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Chain's - What breaks?

By Geoffx-19 - Posted on 27 February 2009

G'Day Folks,

I went for a ride on Tuesday night and broke my chain (8 speed). Basically one end of a side plate pulled off and I was left with two bent plates with the pin still connected to one of them. It may have been due to shifting under power but I can't be sure.
Is this the "normal" way that chains break?

Anyhow when I got home I straightened the plates and reassembled the chain. Seems OK put I've no idea if I should have replaced the pin or plates or chain? Neither the cogs or chain seem worn and I'd prefer to get more km's out of them if I can with a reasonable level of reliability.

So my questions are:
How do I tell if the pin is OK to continue using?
Should I buy a new joining link and throw away the link that broke? or
Am I wasting my time and I should forget about fixing and just replace?
Is this the normal way a chain breaks?
How many times can you remove and replace a pin. Do chains become more unreliable the more often you do this?

Once again your assistance and opinions is appreciated. Looking forward to the answers.

Thanks,

Geoff

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Pikey

Submitted by Buck on Fri, 27/02/2009 - 10:17.

Talk to Pikey he knows how to break chains

But yes try not to shift when under heavy load. Make sure your deraileur is correctly adjusted so that it shifts cleanly. Also check chain wear regularly. This is easier with a chain checker. Replace the chain when it gets to 0.75% wear. This prolongs the life of the cassette and chainrings.
http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=...

Some chain pins are one use only eg Shimano. Others you can re-use the pin. You'll have to check what type of chain you have. I would suggest you replace that link with a powerlink.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=25

Keeping a spare link in your backpack is also a good idea. A SRAM Powerlink is handy and allows you to remove you chain easily for cleaning.