When the wheels stop turning...

So i was riding along doing a couple of laps of the local park on my trusty Mountain Bike when a poor gear change resulted in the chain snapping. Huh? was my first thought as the pedals suddenly became very light and that tell tale sound of the chain running out onto the ground registered. Luckily all the parts were still hanging on, my trusty chain breaker was handy and I had it back together in about ten minutes.

My trusty no name chain breaker on the left and a Topeak one on the right.

Which leads to this post which is going to deal with Chain breaks, how to avoid them and how to fix 'em.

Bike chains come apart for a number of reasons. Wear will weaken a chain to the point were they will pop apart under shifting tension, stuff can get caught in them and twist them apart for example trail debris and poor or incorrect joining of the chain can also create a weak point that will come apart under stress.

How do you avoid the splits?

• keep your chain and chain rings in good condition and by that i mean clean and lubed with your choice of lubricant, they will wear quicker on a mtb rather than a road bike as all the crud does them no good
• when you're changing gears avoid putting too much stress on the chain by planning for shifts
• use a good quality chain that's designed for the chain rings you are using

 
 

to be continued...