ON-THE-GO chain repairs

[b-unit]

Thanks Parabola, will definitely do that.

[VincentBikes]

Have you maybe got a powerlink for an 8 speed chain?

 

What colour is it? it should be gold.

 

I made sure that I ordered the 9-speed SRAM links and they are indeed gold and they have 9-speed written on them and the HG53 is also listed as 9 speed so not too sure. Will go dig on the tech sites and see what the dimensions are....if listed would be interesting....

[Johan Bornman]

It is, but if you dont have them and your chain goes...its going to be long day

 

As a rule I put in a powerlink when I get a new chain, makes maintenance much easier than with the Shimano pins. And yes the SRAM powerlinks will work on a shimano chain

 

It sounds to me that it fits perfectly. Powerlinks are about 1/10th of mm wider than the chain itself. This is not a problem, but a function of the link. If you look at the links carefully, you'll see that they cannot disengage unless squeezed together before sliding away from each other. The likelyhook that both these actions happen by themselves whilst riding is extremely slim.

 

The reason some guys report that they find them difficult to remove when they're muddy is because dirt prevents the squeeze-together action.

 

These links are the best thing since LED tailights.

[Carbon_Kooi]

If you look at the links carefully, you'll see that they cannot disengage unless squeezed together before sliding away from each other. The likelyhook that both these actions happen by themselves whilst riding is extremely slim.

 

Yeah there's like a 1% chance of this happening, and for some bloody reason mine came loose this weekend at the Fast & Furious, sorry for the guys in the bakkie at the end of the downhill section for my impolite swearing at myself....

[LeTurbo]

I'm with Moegoe ... how the hell do you break a chain? You: flesh and blood. Chain: steel. I'm sure it must be very gratifying, but surely it just means you haven't maintained your bike properly?

[VincentBikes]

So all I could find is some documentation that states that 9-speed chains can vary from 6.6 - 6.8 mm so maybe the HG53 and HG73 chains are slightly different ????

[parabola]

I'm with Moegoe ... how the hell do you break a chain? You: flesh and blood. Chain: steel. I'm sure it must be very gratifying, but surely it just means you haven't maintained your bike properly?

 

Ive broken several, and helped many riders fix theirs, so obviously its more common than you might think. Last time was an awkward front shift under load which caused the chain to become jammed between the chainrings and derailer, and thus distorted the flat plates horizontally, so that after a few hard pedals the thing just breaks. This situation is obviously more common if your gears arent setup properly, but when riding in rough conditions my shifting is often buggered anyway towards the end of a long race.

 

Another tip is to make sure you remove any links that look distorted when you repair it, otherwise the chain may just break again 100m down the road.

[reteid]

put a small piece of highly visible string on the powerlink if you have it in your pack.if your chain breaks en route and you are tired and maybe hands full of greassy stuff when fiddling with the powerlink it can become lost between the mud and leaves.i have found that a red piece of string makes it easier to find as most of the time if you are a first time chainbraker during the race you are allready a bit flustered.practice the breaking and fixing part a few times before hand though and cross your fingers before the ride that it does not brake.

[Headshot]

put a small piece of highly visible string on the powerlink if you have it in your pack.if your chain breaks en route and you are tired and maybe hands full of greassy stuff when fiddling with the powerlink it can become lost between the mud and leaves.i have found that a red piece of string makes it easier to find as most of the time if you are a first time chainbraker during the race you are allready a bit flustered.practice the breaking and fixing part a few times before hand though and cross your fingers before the ride that it does not brake.

 

Quick links can also be the source of the problem as can a badly done chain repair/reassembly. My powerlink simply possped for no reason on a bumpy but low torque down shift in De Doorns recently. Its the only time I have ever had to repair my own chain in a race in 16 years of mountian biking. I did not have a spare but simply popped a pin out and repaired the chain without a quick link using a small Topeak chain breaker that comes with a 6 and 8 mm allen tool. Re riveting the chain can be easier than faffing with a powerlink in the mud and most chains seem to work fine.

[scotty]

Practice with an old chain or ask your LBS if you dont have one, i've never broken a chain but theres always a 1st time, make sure its either a 8/9 or 10spd link as well

[Johan Bornman]

put a small piece of highly visible string on the powerlink if you have it in your pack.if your chain breaks en route and you are tired and maybe hands full of greassy stuff when fiddling with the powerlink it can become lost between the mud and leaves.i have found that a red piece of string makes it easier to find as most of the time if you are a first time chainbraker during the race you are allready a bit flustered.practice the breaking and fixing part a few times before hand though and cross your fingers before the ride that it does not brake.

 

I quite schmaak this tip. I should have done it earlier.

 

Would you like to bring your red string and put some on all the quick links buried somewhere in my kukyu lawn?

[Johan Bornman]

I'm with Moegoe ... how the hell do you break a chain? You: flesh and blood. Chain: steel. I'm sure it must be very gratifying, but surely it just means you haven't maintained your bike properly?

It is quite easy to break a chain. Just shift badly under load.

 

Beginners often attempt to shift up when they're faced with a sudden uphill. The combination of heavy torque, slow speed and loaded shifting easily breaks a chain.

 

No-one can break a chain in pure tension. Even I on a Bar-One sugar rush cannot do it.

[The expat cyclist]

The likelyhook that both these actions happen by themselves whilst riding is extremely slim.

 

JB, my wife did 5km's during Saterdays race at Walkerville. The chain/broke/came loose directly at the powerlink...Whish I had more info but I don't so although slim, it does happen!

[Guest Big H]

I am not sure if anybody discussed this here.

 

Tandem chains take some strain. Gear changes in beginner Tandem teams or badly planned changes under stress on uphills are almost always catatastrophic. We once had a very mangled rear drive chain close to Curios. We both thought our ARGUS was over. I decided it was not....... but let me start at the beginning.

 

Tandemmers always carry enough to ensure their ride or race is not stopped by a stupid thing like a chain. We always carry a few Shimano link pins, some SRAM quiclinks and some short assorted bits of chain...... o ja and a GOOD quality chainbreaker.

 

That day I had all in my tubby bag and was able to sit on my gat in the dust and rebuild the chain and get it to such a state to reach the next bike repair station en route. Luckily it was Cylce Lab just before Chappies and they put a brand new chain in for us.

 

This is stil one of the best Cycletours for us ever as we were able to overcome the odds and complete the race. It was a personal victory..... accomplished by just planning right. The few extra grams to cary these precautions may just save your day.

[Headshot]

JB, my wife did 5km's during Saterdays race at Walkerville. The chain/broke/came loose directly at the powerlink...Whish I had more info but I don't so although slim, it does happen!

Yep, see my post above - the only time I have "lost" a chain was at the power link.

[AndreZA]

I'm sure if your powerlink came loose it was not installed properly. You need to clip it in place and then you pull the side plates apart for the pins to sit properly in the recessed spaces. I use the YBN 9spd one on my MTB and 10spd road one (a true re-usable one) on my road bike. I shift while climbing out of the saddle and never had any problems.