rykoala

I was roughly half way through my commute home on a wonderful day. The wind was at my back, I was feeling in good spirits and was having a great ride home in general. There I was at the stoplight. It turned green. I started pedaling, and not even half way into the stroke, I heard a snap, and the pedal went limp. I dismounted, and there it was.

My chain had busted a link.

No problem, I though. I'll just call my wife and let her know I'll be a few minutes behind. "No worries, I've got my chain tool with me and I can repair it. It'll only take a few minutes. Wait, I THINK I have my chain tool with me... awe crap... can you come get me?"

The funny thing is, I used to carry my chain tool and some extra chain bits but had so few problems, that I quit carrying it. D'oh!

At least it was nice for *half* the ride.

operator

How much mileage was on the chain? Abused a lot?

77Univega

- - Yes, back up and tell us why you think the chain busted a link. Could you have predicted it?
Could it have been prevented? Do you tackle steep hills?

I do not hear much about broken chains among commuter bikes.

SteveE

On a commute it's not much of a weight penalty, so why not carry it just to be safe, even if the probability low breaking your chain is low. There are a number of mechanical failures that you can limp home with, flat tires and busted chains are not among them. Better to be prepared.

rykoala

Hey all. Yeah I'll be carrying the tool. I bought the bike used last year, and never did change the chain on it. But, a new chain and 8spd cassette are long overdue in shipping, they should be here any day. The chain had a side of a link seperate from the pin, and so it split apart. I know that I've put at least 1500 miles on the chain, and I have no idea how old it was before that. I have been long overdue for a new chain and cassette anyway. Now I'll just remember to carry that tool around lol.

Guest

You don't have a multitool that has it? My Topeak Alien does, but I've luckily never had to use it! We just used it in the Park Tool class.

Koffee

OldShacker

A chain cracker or chain tool comes in handy for any chain problems. I take my chain off to clean once or twice a year. Sometime I have to remove a link or two when it gets well used, it gives me time to look for a new one, however, my chains last long time from me. I highly recommend one that is not too cheap and too small for your hand. Some small cheap ones damage your chain. I found out the hard way.
Practice on an old chain. I even keep a link in my pack.

bostontrevor

That sucks.

I have beefy KMC BMX chains on the two bikes I usually commute with (both fixed gear) so it's unlikely that I'm going to snap them but I have a chain tool on my multitool so I figured I might as well toss a spare link in my travel kit if need it. I should probably put in a 3/32" for my mountain bike.

H23

Interesting. Can you describe how the link broke? Was it a crack or did the pin simply come loose?

christie133

Yikes! I had a similar experience on the way to work one day. Climbing a hill and my derailleur bolt sheared off! If I only had a chain tool I could have turned it into a single speed for those last three miles into work. Instead, I had to run!

When I got to work about three different co-workers said to me, "I saw you running with your bike." I got a little frustrated b/c I thought it was obvious that I had a mechanical disaster, otherwise, why would I be running w/ my bike? I wondered why no one who knew me had stopped to offer a ride. But they all told me they figured it was some new exercise program. I thought that was pretty funny.

Anyway, I learned my lesson the hard way and carry a chain tool now.

Camel

-Or carry one of those SRAM (Sachs/Sedis) "Power Links" as a spare. If your chain breaks, remove the offending link, and replace it with the quick link.

Might take a bit of wrangling to fully remove the pin of the offending broken link, but shouldn't be too difficult.

rykoala

Yep I've learned my lesson. To address a couple of questions:

The chain busted when one of the sides seperated from a pin. Eventually the pin and the side that was still attached got bent away from the centerline of of the chain. I'll post a pic tomorrow.

As for a multitool, I don't care for multitools generally. I believe in a specialized tool for each job. Its a little heavier, yeah, but I don't care. I much prefer dealing with full sized tools. Plus if you accidentally bust a tool on a multitool, then you gotta replace the whole thing. I don't dig that. Oh, except for leathermens, I have always wanted a really nice one...

rykoala

OK Here is what the broken chain looked like. Also I found that there was a pulley missing from my derailure. That was certaintly weird.