with me.

It was an ultegra 6700 chain which I believe even shimano admits had some QC issues and has been updated to the cn-6701.

The chain had maybe 3500 miles on it and was stretched out to 1% and was just about to be replaced anyway.

I would say if you have room in your saddlebag, it's a good idea to include a chain tool. Maybe even a brake and derailleur cable, those can also snap/break and ruin your ride.

That said, if you count my miles as a cyclist it's probably somewhere around 50K and one chain break with a potentially defective product makes me think/hope it won't likely happen again any time soon.

So I guess the question I would be asking now is... (with apologies to Dirty Harry)

Do you feel lucky, punk??

Do you??

I think I partially broke my chain because 1: the mechanic didn't use a new pin and 2: the chain was right at the 1/16 mark.

My chain just broke on one side, but it held together long enough for me to get home. It's kinda annoying when you're just pedalling, but the gears try and shift on their own.

This is not as bad as you'd still have one brake left and can use the limit screws (or break the chain and create an SS) to get by. I've had all these things break at one time or another.

I put a bike together for my wife for Xmas and took it to one of our areas best known LBS's for a once over. They shortened the chain a bit and while we were out for a shakedown the chain snapped completely when she was going slow up a steep hill. My wife fell hard. There was much bleeding from her elbow and knee, a nice contusion on her hip, torn new clothing, and scuffed up new bike. I took the bike back to the shop and they admitted they didn't know that with a Campagnolo 10 speed chain you can't just push the pins back like in the olde days.

Broke an cheap Shimano chain while shifting to a higher gear. Snapped right when I was getting out of the saddle. When I took it to a LBS they said lower end Shimano's break all the time.

Three times!
The first and second incident was with a fairly new chain. I replaced the chain after the second break. The third was with an 8sp chain that was on a 1991 Miyata 1000. I was on a century with no sag, just a mechanic at the rest stop ~15 miles away. I forgot to get an 8sp quicklink and the 9s that I carry didn't fit. I mended the chain with 40# fishing wire and gingerly rode the 15 miles.

FWIW, I had just bought the Miyata and had checked the chain. There was practically no stretch. Too bad I forgot about packing the proper link.

On my way home last Friday, I was sprinting from a light, and then the pedals wouldn't turn. The chain was wrapped twice around the bottom bracket, and one more time around the crank arm. I still don't know how it happened, but an extra link wouldn't have helped me.

Road I have never broken a chain and I cary a chain tool. MTB, racked up a DNF saturday night with a broken chain and no tool.

It never happened to me, but one time I noticed a crack on one of the links. Chain was way beyond worn tho'.

When I was a kid I rode a Schwinn balloon tired bike. i think that it was a Hornet from the mid-50's. In the mid-1960's i was sprinting on this bike when the chain suddenly snapped. I went right over and hit my head very hard on the pavement. I was unconscious for 20 minutes. Of course I wasn't wearing a helmet because they didn't exist back then. I can still feel the crack in my skull. Some folks that know me well say that this explains a lot.

I broke one on a bad shift. I was actually very surprised that this was possible especially since the chain was NOT old.

I want to get a kit now but how do I determine what sort of link to get? Any recommendations on a park tool?

I had a DA chain do this, and it wrapped around my rear deraileur, and chewed up my rear stay. It was during a standing sprint. Rear wheel locked up, and fortunately I stayed upright in a skidding stop. Chain was getting old, but I'm guessing it was improper installation of the retaining pin by my LBS.