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Chain quick connects


Burt de Ernie's picture

By Burt de Ernie - Posted on 08 April 2012

My chain broke again today while doing a Manly Dam loop, luckily i was on the last downhill stretch before crossing the dam when it happened. When I got home I went to repair my chain and noticed that I already had 2 quick connects (one was when i first bought the chain and the second was from a previous break 6 months ago which I repaired trackside).

As it stands now I have installed the third one (mainly to save cost of buying a new chain).

My question is, how many quick connects should/can I be using before I should replace the chain? Has anyone had a good or bad experience in doing this?

Antsonline's picture

Hey mate - you could have a whole chain on 'quick-connects' or links if you wanted. There is no reason to have a limit.

I've got to ask though - how are you snapping chains?
Maybe you should have a look at the chain maintenance, or your shifting technique under load?
Something isnt right.
I cant remember the last time I snapped a chain (I can - it was 2008 in St.Moritz, Switzerland - great place to ride, but thats another story), but you can quick-link till your hearts content..

delicious's picture

I'm with Ants on this. Quick link to your hearts content. They would only serve as outer links though so as a guess, you could go to about 54. At approx seven bucks each that's a total spend of $378. All to avoid buying a new chain.
Awesome.

hawkeye's picture

Or you could just get an XTR chain and stop breaking them.

Yes, they do still sometimes break according to some stories I've read on the innernetz, but much less often than lower grade chains, and they also last much longer. I'm yet to break one. Cheap chains are false economy.

In fact, buy three XTRs and rotate them to extend the life of your drive train.

the.flying.al's picture

If you have any doubts about your chain get a chain gauge and it will give you a good idea about the wear and tear it has been through.

The chain gauge will tell you if the chain is stretched. As you may know this is really bad for your drivetrain, ultimately meaning your drivetrain will only work with the stretched chain.

Logan's picture

Last time I broke a chain was back in 2002 back at home in Bristol, since then I have not broken one.

Sounds like the chain is to short or something like that.

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