Ugh I need to learn about chains - mine snapped yesterday and I hit the deck :-(

[MacLean]

Hi everyone,

So normally I don't have any problems I commute literally everyday on my single speed bike - have had it from new for about 3 years.

Yesterday the lights turn green I push hard to pedal and it snaps and I go right over the handlebars and have hurt my ankle quite bad and generally feeling a bit unpleasant about it. I have every intention of getting back on but think i need to learn a few lessons from it.

The bikes millage must be approx 3000 - 4500 miles so the chain from new will be the same, I keep the chain oiled up regularly with chain lube but I don't tend to fiddle with it at all.

What should I have been doing to see this coming? Do you know of any resources where i can learn what chain I need to get to replace it (I didn't pick up the chain and it must still be where i had the fall). I just need to generally clue myself up a bit more on it as it could have been really dangerous if it happened in different circumstances! I need to somehow figure out what chain to get to replace it.

I guess I just though because it worked it was fine, and I thought a chain would last for many years!

Thanks a lot.

 

[martint235]

Hope you recover quickly.

When you say you regularly oiled the chain, did you clean it before applying new oil? Use baby wipes to get all the existing cruddy oil off it before oiling it otherwise you're just turning it into a kind of sandpaper that will wear away at itself and the drivechain (although not quite as bad with a SS as with a 10 speed).

I can't think of any damage you could otherwise have done to it but it's worth giving the chain a quick look every now and again to see if there's anything obvious.

Someone will be along shortly to recommend a chain. I have a SS bike but haven't needed to change the chain yet.

 

[Rooster1]

I check my chain once a week when I give it some oil, to see if all the links are OK.

I have got into the habit because I realised I was ignoring the signs of a damaged chain. At one time I started out on a long ride with a jumping chain, I ignored it and carried on. I was lucky to get home as one side of the chain was snapped off. Any hard pedalling would have broken it off for sure. I also carry a chain link removal tool and some spare links, in case.

I don't know if single speeds are harder on chains than geared bikes, I would guess not.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Try to avoid grindy gear changes under strain that might damage links.
Keep an eye out for wonky-looking links.
Listen for unusual clicking sounds (not in time with the wheels or the pedals)
Check your chain for wear using a chain checking tool or a rule.
Get a time machine and go back to the days when men were men and bike chains weren't so fragile. Like this.

 

[rrarider]

Get a time machine and go back to the days when men were men and bike chains weren't so fragile. Like this.

I don't think there's any need to return to Victorian times but chains were not at all fragile in the 1980s for instance. I still ride my 1984 Raleigh fitted with a 6 speed freewheel and a Sedis Sport Ultra chain. I maintain the chain every now and again by punching out a rivet, cleaning up in paraffin and re-lubricating. The idea of a chain snapping is still something that never occurs to me.

It seems to be quite a common occurrence these days, as chains have got narrower and therefore weaker. Two years ago I had a bad accident on my bike and an on-line only newspaper, making what must be a common but erroneous assumption, printed the following text about it:

The emergency services were called to the Formby Bypass at approximately 12:05pm today (Friday 22nd August 2014) following reports of a RTC.
A cyclist was riding along the Formby Bypass this morning when the chain on his bike snapped.
The chain got caught up in the bike wheel sending the rider over the handle bars smashing his head on the kerb.
He suffered a serious head injury and was treated at the scene by paramedics before being transferred to hospital.

Although I have amnesia, covering several days, when I recovered the bike weeks later, it had very little damage and a perfectly intact chain. (I am fully recovered from the accident by the way.)

 

[MacLean]

Thanks for the replies guys. I used to tinker around a bit more when I had a geared bike and cycled more for fun than commuting.

If I'm honest, what i tend to do is when i sense the chain getting a bit rougher I tend to lube it up with some dry summer lube, without cleaning. My thinking was to apply the summer stuff regularly rather than the winter stuff which in my experience just becomes a complete mess and turns into the paste. Where as I thought the summer dry stuff wasn't so bad for that.

I see people everyday ridding on squeeky rusting chains and just did not believe that mine was anywhere near that bad, anyway I guess I will deffo be paying attention now.....

Will it be necessary to replace the cranks and the rear wheel cog do you think with my mileage? I mean maybe i should take it to a bike shop - but dont really want to pay a fortune for it!

 

[Ajax Bay]

What should I have been doing to see this coming?

@ColinJ - your prescient powers are required in this case.
OP - recommend a visit to your LBS who will sell you a (wide [edited] 1/8") chain, which I'd expect they'd cut to the right length and fit there and then, provided you don't go in when they're busy.

Will it be necessary to replace the cranks and the rear wheel cog do you think with my mileage?

Cranks - no. Sprocket - yes (with that mileage). But this screws on very simply - again the LBS can do this very quickly (3 minutes, harder for you) so should not cost too much for labour.
@rrarider Glad you're fully recovered, even if you don't know why you crashed (and cannot therefore identify and learn any lessons therefrom).

 

[Drago]

Pre ride inspection would have saved the OP an unpleasant ankle injury.

 

[MacLean]

Thanks Aljax!

 

[MacLean]

Pre ride inspection would have saved the OP an unpleasant ankle injury.

yep I think you are right - will have to make this a new habit... I think next to check will be the brake cables!

 

[Salad Dodger]

Nasty one, MacLean, and I am pleased to read that you didn't get too badly put off by your experience.

I had a similar thing a few years ago with my mountain bike. I used to clean and oil the chain regularly, so I assumed it was OK. Then one day, I tried to set off on a hill in too high a gear, applied plenty of heft to the pedals and BANG went the chain. Cue a walk home....

When I actually examined the chain, quite a few links were beginning to crack around the rivet holes, which really surprised me, as I thought all the cleaning I had done was "taking good care" of it. It wasn't obvious until you really looked hard at the links.

Moral of the story - and a note to me for when I next drag my bike out to clean and fettle it - take a good careful look at your chain.

 

[Drago]

Daily checks BESTCOPA

Brakes, electrics, steering, transmission, chain, oil, pressures and tyres, accessories.

If the bike has been left unattended during the day, particularly in public, a quick ABC will do - air, brakes, clamps.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Thanks for the replies guys. I used to tinker around a bit more when I had a geared bike and cycled more for fun than commuting.

If I'm honest, what i tend to do is when i sense the chain getting a bit rougher I tend to lube it up with some dry summer lube, without cleaning. My thinking was to apply the summer stuff regularly rather than the winter stuff which in my experience just becomes a complete mess and turns into the paste. Where as I thought the summer dry stuff wasn't so bad for that.

I see people everyday ridding on squeeky rusting chains and just did not believe that mine was anywhere near that bad, anyway I guess I will deffo be paying attention now.....

Will it be necessary to replace the cranks and the rear wheel cog do you think with my mileage? I mean maybe i should take it to a bike shop - but dont really want to pay a fortune for it!

Never lube a dirty chain, you're lubing the dirt, not the chain. Buy one of these.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-chain-wear-tool/

This will give you a metric by which to gauge the amount of chain stretch, and stop any guess work, as to when to change it.

Keep the drive train clean and lubed, and get a chain link tool, and some replacement quick link chain links.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tool-5-to-11-spd-and-singlespeed-chain-tool/

And

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-9-speed-chain-links/

Get the one with the rivet width you need ( get the one that matches how many speeds you have on your bike, the illustrated one is a 9 speed).

Watch this.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D707ZMWH7jQ


Have fun

 

[smutchin]

The only time I've ever had a chain fail on me, I should have seen it coming because it was already making all sorts of noises before it happened.

Generally, a break happens when a link gets damaged, eg an outer plate gets caught on something and prised off. Chains don't usually break from wear alone, although 4,500 miles is quite a lot for one chain, so it was almost certainly due for replacement anyway.

So, as others have already said, just check the chain occasionally for signs of damage, and keep an ear out for unusual noises from that area.

 

[RoubaixCube]

As someone who has suffered from the same broken chain and hit the deck, smashed the side of his head on the tarmac as well as writing off a 2 week old £70 helmet. You have my sympathies