Chain Breaker
03-19-05 | 06:19 PM
#1
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Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2005
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Chain Breaker
Hi Gang,
Yesterday I joined the ranks of Tandem Riders with the arrival of our new Co-motion Speedster. Ever since I saw one at a Century some time back I have been lusting after one. I'm hoping this will shorten my wait, at the top of hills, etc., for my wife.
Anyway, I'm getting ready to put together my tool kit and I seemed to recall reading somewhere if one was in need of a chain breaker to stop a tandem- they always have one. That got me to thinking; do I need to carry one of these on my tandem?? With my standard DF road bike I've never had occasion to use one, nor have any of my friends. So, Do I need to carry one and if so what am I likely to need it for?
Thanks in advance, Bone
Yesterday I joined the ranks of Tandem Riders with the arrival of our new Co-motion Speedster. Ever since I saw one at a Century some time back I have been lusting after one. I'm hoping this will shorten my wait, at the top of hills, etc., for my wife.
Anyway, I'm getting ready to put together my tool kit and I seemed to recall reading somewhere if one was in need of a chain breaker to stop a tandem- they always have one. That got me to thinking; do I need to carry one of these on my tandem?? With my standard DF road bike I've never had occasion to use one, nor have any of my friends. So, Do I need to carry one and if so what am I likely to need it for?
Thanks in advance, Bone
03-19-05 | 06:44 PM
#2
I recommend that any who rides a tandem have either a multi-tool with a chainbreaker, e.g, Crank Brothers Multi-tool or an honest to goodness mini-chainbreaker like the Park CT-5 AND a reuseable chain link like a Sram Powerlink, Forester Superlink II, or Wipperman Connex.
As for what you'd use it for, basically if you have it you won't need it: consider it a good luck charm. However, if you don't have the tools and parts needed to repair a chain, the probability that a late rear derailleur shift on a steep climb in one of the taller sprockets (28, 32, 34) causing a rear chain to pop a rivet becomes much higher. Seriously, a tandem generates a lot of power at the rear hub and a marginal Shimano one-time-use rivet installation or any other weak link that happens to pass between your rear derailleur's jockey pulley and one of the larger cassette sprockets could pop under a high load.
As for what you'd use it for, basically if you have it you won't need it: consider it a good luck charm. However, if you don't have the tools and parts needed to repair a chain, the probability that a late rear derailleur shift on a steep climb in one of the taller sprockets (28, 32, 34) causing a rear chain to pop a rivet becomes much higher. Seriously, a tandem generates a lot of power at the rear hub and a marginal Shimano one-time-use rivet installation or any other weak link that happens to pass between your rear derailleur's jockey pulley and one of the larger cassette sprockets could pop under a high load.
03-19-05 | 07:21 PM
#3
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 16,681
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From: Between the mountains and the lake.
Bikes: 8 bikes - one for each day of the week!
We broke the timing chain once, a few km's from our house. Now we carry a chain breaker and a few spare links. Beats having me push from the back on my wife's low seat, while she tries to brake and steer. We carry the Topeak Hummer with a chain breaker, but I understand Crank Bros has the best warranty, so I'd go with their Multi 17.
Last edited by Brian; 03-19-05 at 10:05 PM.
03-19-05 | 09:55 PM
#4
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 11,013
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From: Tucson, AZ
Bikes: Custom Zona c/f tandem + Scott Plasma single
Chain breakage is a bit rare on a single or tandem.
Have broken only one chain on a single and half dozen breaks on a tandem. However that is in 30+ years (200,000+ miles) of tandeming and about 50,000+ miles of single bike riding.
Having said that, better to have it and not need than to need it and not have it!
Have broken only one chain on a single and half dozen breaks on a tandem. However that is in 30+ years (200,000+ miles) of tandeming and about 50,000+ miles of single bike riding.
Having said that, better to have it and not need than to need it and not have it!
