Hmmm

Hey question for my fellow gravel grinders on chain wear on gravel bikes.

I've broken 3 chain links in 1.5 years of riding. I'm on Apex 1x.

The majority of my rides are gravel. The texture of the gravel is small grains of dirt and mud. Lots of mud in the winter. No big pebbles or rock chips here in Paris. I work hard to have a clean drive train but some rides I clean the bike better than others.

What are your experiences with chain wear on your gravel rigs? What should I expect? Is breaking 3 links in a year and a half fairly normal when riding in gritty conditions twice a week?

shelbyfv

Have you replaced the chain each time it has broken? When you break a chain, it's likely more links than the broken one are compromised. If you aren't replacing the chain you could still be dealing with the same initial event. Otherwise, chains don't normally break because of wear. If you are breaking undamaged chains regularly, look to your riding technique.

Koyote

Riding on dirt and gravel will definitely accelerate chain wear; I replace chains on my gravel bikes much more often than on my road bikes. However, chain wear and chain breakage are two different things. Are you frequently shifting under heavy load (high torque)? Are you removing the chain to clean it and then reinstalling? Do you ride a lot on one extreme end (or another) of your cassette? Your responses to these questions will help diagnose the problem.

In answer to your question: I don't recall ever breaking a chain while riding. (Knock on wood!) And in my experience, it is pretty rare, so are either terribly unlucky or there is something else going on.

Hmmm

Ah ok. There were two events last year that caused a few problems. Maybe I've been dealing with that fallout.

I did not install my right pedal tight enough and it came out during a ride damaging the threads in my right crank. The shop rethreaded it leaving a little of the new thread poking out on the drive side of the right crank. This caught the chain twice at very high power moments causing the RD to get stuck in the "lock" position that some SRAM RD's have. So they were high-power chain catching events.

I've since had the thread that was sticking out cut down and it has not caught the chain since then.

So maybe you're right, I'm just dealing with that initial event as it was all with the same chain.

Koyote

Sounds like you need a better shop. But hopefully your problem is solved.

shoota 

Wow, just when you think you've heard it all.

Hmmm

Hahahaha glad I could provide some entertainment.

shoota 

Keep us updated after you get a new chain installed. Like others have said, 1) this isn't normal, and 2) gravel chains wear out much faster than road chains.

chas58

the thinner chains for 10,11 speed tend to wear faster - especially if you are riding in gravel. They should never brake unless something is wrong. I see people breaking chains because they force a gear change when they shouldn't. My problems usually stem from not seating the pin when braking the chain (as the side plates are pretty thin). 8 speed chains seemed to last forever, but I seem to replace my 11 speed chains yearly. Use a chain too to measure the wear.

Now you have me wondering where you are riding. Not a lot of "gravel" in the city itself, but certainly good options outside of town.

I did an interesting experiment in Paris once since it can get so darn crowded. How to get attention of people in front of me.
I used an electronic bike bell - no one reacted to it
I used a mechanical bell - a few people reacted to it, but probably less than 25%
I used squeaky brakes - near 100% success at clearing the path in front of me.

shoota 

Ha! Same with really loud freehubs, works every time.

Hmmm

Good to know on the chain wear and what I should expect. I try really hard to be careful with shifts etc. It really probably was a few of these incidents in which the new thread caught the chain. Which happened a few times before I could figure out what was going on.


Paris is actually really fun for gravel. Bois de Vincennes takes me 15 minutes to get to and I'm on gravel. Here's a little video I made to send to a friend to show him what I can do during a 1.5 hour ride in the morning. As you can see a lot of it is dirt and when it's rainy it gets really messy. I don't know when you last visited Paris but people have been saying a lot has changed. Protected bike lanes, all bus only lanes are shared with cyclists. It's turning into a nice place to ride a bike in the city center.


https://vimeo.com/336962329

chas58

I enjoyed the video. Thanks!!!

tdilf

Nice video. Was that a tent at the 1:00 mark?

chas58

I saw that. What gives?

Hmmm

Homeless people setup camps in the park. Most are concentrated in one area and they are very easy to avoid. - I wouldn't appreciate someone ripping past my front door at 7 am. - I try not to ride too close to them but this particular tent is on a really fun smooth segment of single track that is too fun to pass up. I feel like I need to drop a croissant off every time I pass or something as a token of my gratitude that they aren't blocking the route. hahahaha.