I keep twisting 9 speed chains

[ultrazenith]

Today I had to ride 15 miles home with chain that skipped under any reasonable level of power, which turns out to be because (yet again) a section of 3 or 4 links somehow got twisted during the ride. I've never had this happen on a 7 or 8 speed chain in decades of riding.

Are 9+ speed chains prone to this shit? Or is it just me being unlucky or abusing my drivetrain?

Basically it's bullshit, my drivetrain had a good few more months of hard riding left in it, but now I have to change the lot because the chain is dead prematurely (but not so prematurely that the chainrings and cassette have low enough wear to take a fresh chain).

 

[2manyoranges]

Re:

hmmmm...unusual since 9 speed are pretty bombproof. A few questions.

- make of chain?
- how did you join it when you installed it?

Could it have distorted at the point which you joined it? That would explain it happening more than once. It sounds like a roller left one of the plates on one side. That can be the result of joining the chain in a way which leaves a weak joint. What technique do you use for joining the chains and making sure that they remain freely moving? The old technique of 'drive them together and then give them a good twist to relieve them and get them moving' is not necessarily the best, despite its high status....

 

[ultrazenith]

Come to think of it, I did have chainsuck once today, perhaps that was enough to twist it.

Despite my preference for SRAM chains, my LBS pushes KMC chains.

 

[longun]

Re:

I've had a couple of chains die after getting them stuck down there, the forces sometimes weaken older chains to the point of no return. I've also run 8 speed shimano chains on 9 speed before with no drama as long as the ratios aren't too close together near the lockring

 

[ishaw]

Re:

Can't say I've ever experienced this. The only chain I've had issues with were wipperman. For inexplicable reasons the chain always skipped/jumped round the jockeys at the joining link. I use kmc and sram now, no issues.

I hope you figure it out, the wipperman issue still bugs me as they weren't cheap but I couldn't use them.

 

[Tootyred]

The forces in chain suck can be huge and certainly enough to twist a chain to the point of no return. If it's happened before, is there something up with the drive train? Possibly too long a chain, poor spring in an old derailleur or worn teeth ?

 

[TOMAS]

Hate KMC chains, Shimano for me all the way... chainstuck would probably have caused the twisting I would think, chainstuck is also usually caused by using a new/used chain on a new/used chainring... i.e the 2 havent worn together properly. Presume you have a chain-stretch gauge and also done the lift test to see how far you can lift the chain off the ring/s when mounted to see if the two are meshing together well?

Another note to above, someone mentioned skipping at the joining pin... when joined you nearly always get a stiff link and you need to manipulate/bend the chain in a side/side motion by hand around that link to free it up...

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

Another note to above, someone mentioned skipping at the joining pin... when joined you nearly always get a stiff link and you need to manipulate/bend the chain in a side/side motion by hand around that link to free it up...

Shouldn't be necessary other than for checking that the chain is moving freely and as it should. I think stiff links are usually because riders have forgotten the second step when joining a chain. For the record, and apologies if this is telling anyone how to suck eggs, for the final twist or two, the chain should be moved so that it is sitting on the inner leaf/saddle (whatever it's called) of the chain tool - the one nearest the handle. Otherwise, the force of the last couple of twists, coupled with the outer plate of the chain resting against the thick outer side of the tool, is liable to compress the pieces of the chain causing a stiff link. This is why chain tools have two parts (leaves/saddles/Does anyone know what that part is called?) for the chain to sit on.

 

[legrandefromage]

Take the chain off, hold it straight so you can look down it and report back

I did this to a chain that had snapped the other week and found it was all over the place, not just in one spot. It wasnt even that old either. New chain and the owner seems happy enough.

 

[2manyoranges]

Re:

Cassidy Ace - the section you are talking about on a chain tool is called the 'cradle' - see

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers ... hain-tool/

And this includes the 'stiff link' cradle the first row of 'teeth' which is an essential part of a tool for getting links joined correctly, with the pin both located properly in the far side plate and the link relieved after joining so that the chain is free. Many chain tools no longer have this, since it is assumed that workshops will only be using the tool to break or shorten chains, and not join them - using either a Shimano pin or a KCNC style joining link. How times change.

But I have never see any reference to what to call the teeth in the cradle. Teeth? Pointy bits? Fangs? Fingers?