Snapped chain troubleshooting

[MattDB]

Only got the bike in September and have tracked mileage on speedo. I have ridden it in all weathers, on muddy paths and gritted roads.

Promise I've no reason to lie about maintenance! The rust has only appeared last couple of weeks which I linked to the bad weather plus changing to dry lube (as advised by man in a lbs).

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Only got the bike in September and have tracked mileage on speedo. I have ridden it in all weathers, on muddy paths and gritted roads.

Promise I've no reason to lie about maintenance! The rust has only appeared last couple of weeks which I linked to the bad weather plus changing to dry lube (as advised by man in a lbs).

That chain rusted itself to death.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I thought there was a rule of thumb where, replaced sufficiently early, one cassette would last 2-3 chains and chainrings would last 2-3 cassettes?

You are correct, providing the chain is changed at a certain point. That critical point is at 0.5% elongation. If you allow the chain to elongate (through wear) to 1% it will have damaged the cassette. If you have allowed it to grow to somewhere between 0.5 and 1%, you may be lucky but you have to test the bike under load in in every gear to see if it will skate. Obviously cassettes don't last forever and eventually it will skate. However, only a new chain will tell you whether the old cassette is good or not. A cassette will not skate halfway through the last chain's life. In other words, if it doesn't skate with a new chain fitted, it won't skate until the next chain is put on.

 

[Pale Rider]

Or buy a bike with a hub gear.

Chain, sprocket and ring all last for ages on one of those.

 

[totallyfixed]

Three points. I see many derailleur geared riders changing while putting plenty of pressure on the pedals, been mentioned earlier and reiterating because it is an important point. Secondly the outer plates are put under constant pressure when riding large chainring to large sprocket and small to small, something I notice more often since compacts made an appearance. Thirdly, you are going to subject your chain to extra grief if you don't have mudguards, even better with a mudflap on the front guard, this is particularly true at this time of year when the roads are gritted / salted.

 

[ColinJ]

Thirdly, you are going to subject your chain to extra grief if you don't have mudguards, even better with a mudflap on the front guard, this is particularly true at this time of year when the roads are gritted / salted.

I certainly proved that by doing a guard-free 50 km ride last week on gritty/salty roads. My chain needed a lot of fettling TLC to get it back into a good condition after that ride.

I have since fitted Crud Roadracers to my bike and it was a lot nicer to ride after that, and the chain stayed a lot cleaner, as did the rest of the bike, and me!