Pepper Jack

Hi, so I had a situation come up with a dealer. After a bit of drama she allowed me to do an exchange for a brand new specialized Fuse. I won’t give all the details here (like the emphasis on having gotten it ready just for me and wouldn’t let anyone else ride it several times) etc...but the key worry was where she mentioned a couple times that “sometimes chains or cables break, and that just happens.” It Was enough that I got suspicious at the time but decided I was being paranoid and didn’t say anything.

then I got home and in about 15 minutes my chain popped off. I took it in to the mechanic and he seemed flabbergasted and fixed it with a new chain and quick link then checked things over and made a few adjustments. He seemed genuine. No injuries just a short a walk home, but I was wondering

1: is this outrageously uncommon?

2: how would I look over everything to make sure the cables are all ok? I did take it to the vorgonia creeper trail so that was a 30 mile round trip day 1 and then a 17 mile downhill day 2...so I think it’s probably all fine but thought I should see if there was something specific I should check that might be tampered with the cables since she did specifically say chains and cables break... (if it was not a coincidence) that might take a while to appear.


Both sides were clean through like this.

cxwrench

Is there still a joining link on the chain somewhere? Did this just 'randomly' break in the middle of the chain? Yes, chains break but it's extremely rare and nearly always because of improper shifting. Cables don't just break, they fatigue over time and there is usually plenty of notice that they're wearing and should be changed.

Just because the person at the bike shop told you something doesn't mean it's true. I've heard some massively ill informed bike shop employees over the years.

Pepper Jack

Well my biggest concern is if it was tampered with and if there was something specific to look for of other tampering occurred. the head mechanic at the shop told me that he didn’t think specialized would use quick links on a new bike chain so it didn’t make any sense to him for there to be two clean holes, but then said it might be possible but he didn’t think so.

ClydeClydeson

As above, chains normally break for one of two reasons: rough shifting or improper installation. Since the bike was so new I would guess that your bike was assembled on the Monday morning after the factory worker's 21st birthday.

Skulking

Specialized doesn't make the chain, KMC does, and KMC does use quick links for their 12 speed chains. As far as I am aware KMC doesn't offer anything except quick links for connecting their chains. Given that you have inner links at both ends of the chain, the most likely scenario here is that you lost the quick link. It's impossible to say if it failed, or if it wasn't installed correctly.

icemilkcoffee 

Another way chains can break, is if it was put together carelessly. If I recall, Shimano and campy have special connector pins that you use to reconnect chains. And the pins are not reuseable. And you aren't supposed to disconnect at the same link twice. Also care has to be taken to make sure the pin has gone in just far enough but not too far. So there is some skill involved here. This is why I always use quick link chains which are foolproof.

I've only had a chain break on me once. It was a chain without a quick link. I don't know if the previous owner did something wrong or I just got the luck of the draw, but I stuck to quick link chains ever since.

zandoval 

Yep... I could see a dealer saying this.

I have had real good luck with all my chains, even completely worn out rusted to the core chains. All in all I have seen allot of trusted brands now infiltrated with batches of poor materials, craftsmanship, or even ChiCom like counterfeits. It would not surprise me if KMC just put out a bad batch that got missed in quality control. Take a really good look at the chain itself. Get out your micrometer and magnifying glass. Chances are it was a bad chain or, your dealer is Psychic...

Chains are easily over looked and can precipitate catastrophic events. After seeing the picture posted below I now make it a habit to inspect my chain thoroughly every time I clean up my bike and give it a lube.




By the way... NICE BIKE!!!

HillRider

I would make a good bet on two things: 1) the chain came with a quick link like all KMC chains and 2) the quick link was installed incorrectly.

oldbobcat

What he said, and I hope the dealer replaced the chain with no questions asked.

Riveting

The reality is that oddball breaks are likely to occur on the FIRST ride(s) because that is when you're stressing the components for the first time (assuming this a brand new bike).

CliffordK

I rarely use quick links (other than Wippermann now).

A few years ago I bought a bunch of components that came with an unknown used 9s chain & quick link. I was doing some upgrades and realized I needed a 9s chain that I didn't have, so I installed that one. Got 1/4 mile from the house and BAM!!! the quick link just vanished.

I don't know, perhaps I didn't get the quick link set right. But, the other possibility is that it was a "one-time-use" link that I had reinstalled.

In the case of the OP, is it possible the bike was a "floor demo", and the shop brought it back in for cleaning and servicing before selling, and in the process, they removed the chain, washed it off the bike and reinstalled, reusing a one-time-use link?

CliffordK

I popped the head off of a cheap cable once while I was working on it. For some reason poorly attached to the cable. I may have ridden the bike once or twice, but the cable was fairly new. I was happy the failure happened on the workstand. Just put in a new cable, and was good to go.

I would hope the factories (and shops) choose quality components to minimize this type of failure.

katsup

I broke an 11sp XT chain after about 50 miles on a mountain bike, it was bad shifting on my part, but didn't look close enough to see if it was the connector pin that broke. I had ordered a quick link, but hadn't received it yet so I just rode the bike downhill back toward the car.

The chain worked fine after I installed the quick link.

dabac

OP: are you familiar with the phrase ”Bell curve” or ”normal distribution”?
Basically, for (mechanical) reliability it means that you look at brand new items, you will have some early failures b/c of production flaws that weren’t spotted. Then once those have been weeded out, you get a good run of predictable reliability. Eventually wear will make itself seen, with some units dropping out earlier, then an ever increasing number.

So really, whatever technical thing you buy, there is some risk of initial/early failure. It ends up a compromise between the cost of thorough testing, and the faith in production quality.
It’d be easy enough to set up a running load test of the chain as it’s being produced, but I doubt any is done on an assembled bike. Even if one is done, for how long should it run?
Equal to 200 yards riding? 2 miles? 20?
For some type of ultra-reliable electronics/electric assemblies, a supplier may do a ”burn-in” period as a means of screening out units prone to early failure.
Similar for wires. I have no idea if each one is put through a pull test before being packed up for sale. I’d assume the machine is calibrated, then left to run. Presumably - for name brand cables anyhow - every nth is tested to ensure quality.

Speaking of cables, I’ve never had a head pop off.
However, I have had some that were prone to early fraying when used in V-brake noodles.
It’s relatively easy to do a somewhat useful safety check on brake cables. Simply give the brakes a good squeeze before setting off and be mindful of how they feel.
I’m not sure I’d be willing to suggest to try a forced shift to test for shifter cable integrity. Someone is likely to go all-in on such a test and do some collateral damage w/o any benefit.

Iride01 

If you are trying to pedal in the very hard gears from a stop, then quit doing that. Shift down to an easy gear so you aren't putting so much stress on the chain. Of course to properly do that you have to develop the habit of shifting to those easier gears just before the stop.

If you are in an easy gear, then disregard.

Phil_gretz

Very uncommon. To predict it would be like predicting a lightning strike.

As for cables breaking, yes, Shimano STI road shifters can have the leaded head snap off within the shifter unit. This is usually the rear shifter and normally after a few seasons of not having replaced the cable as Shimano recommends. It can be a pain to get the little knob out from within the shifter. Ask anyone who has had to do this repair.

Pop N Wood

In all my years of riding I've had a chain break only once. It was a new chain, unknown brand, got it in box of used bike parts. Sucker broke the first ride, wasn't shifting, it just broke as I came out of the saddle mid hill. Chain did have a quick link.

You got lucky. The chain wrapped around both my crank and got jammed between the spokes and freewheel. Had a 4 mile walk home in look cleats carrying the bike. Cut through half a dozen spokes and bent the snot out of the front derailleur.

Pepper Jack

a follow up, probably a lot of discussion somewhere but I finally got an email from specialized (I called earlier but also sent an email) and he recommended that I have the dealer warranty the part and get the same component but if they didn’t do that then to get a shimanp chain. The dealer quickly swapped it out without an issue, didn’t involve the manager/sales associate I worked with earlier though, but he did put on a Sram chain. Not convinced it matters but thought I should follow up here and see if I need to check anything to make sure it’s ok?

Thanks for the replies though. I was on a pretty low gear having gone up one hill and down the other side and prepped for a much steeper hill.

Also, yes I was quite lucky it was uneventful. It was more like it just fell off rather than snapped, honestly. Just fell quietly and gently and my pedals spun, and walked home.

jccaclimber

1. I'm going to assume the dealer is a psychic.
2. The "nobody else rode it" may be their effort to let you know it's new, not some used trade-in.
3. This is uncommon, but I wouldn't assume sabotage. That's too expensive if caught and makes everyone look bad.
4. I broke a chain recently while shifting (my fault, installed a bigger cassette and didn't make the chain longer). I broke it at a normal link and it looked exactly like that. The first failure in my case was a side plate peeling off. At that point the other rivet on the link popped on the opposite plate and both parts flew away leaving what you see there.
5. Other than multi chain recumbents, that seem to love throwing them, I've never had issues with quick links falling off, but it does happen.
6. That's a lovely shade of red.

70sSanO

Only recommendation is to get a compact chain breaker and carry it in your bag. I also have a quick link in my mtb bag. I’ve only walked back to the trailhead once, fortunately a lot of downhill. Next time out, I was prepared.

It may never happen again, but if it does, you can put enough of the chain back together to let you ride home rather than walk. You’ll need to be careful not to shift into the big-big with a shorter chain, but it sure beats walking.

John

veganbikes

I get a lot of people asking if the bike is new because they expect us to just have a massive back stock of everything and since it was on the floor it must have been a used test model. in terms of a chain failing it was likely a quick link and could be any number of factors. Poor shifting will certainly cause problems and a lot of people don't know how to shift well and not because they are bad people or have done wrong but because nobody really taught them.

I don't think a shop would sabotage you unless you were some absolute nightmare customer and they were going out business the next day and moving out of the country. Liability for stuff like that is through the roof and could land a person in serious trouble. It is just not worth it. Mechanics might play some tricks on one another but we would never try to harm someone. Now maybe someone missed an improperly installed quick link from the factory as everything worked fine in the stand and on the short test ride they may have done but not likely sabotage.

zacster

I would just attribute it to bad luck and getting the one chain in that batch where the quick link wasn't properly seated. Probably a little stress on the pedals snapped it. I installed a quick link on my commuter bike and managed to bend one of the plates during the install. I got it to hook in squarely and the stress of pedaling straightened it out. That was 2 years ago and I'd forgotten that until I read this.