New Landy new life Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 I just fitted a new 9 speed SRAM chain after noticing slight wear on the last chain (1mm over a 300 mm ruler) I didn't clean off the new chain or put any lube on thinking that maybe the stuff they package the new chain with should work? I find under load (steep incline) the first three granny gears are causing the derailleur to jam and I stall. Could I have fitted the chain the wrong way or should I have lubed the chain first? The links are the same number as old and the cassette and chain-rings are only 6 months old. Appreciate some advice.
Li Mu Bai Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 No, you cant really fit a chain the wrong way. the powerlink sometimes has a small arrow on it indicating Srams preferred direction of travel.What you will find as the biggest cause of chain suck is often overlooked. Worn Chainrings. Especially the small front chainring. These do wear our with all the sand grinding paste they get clogged up with. Often guys just change the big ring, thinking the small looks "ok". then the fun starts on a steep incline or in muddy weather - suck city.Been there learnt the hard way.You should keep an eye on your chain as a matter of regular maintainence. keep it clean, but dont bath it in prepsol or other 'degreasers' as they tend to deep clean the chain too much, robbing the inner bits of the lube they need and making the chain too dry, even if you lube it after. It tends to wear quicker then.a good chain scrubber and 50/50 mix of Clean Green and water, 60 turns of the handle should suffice. Dont overlube your chain. put a drop on every 2nd link, you will be surprised that it spreads easily by itself, lubing the adjacent dry links. Try avoid wax based lubes, they tend to just clog up your chain, and are hard to remove. The "oil" the chain is boxed with isnt lube, it just keeps the metal parts rust free in storage. wash it off, and lube with a proper wet lube. having tried most varieties out there, a good wet lube is hard to beat, last long enough for each ride, and cleans off easily.get a chain checker tool to check its length. (if 12 dbl links = 12 inches its ok, if 12 and 1/16 inches, replace) - the chain holes elongate over time, and the chain stretches. if left a worn chain marries itself to the cassette, and then you end up replacing both, as a new chain starts to skip on the worn cassette and doesnt index properly.keep your cassette clean too - toothbrush all that muck out from between the sprockets. Check that the lockring is tightened regularily to the correct torque - usually 40nm.Check the jockey wheels on your rear deraileur. these are just resin and wear out quite fast. if they have bearings, these tend to rust up especially after muddy events/river crossings. this also affects your drivetrain. make sure your rear deraileur is clean and the moving parts are lubed too.What you should also double check is that you have threaded the chain correctly through the jockey.Then as a last resort, regularily check your BB bearings, and freehub body bearings. your drive train can be affected if these start to stiffen up and get contaminated with grease/water emulsion. and grit - NO HIGH PRESSURE HOSING.
Wyatt Earp Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Front chain rings need replacing .Most likely the big one .
New Landy new life Posted January 27, 2015 Author Posted January 27, 2015 Thanks, but all other parts and ring-gears including freewheel hub body are new 6 months ago with no muddy riding since. Can only be the lack of propper lube - will take the advice and clean and re-lube and report back. I have only ever had chain suck before on long muddy races where all the lube is washed off in rivers and mud.
Li Mu Bai Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 if you ride lots, your chain rings may have worn enough. if you have only ridden 3 times, it may then be lube
GerrieTruter Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 I had chain suck after fitting a new chain last year. Replaced my chainrings but nothing changed. Had to change my cassette. Hope you don't have to got that lenght.
JXV Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Lube on a new chain is quite stiff and sticky. It is for preserving the metal finish in storage. I wet a cloth with paraffin and wipe it off the outside of the new chain for the first ride or two then clean and lube normally. 9 speed not directional but some 10spd are. 1mm in 300 = 0.3% wear. It is more accurate to use a chain guage because markings on a typical ruler can easily be 1mm out or more. Replace at 0.5% or more. If you let it go past 1% you will likely need a new cassette and chainrings too. Chain suck normally affects the front chainrings not the RD. I think you may have threaded the chain incorrectly thru the RD. If a shimano RD there is usually a little metal tab on the back of the cage between the pulleys....the chain must pass in front of this not over the back of it. Also make sure the chain is on the jockey wheels and not to one side, which can happen when they are badly worn.
New Landy new life Posted January 27, 2015 Author Posted January 27, 2015 Thanks JXV I know how to do the basics so threading the chain wrong or off the pulleys is not something I would have done. Chain rings normally last me year and a half depending how wet the winter races are.Last year most were dry - (one's I did anyways) so I don't think they can go so quickly despite the mileage. Going to try the lube route and maybe the idle pulleys in the derailleur?
WIPEOUT 1000 Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 My experience is that chain suck inormally happens in the small front ring combined with mud and/or lots of water. Fortunately this is the cheapest ring to replace. I assume it is due to a combination of factors, e.g. addtional friction in the chain, increased interlink angles compared to the larger rings and worn teeth on the ring. I.e. a sticky chain has to move though a greater angle on teeth that effectively are longer and the net effect is that the chain rides up the back of the ring.
s14phoenix Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 sometimes chain suck is because your chain sucks... seriously I don't buy cheap chains or rather chains without good review etc... We recently had problems with shifting on an 9sp XTR kitted bike... turned out to be a SRAM 9sp chain. We changed to a new XTR chain and the problems went away. If you have a good chain that you have not had issues with before then perhaps you need a clean on the cassette and chainrings (especially in between as gunk can pile up there) and if you still have issues then you got worn parts. I fitted a new KMC X10sl chain yesterday and used it as it came from the box. No issues. shifting was super smooth and super quiet.
Wyatt Earp Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 sometimes chain suck is because your chain sucks... seriously I don't buy cheap chains or rather chains without good review etc... We recently had problems with shifting on an 9sp XTR kitted bike... turned out to be a SRAM 9sp chain. We changed to a new XTR chain and the problems went away. If you have a good chain that you have not had issues with before then perhaps you need a clean on the cassette and chainrings (especially in between as gunk can pile up there) and if you still have issues then you got worn parts. I fitted a new KMC X10sl chain yesterday and used it as it came from the box. No issues. shifting was super smooth and super quiet.Sorry man, but this is a load of nonsense .
Hilton. Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Sorry man, but this is a load of nonsense .+1 Seriously, almost all 9, 10 and 11 speed chains from Shimano, Sram, Campy, KMC and YBN will all work almost identically for a set speed (9 speed etc)
wepat Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Best advice I got buy three new chains and rotate every second week or once a month depends how much you ride. Extends life of cassette, rings,chain etc
Ryan100 Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 This might be silly advice, but a worn chain has more give side to side. I put a new chain on and had problems. Turns out my cable had stretched and so the derailleur wasn't aiming nicely at the rear cogs. New cable and I was away. Good luck, drive trains seem to cost a lot and can give so many little problems
SwissVan Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 I just fitted a new 9 speed SRAM chain after noticing slight wear on the last chain (1mm over a 300 mm ruler) I didn't clean off the new chain or put any lube on thinking that maybe the stuff they package the new chain with should work? I find under load (steep incline) the first three granny gears are causing the derailleur to jam and I stall. Could I have fitted the chain the wrong way or should I have lubed the chain first? The links are the same number as old and the cassette and chain-rings are only 6 months old. Appreciate some advice. I dunno maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree here....are you referring to the front derailleur or rear derailleur?
J∆kk∆ls Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 You should ideally replace the chain and cassette at the same time. A very expensive yet effective exercise. Yet worth while in the long run, as your chain and cassette will age together.
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