... it's that or two chains. i've two cogs (15 and 17) on my fix/fix phil. i like the two against the 52 chainring. it's a respectable gear spread, imo. i'm not a weight weenie, but the ***** adds up. minimal toolkit, tubes, front light, change of clothes, laptop, krypto chain. add in the doing-stuff stuff, and you're talking a serious lbs.-ege.

i guess three queries:

1. anyone ever do two masterlinks on a chain? is this in any way structurally less sound than say a chain without any masterlinks? i've got great tension on the two gears using separate bmx singlespeed chains, and i'm wondering about chain-stretch and other assorted trivia.

2. extra chain storage if you pack a spare chain. pouch? stash pocket? on bike? what do you personally do to keep the grease off your kit? zip-loc?

3. do those that swap cogs just take a f'it attitude & have a chain that's specific to a cog? it'd be interesting to have a chain soak until ready to use, then lightly oiled.

I've got enough dropout to cover anywhere from a 15 to a 20 in back without changing chain length.

1. nothing wrong with doing multiple masterlinks.
2. stash pocket. next to the pie.
3. i dunno. never swapped.

but why do you need extra chain? you should have enough dropout to accomodate a 2 tooth difference.

to a rough approximation, a 2 tooth difference should move the axle about 1/pi inches. ~8mm

Yeah, I've got the length to do probably 3 or 4 teeth of difference, but only do 2. I personally avoid masterlinks because I feel them differently from all the other links each time they go over the rear cog, and I don't like that.... I also worry about the link being weaker than the others, though I have nothing to base that on....

i have installed more than a hundred links on other peopls bikes, and generally they´re loved by all. i never use ém myself!!
hope this really clarifies it for you

i´ll ask if it can be related to my upbringing..

idunno , i think its the fact that i dont like to be able to open my chain with my hands. its so wrong to me, sorry..

and about - if its weaker.. i have never seen a link that was cracked, but lots of broken chains..so eh..[scratching my head- looking lost]

I run 18 teeth most of the time, but have used a 15, 16, and 20 tooth cog depending on the situation, using the same chain on my Pista.

sorry i disappeared for a bit.

i think i'm going to reinvestigate. my road conversion has shorter dropouts, and both my chains are configured so that the axle sits all the way pulled back (i run brakes and would have to adjust slightly...). it might be possible for me to take one link off my 17t chain so that it sits a bit more in, and the 15 is in all the way at the end of my dropout. how much length does a link translate into again? about a 1/4", right? a two teeth spread should be good with this one chain, i'd have to imagine.

i don't think i trust masterlinks, but it might be because i'm superstitious about these things. thanks for the input guys, appreciated.

removing 1 link would move your axle roughly 1/2" forward.

i'm no mathster, but from experience, that doesn't seem like it could possibly be right. i think there must be more to this.

i said roughly. I guess I should have said "at maximum"

"roughly" doesn't take into account the angle the chain makes between the chainring and cog. so yeah, removing 1 link will move the axle less than 1/2"