boesman88

Oh by the way, have been in conversation with the head mechanic at the distributor today and I submitted my case to then for evaluation from a warrantee perspective. He seemed very disinterested to hear me out and basically the conversation ended along the lines of ‘sure get the request us but it will be unlikely that we will cover it under warrantee’. Sommer net so. Well, lets see what happens

This was going to be my next question - which chain next?

Now this is a post that makes sense. Thank you for this. The point for me is that its just a chain and a couple of buck will fix the problem, so I have no interest in ranting or accusing. I am just very curious as to why this happened. I'm new to SRAM, so its an interesting problem to need to understand both from a perspective of why the heck it happened, but also form a perspective of how this influences my future product choices. Perhaps the Japanese brands have stricter policies with regards to machine tolerances and age analysis than newer brands? its certainly the case with Toyota isnt it?

that is exactly what I concluded hahaha

I have the older one.

Let me help you here with the facts: 1. I have 9 bikes on my premise - the oldest a 30+ year old Eddie Merckx Corsa Extra - between them I have many many thousands of KMs on, not one plate crack. 2. the bike in question has the very low mileage on (1500-2000) and I make a point of looking after it well. 3. it has never seen rain and hardly any mud. it sleeps inside in a spare bedroom. and it travels inside my SUV when driving on gravel to get to a bike park 4. After every ride it gets washed properly including drivetrain. Left to dry thoroughly then I lube using only Muc-Off dry lube. 5. Its two years old - last major service was late last year - which included a full suspension service and a chain measurement (which proved to be within spec). 6. I've been hearing an occasional click sound coming from the drivetrain over the past few months and have been trying to troubleshoot the root cause without success. This was also investigated by the LBS who could not find the fault. So no, the cracks did not appear all at once, it happened over a period of time, and yes I did year noises but call me and the LBS stupid, we could not trace it to the chain plates. 7. In fact the chain, other that ensuring it is well lubed, was the last place I would have expected catastrophic failure. We checked everything else - seat post collar, pedals, crank, front cog, rear casette, suspension bolts, spokes, rims, thru axles, brake calipers - everything. no trace of a problem. What made it worse was I could not reproduce at will as clearly the chain had to be in the correct position when you engage power for the sound to occur. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didnt. was very frustrating. I guess if I inspected every link in the chain which I didnt do, we could have arrived at the root cause. I am perhaps not looking after it as well as you you look at your bikes MTB-More, but I try and keep it in top shape best I know how. Pity I missed spotting the problem. Fact is, its the first time it has happened to me over many years, many bicycles and many thousands of hours on the saddle. Dont want to shift blame here but suspect a defective part on this one.

Its the GX.

Thats quite an elaborate theory you've arrived at without any context - my theory is that you have not read my posts above thoroughly.

naah, Like the SRAM Level brakes its more a case if shoddy quality if you ask me. I miss my Shimano's.

yes and I am still waiting for my CWCycles order from 7 weeks ago... :-(

which makes me think - they should rate chains by "maximum watts" - my occasional peak 5 second output I doubt would cause this much damage

haha - I wish that was the case!

I hear you but doubt it for a couple of reasons - low mileage, 60/40 tar/trails split and in terms of dirt and debris - doubt this either since I clean my bike after every single ride and lube after every singe ride. the drive train is always impeccable. Having owned and still own many other bicycles, I have never experienced this. Stretched chains and worn cogs yes, but cracked up chain plates - never.

Has this happened to anyone else? +/-2000km of riding and 10+ of the chain plates have started cracking and shearing around the pins? I only noticed this after I snapped the chain. Bike is always kept in pristine condition. Very annoying especially during lock down as I cannot replace it until shops open up :-|

This is awesome! Where is Mark’s shop?

.... and dont forget to make a special mention of those that: 1. Are old hands at their trade with passion and dedication 2. The digitally savvy ones like our paypal shop, paincave, toolup and others. ????

We’ve established so far that 1. poor LBS service is a fact and quite common 2. There are quality mechanics out there that delivers great service 3. Bike services tend to be overpriced (subjective I guess) Instead of name and shame- perhaps best way forward is to name the guys you’ve received great service from and area so we can support their efforts and passion for quality?

Just roadbikes. There are ones that covers both like https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bike-repair/id382006079 Depending on what you need to do there are great tech resources such as GCN/GMBN, Manufacturers videos such as this one: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6wCt9BJRNew etc If you like books- try this: https://bikemob.co.za/products/parktoolbigbluebookofbicyclerepair4thedition?variant=30986473504853&currency=ZAR&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-04&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1IXh0oHH5QIVB7TtCh1J2AtSEAQYASABEgJGvvD_BwE This is the 101 of wheels: https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Wheel-3rd-Jobst-Brandt/dp/0960723668 This is also a good free online source: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

I’m assuming you’re not local. In SA we have also adopted this technology- you pay pal! - regardless of quality of service ???? on a serious note I think I am sometimes too lenient on service providers and should demand basic proper service - not miracles, just basics. Like some else said - vote with your wallet

Its how you see it.

Try this one https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bicycle-maintenance-guide/id1346371184 There should be an android equivalent if you prefer

I got his point perfectly. You clearly missed mine. You are measuring modern business models (buy online) with old business models (bike shop with mechanic). The bike shop’s business model (and pricing structures) is outdated as he makes his money from putting a margin on goods and services he sells through his shop. If people are buying online from ChainReactionCycles.com his one revenue stream dries up. No one will pay R1500 an hour for his ‘normal’ mechanic’s time which is what he will have to charge to survive given the above, right? There are opportunities to disrupt these old business models... imagine if the same shop guy carries minimum, but quality and the latest stock on display (lower need for working capital), digitise his business by becoming the one that people buy online from and delivers excellent, rapid door to door service - hence increasing his client base beyond the few feet that walks into his shop to a broader online community. This increases profits and he can afford to improve his mechanics’ skills and deliver better technical services at reasonable prices (cross subsidize potentially). or he shunt the technical service and leave it to the okes that know what they are doing and he focuses on becoming the bicycle’s version of Amazon. Alternatively he can count peanuts and monkeys and go extinct like Kodak Its how you look at the problem

Guess I should have been more explicit ito the sub point I was responding to

Its called 4th industrial revolution. With the barriers of entry removed by TCP/IP its easier than ever to buy stuff from anyone anywhere. Everything is becoming open- even banks and their payment rails. Businesses must learn that they have to digitise or risk going out of business. Best example is Kodak vs Amazon book store. Both non IT companies. Amazon chose to digitise, Kodak not. It will be sad that some business owners do not see the light as they will go out of business. The once who do see the light will become great! This whole digitisation business and strategising to take advantage of 4th industrial revolution is what pays for my bike and the stupid expensive service I had to pay. Part of life