New Chain Required

[nlmkiii]

for this bike:

View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HOY-Shizuoka-Hybrid-Evans-Cycles/dp/B01NBLQQ7N


I don't have any specific tools (except bike stand and alan keys etc)- is it easy to do by myself (bike shop always did it in the past). If so can you recommend which chain i need?

Thanks

It sounds like you’re just replacing without any reason.

I’d check if you need to first. Buy a chain wear tool to see if it’s an issue. They cost like £2. If it’a close then get a new chain. If it’s comfortably worn then get a cassette too.

The only tool you will need for a chain is a removal tool to take some links out of the new chain to size it correctly.

Future advice is to clean the chain often, and we’ll. and lubricate it more regularly after cleaning (don’t just shove it on top of dirt)

 

[nlmkiii]

Forgot to mention. The other option if it’s a commuter that you never ride hard is just to keep it all clean and never replace anything. That’s how most people do it! There are commuter bikes out there that haven’t even had a chain cleaned, let alone a new chain, and are still going strong 10 years later.

And I say this as someone who is ludicrously obsessive over drive train cleanliness! and upkeep. It’s just that a tuned racing machine is very different to something you poodle to work on.

 

[gbb]

How many chains has it had ?
All my bikes seem to survive on 3 chains then a cassette is needed and i used to ride hard and out the saddle a lot.
If its a cheap solution you need, replace the chain and see how it goes, if you get problems, then replace the cassette, if no problems, win wi , its really simple.

 

[gbb]

No, you try it, if it skips, put the cassette on. A worn cassette won't cause wear on a new chain anyway. No point in replacing a perfectly serviceable cassette. I fitted a new chain today, third one on the same cassette, runs just fine.

I dont know about how a worn cassette influences chain wear but your experience re 3 chains on one cassette mirrors my experience exactly.

How many miles a cassette or chains done is pretty irrelevant IME, we all have different results from pretty much the same equipment. I never got more than 1800 miles (iirc) from a chain but other contributors here get far more so riding style, perhaps strength, local conditions make comparisons 'difficult'.
Id just fit a chain...you cant do much, if any damage if the cassette then did show itself in need of replacing. That being the case, then replace the cassette, its no biggie.

Equally, if some prefer the certainty, replace both, again, no biggie

 

[Chislenko]

When I was a lad changing a chain or a cassette never entered my head, we just carried on riding our bikes!

Do we think that modern components are not as hard-wearing or perhaps have a "manufactured life"

 

[Ajax Bay]

All my bikes seem to survive on 3 chains then a cassette is needed

Totally agree, but this requires the rider to either monitor their chain elongation (with a reliable checker tool or by accurate measurement) or change prophylactly(?) at (for me) 2200km. Once beyond that, no point changing: just get a cassette and chain in the box and change both when current exhibits its first skate, or before a very long ride.
Using several chains to extend the life of a cassette is well worth it for 10+sp but becomes marginal at 8sp (cost of cassette/chain).

how a worn cassette influences chain wear

For how a chain wears sprockets, see @Yellow Saddle's Cyclechat thread. (Spoiler: a worn cassette doesn't influence chain wear.)

 

[gbb]

When I was a lad changing a chain or a cassette never entered my head, we just carried on riding our bikes!

Do we think that modern components are not as hard-wearing or perhaps have a "manufactured life"

If you think about it, well if I think about my childhood, we rode 3speeds. The chain was much wider and importantly, the inner pins and rollers/bushes were accordingly wider and thats where the wear is critical, wider pins/bushings/rollers spread or resist the wear better than thinners ones

 

[Ajax Bay]

The chain was much wider and importantly, the inner pins and rollers/bushes were accordingly wider and thats where the wear is critical, wider pins/bushings/rollers spread or resist the wear better than thinners ones

Chain was wider but I suggest your deductions about wear bear scrutiny (let's see if I can quantify).
It's unlikely that 3sp (eg SA hub) geared bikes did much mileage (though no doubt some did).
So let's consider the 5sp chain as a baseline. The width of the teeth on 5/6sp freewheel sprockets was/is 2mm. The 3/32" chain would fit over those teeth. The 7-9sp sprocket width is ~1.8mm (shimano) and 1.7mm for 10sp. It's the outside width of the chain which reduces for 9, 10 and 11sp to avoid interference between the chain on a sprocket, and the next sprocket(s).
Inner chain widths:

• Single speed chains = 1/8″ (3.175 mm).
• Multi speed chains, from 5 to 8sp = 3/32″ (2.38 mm).
• Multi speed chains from 9 to 11sp = 11/128″ (2.18 mm).

Therefore "wider pins/bushings/rollers spread or resist the wear better than [narrower] ones" might only expect a 9% increase in wear, from 5-8sp to 9-11sp, for this wear mechanism.
Sheldon

 

[nmfeb70]

Yes but if you bother to read my post you will see I advise to fit a cassette too thus the requirement of suitable tools

Ooooooh..

 

[gbb]

Chain was wider but I suggest your deductions about wear bear scrutiny (let's see if I can quantify).
It's unlikely that 3sp (eg SA hub) geared bikes did much mileage (though no doubt some did).
So let's consider the 5sp chain as a baseline. The width of the teeth on 5/6sp freewheel sprockets was/is 2mm. The 3/32" chain would fit over those teeth. The 7-9sp sprocket width is ~1.8mm (shimano) and 1.7mm for 10sp. It's the outside width of the chain which reduces for 9, 10 and 11sp to avoid interference between the chain on a sprocket, and the next sprocket(s).
Inner chain widths:

• Single speed chains = 1/8″ (3.175 mm).
• Multi speed chains, from 5 to 8sp = 3/32″ (2.38 mm).
• Multi speed chains from 9 to 11sp = 11/128″ (2.18 mm).

Therefore "wider pins/bushings/rollers spread or resist the wear better than [narrower] ones" might only expect a 9% increase in wear, from 5-8sp to 9-11sp, for this wear mechanism.
Sheldon

Sounds good, even the great Sheldon agrees, wider older wider chains will resist wear better that thinner modern ones .

 

[bonzobanana]

Sounds good, even the great Sheldon agrees, wider older wider chains will resist wear better that thinner modern ones .

Plus a 3 speed hub is a single speed chain so it had a perfect chain line and was a heavy duty chain. When the chain slackened you just moved the axle slightly back in the horizontal dropouts to tighten again with no slipping. Both the hub cog and front chainring were steel so were very resistant to wear which also had a knock on effect to the chains lasting. Also many bikes had a fully enclosed chain guard to protect the chain from any dirt etc. You get people who have such old bikes now and they can just wax the chain stick on the chain guard and forget about it for months (depending on use). Modern 10 speed chains and above I think even the little quick links are single use because the metal is so thin.