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Home Features Maintenance Chain Maintenance

Chai Maieace

30-45 Mins

Chain Tool

Chain Checker

New Chain

Chain Cleaner

Chain Lube


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Easy-Moderate

Words and Photos by Richard Fox - posted 06/08/2011

4Lie

Chai Maieace

Wha eed

Chain Tool

Chain Checker

New Chain

Chain Cleaner

Chain Lube

Oia T

Shimano/Campag Spare Pins (if req'd)Sram/Wipperman/KMC Replaceable Links

Chain Cleaner

H a chai

Now there is a load of literture out there on chains which goes into far more detail than this article does. Suffice to say

its a huge topic but a good description can be found on Sheldon's website.

The vast majority of us are running chains which are 3/32" and probably most ranging from 8 to 11 speed depending on

whether they are MTB or road bikes (which obviously excludes single speeders - sorry 1/8"). Most bikes run a fronand rear mech system - the chain rings and rear sprockets have teeth into which the chain locates (gaps between the

rollers) and the rollers engage into the bottom of the teeth all held in place by the side plates. The construction of the

chain means the chain links can pivot and conform to both large and small sprockets and chainrings. The contact point

of the chain is the roller. These rotate slightly the chain rotates so that the chain can settle and lift off the teeth, but more

importantly rotates to spread the wear over the rollers and sprocket/chainring teeth and reduce friction. The inside of the

rollers and support (side plate bushing) for the bushing is where most of the significant wear takes place. Thus a

dry/under lubricated chain will induce more wear due to increased friction. The picture below shows "one link" which

includes the outer and inner plates and 3 pins/bushings.


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Chai Wea

As previously indicated, this is due to constant roatation of the rollers on the bushing and the axle inside. Whilst inner

roller wear does not affect the chain function that much it does allow for the chain to mislocate over the teeth. Of o

more concern is chain 'stretch'. The chain does not actually stretch in the true sense of the word - it actually elongates by

slight wear of each of the bushings and pins as the chain links flex and straighten as the chain goes onto and off of the

sprockets. If each bushing/pin wears down by 1/50 of a mm (which is a lot!) then over the length of a chain (approx 45links) thats 135 pivots. So 135 x .0.02mm = 2.7mm. Thus deep lubrication and regular cleaning helps to minimise this

wear.

Chai Checig

Regular checking of chain wear is important as this has a knock on effect on the rest of the drivetrain. The increase in

distance between the links means the chain no longer matches the pitch of the teeth on the sprockets / chainrings. The

load is therefore not distributed evenly and excessive wear on the rearside of the tooth occurs, accelerating sprocket

wear. Rightly or wrongly some people allow the sprockets and chain to wear together and replace the whole chainse

but in my opinion this is worse as other problems like chainsuck and chain breaks are more likely. The sprockets wea

with the "stretched" chain and can go on for sometime, but if the chain breaks or you need to change the chain, then the

new chain will have a different pitch. This will then not mesh with the already worn sprockets, chainrings and jockey

wheels and will jump under torque. For the sake of about 15 for a good chain every say 6 months is worth it with the

current price of chainsets and cassettes.


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A chain checker will allow you to measure several links and get an average pitch. If the chain is stretched both locating

teeth on the tool teeth will be able will locate into the chain. 0.75% stretch is a recommended time to change the chain

but at 1% excessive tooth wear may already have occured and a over this level a new chain is likely to jump.

Also the chain should be checked for binding. Essentially one of more pivots can be seized or partly seized, most often

by mud but the internals can also be damaged. This will cause the chain to jump or not shift properly. Sometimes this i

not obvious off the bike as it may lay flat and thus can often be seen when freewheeling the bike by turning the cranks in

reverse. Most often this can be sorted out when cleaning the chain.

Lastly the chain should be looked over and the rivets examined for faults (proud, rotated, mangled or even missing).

Chai Rea

This is relatively straightforward with a chain tool. These are available as a standalone tool or in a multi-tool and are

generally very cheap.


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The basics are that if the chain does not have a replaceable type system then you will have to push out one of riveted

pins to break the chain.

The threaded bolt has a toughened end which when wound in will deform the rivet and push the pin through the inne

and outer plates.


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The chain can be rejoined with a pin connector which is the Shimano method of joining and splitting. The top is the old

deformed pin and the bottom is the split pin from Shimano. Campagnolo has a similar but 2 part replaceable pin sysem.

The replacement pin is pushed in with the chain tool in the same direction and when clicked into position the exposed

end is snapped off. This requires you to have a spare supply of pins. This pin is permenant and if the chain is re-broken


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it should be done on a different link.

The alternative is a replaceable link system which is adopted by SRAM, Wipperman and KMC for instance.

I prefer this method for 2 reasons. Firstly the chain can be removed quicky and reassembled without tools to clean etc


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Secondly spare links can be used to repair a chain out on a ride or even to join certain chain types which are no

supplied with removable links.

SRAM powerlink on a 9 spd chain.


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The removable links have pins which locate into the outer plate when clipped together and are removed by pushing the

outer plates together and pushing towards one another.

Joining is again simple and the reverse of removing.

Chai Fiig

The ideal way of fitting a chain is to measure the old against the new. There maybe slight length differenecs but the links

can be matched and the chain broken with the chain tool. Measure twice and cut once! There is a difference in the

which pin to remove depending on whether your using the replacement pin system (male to female) or the replacemen

link system (male to male) as the latter will have the extra length of the removable link. A good article is available from

Park Tools as well. A chain length calulator is also available here.

Essentially the length of the chain depends on the manufacturers guidelines and the type of bike you have. You should

thread the chain onto the largest chainring and sprocket you have (not going through the rear mech) and add 2 links (one

outer and one inner plate) - this is the cut length.


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SRAM suggest this as well but to measure it also under the full range of travel if it is a full suspension bike.

REMEMBER - measure twice cut once! REMEMBER, before you rejoin the chain, thread it through the rear mech

cage correctly (making sure its the right side of the guide in the middle of the 2 sprockets).


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Ceaig

This is also very important as mentioned above. A new chain comes with a thick viscous and sticky grease. There is a

split in the camp whether to remove this or not - I approach it half way. If you are not using a water based product or a

wax then I use solvent on a rag and run the chain through it to remove the lude from the side plates to prevent crud

sticking to it especially in dry weather and then replace it with a light lube like GT85/WD40 in a soaked wrag. This

means the thick grease is still present inside the rollers. This can then be topped up with whatever lube you need for theconditions.

A dirty chain will increase friction and wear and the chance of chain suck. When the chain is really dirty is needs a ful

strip and clean and re-lube. If you are fortunate to have a chain that can be removed with a removable link then just

place it onto a tube of approprate solvent/chain cleaer and shake and leave to soak. This can be dried and then

relubricated.


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If your not then you can buy a chain cleaning tool like this Park tool one which take a little longer but is pretty efficient.

Lbicai

This is a huge area of discussion so I will try not to go into too much detail but suffice to say that a winter (wet) lube is


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less likely to get washed off due to it having a higher viscosity but will attract more dirt. A summer (dry) lube will have a

lower viscosity but depletes more quickly. There are also chain waxes which require the chain to be degreased before

appying. These can't easily be applied when the chain is wet and is better in dusty climates/summer. Although you can

get away with adding a non-water based lube on top as a temporary measure. A good summary of chain lubes is

available here.

Chai Sc

This is also a huge subject and very annoying when it occurs. Basically it occurs mostly when the chain is dirty and mostoften in a smaller chainring and at high torques. It is most common in worn chains and chainrings. It is the failure for the

chain to disengage from the bottom of the chainring and jams up under the top part of the chain going forward over the

top of the chainring. A great review article is available from Jonathan Levy. It is best avoided by keeping the chain wl

maintained and replacing it before it's over worn.

Happy smooth riding!

Richad F - Feae Cib

Richard has been mountain biking for over 17 years,7 years on his local trails,

Dartmoor. He also regularly rides away from home usually riding each year (while

doing the mechanics for others) in various events such as the Cheddar Challenge,

Rough Ride, Soggy Bottom, Dyfi Enduro and twentyfour12.

All these years of riding (and breaking) bikes, has resulted in Richard acquiring the

wealth of experience (and the tools) to keep his, and inevitably all his riding crew's,

bikes on the trails. Richard is a Cyclist No.1 features contributor.

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