Chain Length

[brettreading]

Hi

I am building a fixie with 48T chainring and 18T sprocket. I have order a gusset 3/32 half link chain and was just wondering if this will be long enough for my set up?

Thanks
Brett

 

[RedBike]

Should do, it all depends on how long your chain stays are and what length of chain you've brought.

Why the half link chain?
There's no reason I know of why you can't use them but..
A half link chain will stretch /wear quicker than a normal chain (twice as many links!).

A slack chain is annoying on a fixie. Appart from the fact the chains liable to come off you'll get this 'dead spot' as the slack is taken uo when you start/stop pedalling.

 

[Joe24]

Just use a normal chain?
How are we ment to know how much chain your going to need?
I ride 48/18 and my fixed has pretty big clearences and there is more then enough chain, so you should be fine.
You might have to buy two chains though.
Or the cheap way is to use the half link chain, then get a normal chain you have spare and cut that up to be half link. Only about 5 mins work, 10 at the most to smooth everything out. Doesnt matter what thickness chain it is either!

 

[brettreading]

Thanks guys. I went for a half link as the frame I am using (old Raliegh Reynolds frame) doesn't have that much adjustment in the rear drop puts and I figured it would be easier to adjust the chain tension with the half link chain.

Cheers

 

[skwerl]

(twice as many links!).

erm. There are exactly the same number of links. If there were twice as many you'd end up with a 1/4" chain pitch.
There's no reason a half-link chain will "stretch"/wear any more/less than a standard chain. Annecdotal evidence suggests they are bad for stretching but that's going to be down to quality of materials/build-quality.

 

[RedBike]

Opps, I forgot my smiley. - I wasn't serious, although I do often think of half link chains as having tiwce as many links....

Iit all depends on what you call a link. On a standard chain I normal count two segments (An inner part and an outer part) as one link.

In a half link chain there aren't any inners/outers and I often (wrongly) count each segment as a link instead of as just half link.

 

[skwerl]

Opps, I forgot my smiley. - I wasn't serious, although I do often think of half link chains as having tiwce as many links....

Iit all depends on what you call a link. On a standard chain I normal count two segments (An inner part and an outer part) as one link.

In a half link chain there aren't any inners/outers and I often (wrongly) count each segment as a link instead of as just half link.

you're forgiven

 

[Greenbank]

There's no reason a half-link chain will "stretch"/wear any more/less than a standard chain. Annecdotal evidence suggests they are bad for stretching but that's going to be down to quality of materials/build-quality.

Normal chains have flat side plates. Half link chains have side plates with a kink in them, if this flattens out slightly under load then the chain will elongate.

Obviously this should be impossible with a well engineered chain but then so should it be impossible to snap a chain under normal use/load but it happens.

If desperate use a single half-link in a normal chain but, personally, I wouldn't use a chain made completely out of half links on fixed.

 

[kyuss]

I had a gusset slink half link chain. It stretched to useless in just over 400 miles taking a chainring in the process, and it sounded like a chainsaw too. KMC z610 hx for the win!

 

[brettreading]

well its on and working fine at the moment.....how long it will last is anyones guess

kyuss - great band btw!