Broken chain

[Dirtbreath]

Thanks Lefty. Your perception astounds.

 

For us mere mortals who when going down single track through thick pine forest get to the bottom and find a sharp right/left back up the hill (which surprised us like the enemy creaping us from beafter) what is the recommended way of changing down. Rear derailleur 3 front 1, rear derailleur 3 front 1.........

 

By the way, I ride dual control with rapid rise and have snapped a chain. Only time I have ever used my chain breaker on my own bike. Just back from a service. No comment.

[jmaccelari]

 

You could make the former out of a biscuit and the latter out of the same stuff they made Wolverine from.

That's Adamantium - the same stuff they made that New Romantic singer in

the 80's from...

 

[GoLefty!!]

Thanks Lefty. Your perception astounds.

 

For us mere mortals who when going down single track through thick pine forest get to the bottom and find a sharp right/left back up the hill (which surprised us like the enemy creaping us from beafter) what is the recommended way of changing down. Rear derailleur 3 front 1' date=' rear derailleur 3 front 1.........

 

By the way, I ride dual control with rapid rise and have snapped a chain. Only time I have ever used my chain breaker on my own bike. Just back from a service. No comment.

[/quote']

 

There is no such thing as an "emergency  shift" situation.

If you find yourself being inattentive then shift no more than one gear at a time. If you try for two gears you stand a very very good chance of breaking the chain.

Rapid rise only allows one such shift at a time no matter how many times you clickety click click. If you broke a chain with a  RR derailleur then your chain had a weak link, mostl likely where it was previously joined.

 

Again,teh terrain provides plenty of clues of whats ahead. Learn to read the terrain and choose the appropriate gear before hand. I usually run the chain in the 5th sprocket and big ring on descents. This gives better chain tension so less cahin slap and I can dump a lot of ratios in just one click from big to middle ring. thereafter I can downshift oe ratio at a time. 

 

[Dirtbreath]

Good advice.

 

However, my question still stands; What is the best technique in shifting from the highest gear (big chainring:small sprocket) to lowest gear (small chainring:big sprocket) as cleanly and with the least amount of chain damage.

 

Just a question about the rapid rise. Mine can shift 3 down and 2 up without any problems. Are you saying this is not recommended?

[Johan Bornman]

Good advice.

 

However' date=' my question still stands; What is the best technique in shifting from the highest gear (big chainring:small sprocket) to lowest gear (small chainring:big sprocket) as cleanly and with the least amount of chain damage.

 

Just a question about the rapid rise. Mine can shift 3 down and 2 up without any problems. Are you saying this is not recommended?

[/quote']

 

Shifting from the big chainring to the small chainring won't create a chain-damaging situation. Worst that could happen is you can drop your chain onto the BB and you end up getting your fingers dirty.

 

However, going from the small sprocket to a larger one under power is where the trouble lies.

 

If you apply power to the crank when the chain is in transition, you're applying sideways force to the chain and it splits open like the sketch posted here by someone.

 

The trick is to rotate the crank during the shift without applying power. Sometimes, in surprise situations like you describe, this is not possible and you have to dismount, fall or risk the chain.

 

Picture it for yourself: to change gears, the chain has to move from one sprocket to another. This movement isn't in one go but starts from the bottom of the sprocket and moves upwards.  If the cross-over is right at the bottom, power is still safe. However, as the crossover rotates to the top, power is dangerous. Put your bike on a stand, change gears whilst rotating the cranks slowly. You'll soon see what I am attempting to describe.

 

Skilled riders never find themselves in a surprise situation.

 

The problem I'm describing has nothing to do with your gear shifter type but everything with applying power during that critical transition phase.

 

I hope this helps, but keep on asking if I'm unclear. I'll improve my verbal visualisation skills as we delve deeper into this.

 

[ORCA]

[quote=Johan Bornman

 

Skilled riders never find themselves in a surprise situation.

 

 

Golden rule "shift to the right gear before you need it"

[Guest Big H]

Ultegra 10 speed chains are notoriously weak' date=' well from my experience. KMC should be better yes. The chain will skip if your cassette teeth are worn though, but I doubt it if the grouppo is only six months old. [/quote']
Shimano in general is notoriously weak...

 

What do you prefer laaitie...... notoriously weak or prohibitively expensive???????

[Dirtbreath]

OK, I understand your description of the mechanics.

 

However, are you saying that if you change down without power it doesn't matter how you go down?

 

I think what I am asking for here is a recommended sequence of changing front and rear derailleurs to get all the way down with the least amount of fatigue for the chain.

 

It is highly unlikely that this would ever be necessary (being a highly skilled rider and all) but is there a recommended sequence or just keep your chain as straight as possible?

[MTBiker]

I bought a new mt bike ' date='it came with a shimano Hg-73 chain, and on the 3rd ride the chain broke.when it broke the whole link bent sideways like this pic    Then 1 or 2 months later on a long mtb race the chain broke 4 times. I replaced it with a spare HG-53 chain i had and it was fine for a while 5 months later it broke again. Is this a bad chains or a bad setup[/quote']

 

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Neither, it is due to bad shifting technique.

 

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The reason I argue that line is tht in a bad setup, you'll only find one bad link - the one you spliced.

 

 

 

before this i had a cheaper bike for 1.5 years. I never had any chain breaking problems with this bike.

 

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If there are three or four other breaks at different places, you need to modify your shifting technique. No chain is that faulty.

 

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You may also need some new friends. Continuous bad shifting usually make your friends cringe and the good ones will tell you that you're a dork and give you some advice. Bad friends will just stop riding with you, thinking that you're chain-jinxed and they cannot afford the downtime on each ride.

 

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