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1/8 chain on 3/32 sprocket/chainring.... good, bad or ugly?

post #1 of 6
1/7/08 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
On the face of it a simple question but little local knowledge offered by my
local dealers/shops...

My partner's bike is a Specialized Globe IG8 Comp... we bought new about 10
months ago. Chain that was supplied on it was some variant of the KMC range
(never had experience with KMC myself - always use high-end SRAM chains on
my 8 speed road bike). Decided I needed to replace the KMC chain which,
despite applying same cleaning routine as with my SRAM chains, was rusting
to hell. If this is typical of KMC then all I can say is KMC chains are
crap... I presumed I needed to look for a "heavy duty" type chain as dealers
seem to refer to single speed and internal hub geared bikes in the same
terms and the KMC chain I was removing certainly "appeared" to be heavy duty
compared to what I have been used to (also wondering whether with internal
hub geared bikes a heavier chain is preferred to counteract the slight drag
from the hub when you are walking the bike). Most shops seem to offer
"single speed" chains and stated they were the preferred spec for internal
hub geared bikes too... so I ordered one. My "problem" is that because these
single speed chains all seem to be 1/8" size I assumed that the
sprocket/chainring on the bike I was fitting it to would be same size. What
I have found is that the sprocket/chainring on the Globe is actually 3/32".
The new chain fits ok but (as I would expect as all chains are 1/2" link
distance) but there is obviously a bit more side-to-side play due to the
wider space between the chain plates... is this going to be a problem? (The
bike "feels" fine when riding by the way)... am I going to accelerate wear
to the sprocket/chainring because of this??
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post #2 of 6
1/7/08 at 2:28pm

Re: 1/8 chain on 3/32 sprocket/chainring.... good, bad or ugly?

On Jan 7, 5:24 am, "Deep Thought" <Tr...@MaskReplica.org> wrote:
> On the face of it a simple question but little local knowledge offered by my
> local dealers/shops...
>
> My partner's bike is a Specialized Globe IG8 Comp... we bought new about 10
> months ago. Chain that was supplied on it was some variant of the KMC range
> (never had experience with KMC myself - always use high-end SRAM chains on
> my 8 speed road bike). Decided I needed to replace the KMC chain which,
> despite applying same cleaning routine as with my SRAM chains, was rusting
> to hell. If this is typical of KMC then all I can say is KMC chains are
> crap... I presumed I needed to look for a "heavy duty" type chain as dealers
> seem to refer to single speed and internal hub geared bikes in the same
> terms and the KMC chain I was removing certainly "appeared" to be heavy duty
> compared to what I have been used to (also wondering whether with internal
> hub geared bikes a heavier chain is preferred to counteract the slight drag
> from the hub when you are walking the bike). Most shops seem to offer
> "single speed" chains and stated they were the preferred spec for internal
> hub geared bikes too... so I ordered one. My "problem" is that because these
> single speed chains all seem to be 1/8" size I assumed that the
> sprocket/chainring on the bike I was fitting it to would be same size. What
> I have found is that the sprocket/chainring on the Globe is actually 3/32".
> The new chain fits ok but (as I would expect as all chains are 1/2" link
> distance) but there is obviously a bit more side-to-side play due to the
> wider space between the chain plates... is this going to be a problem? (The
> bike "feels" fine when riding by the way)... am I going to accelerate wear
> to the sprocket/chainring because of this??

You'll be fine. For what it's worth, KMC makes a whole range of chains
as does Sram. Sram makes some real junk as well, a good example being
the PC1 single speed chain that I bought for my fixed gear this fall
as that's all the LBS had. Conversely, I have a KMC chain on the
derailleur bike and it's great. KMC has been making single speed BMX
chains for a very long time, and they're super. I've used their nickel
plated single speed chains with gear hubs for years. Usually I just
wipe off the outside with solvent, then run them for six months or so,
or till I remember to pick up a new $10 chain when I'm out and about.

Here's a nickel version for $7

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=15999

Double that price if you're in the UK of course!

The Z series can also be had in red, pink, and blue!

At the end of the day, you can pretty much run any bike chain on such
a bike. I ran all sorts of chains on my Nexus bike, with the same
narrow cogs. As long as they're not stretched and the color doesn't
clash, you're good to go.
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post #3 of 6
1/7/08 at 2:54pm

Re: 1/8 chain on 3/32 sprocket/chainring.... good, bad or ugly?

landotter wrote:

>
> At the end of the day, you can pretty much run any bike chain on such
> a bike. I ran all sorts of chains on my Nexus bike, with the same
> narrow cogs. As long as they're not stretched and the color doesn't
> clash, you're good to go.

just remember that to lubricate a bushed chain you either have to
submerge it or apply lubricant both between the side plates and between
the rollers and inners

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl
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post #4 of 6
1/7/08 at 2:58pm

Re: 1/8 chain on 3/32 sprocket/chainring.... good, bad or ugly?

"Deep Thought" <Trout@MaskReplica.org> wrote in message
news:2bGdnQS0hrWQkR_anZ2dnUVZ8uCdnZ2d@pipex.net...
> On the face of it a simple question but little local knowledge offered by
> my local dealers/shops...
>
> My partner's bike is a Specialized Globe IG8 Comp... we bought new about
> 10 months ago. Chain that was supplied on it was some variant of the KMC
> range (never had experience with KMC myself - always use high-end SRAM
> chains on my 8 speed road bike). Decided I needed to replace the KMC chain
> which, despite applying same cleaning routine as with my SRAM chains, was
> rusting to hell. If this is typical of KMC then all I can say is KMC
> chains are crap... I presumed I needed to look for a "heavy duty" type
> chain as dealers seem to refer to single speed and internal hub geared
> bikes in the same terms and the KMC chain I was removing certainly
> "appeared" to be heavy duty compared to what I have been used to (also
> wondering whether with internal hub geared bikes a heavier chain is
> preferred to counteract the slight drag from the hub when you are walking
> the bike). Most shops seem to offer "single speed" chains and stated they
> were the preferred spec for internal hub geared bikes too... so I ordered
> one. My "problem" is that because these single speed chains all seem to be
> 1/8" size I assumed that the sprocket/chainring on the bike I was fitting
> it to would be same size. What I have found is that the sprocket/chainring
> on the Globe is actually 3/32". The new chain fits ok but (as I would
> expect as all chains are 1/2" link distance) but there is obviously a bit
> more side-to-side play due to the wider space between the chain plates...
> is this going to be a problem? (The bike "feels" fine when riding by the
> way)... am I going to accelerate wear to the sprocket/chainring because of
> this??


KMC does make a single-speed chain in 1/2" x 3/32" Part. no. Z610HX.
It's a silver, bushingless.
Price approx: $16.50.
I have the KMC 1/8" version Z510HX on my fixedgear.
Very nice smooth chain.
http://www.businesscycles.com/trcomp.htm#chains
-tom
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post #5 of 6
1/7/08 at 4:30pm

Re: 1/8 chain on 3/32 sprocket/chainring.... good, bad or ugly?

Deep Thought wrote:
> On the face of it a simple question but little local knowledge offered by my
> local dealers/shops...
>
> My partner's bike is a Specialized Globe IG8 Comp... we bought new about 10
> months ago. Chain that was supplied on it was some variant of the KMC range
> (never had experience with KMC myself - always use high-end SRAM chains on
> my 8 speed road bike). Decided I needed to replace the KMC chain which,
> despite applying same cleaning routine as with my SRAM chains, was rusting
> to hell. If this is typical of KMC then all I can say is KMC chains are
> crap... I presumed I needed to look for a "heavy duty" type chain as dealers
> seem to refer to single speed and internal hub geared bikes in the same
> terms and the KMC chain I was removing certainly "appeared" to be heavy duty
> compared to what I have been used to (also wondering whether with internal
> hub geared bikes a heavier chain is preferred to counteract the slight drag
> from the hub when you are walking the bike). Most shops seem to offer
> "single speed" chains and stated they were the preferred spec for internal
> hub geared bikes too... so I ordered one. My "problem" is that because these
> single speed chains all seem to be 1/8" size I assumed that the
> sprocket/chainring on the bike I was fitting it to would be same size. What
> I have found is that the sprocket/chainring on the Globe is actually 3/32".
> The new chain fits ok but (as I would expect as all chains are 1/2" link
> distance) but there is obviously a bit more side-to-side play due to the
> wider space between the chain plates... is this going to be a problem? (The
> bike "feels" fine when riding by the way)... am I going to accelerate wear
> to the sprocket/chainring because of this??
>
It works, but it's sub-optimal because it will be noisier than a 3/32"
chain. Most 1/8" chains, Izumi track chains excepted, are no stronger
than 3/32", nor would you expect them to be. The 1/8" advantage is that
some (not all) have full bushings, which is preferable for a
straight-chainline application, but I think you'd still be better
overall with a 3/32" chain intended for derailleur bikes. A SRAM PC-48
will do fine.

We do fixed gear a lot in the UK, and no-one can agree whether 1/8" or
3/32" is better. 3/32" is lighter, but 1/8" sprockets and chain rings
last a lot longer. It's nice to have a choice, I suppose.
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post #6 of 6
1/7/08 at 8:17pm

Re: 1/8 chain on 3/32 sprocket/chainring.... good, bad or ugly?

On Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:54:03 +0100, M-gineering
<ikmotgeenspam@m-gineering.nl> wrote:

>landotter wrote:
>
>>
>> At the end of the day, you can pretty much run any bike chain on such
>> a bike.
>
>just remember that to lubricate a bushed chain you either have to
>submerge it or apply lubricant both between the side plates and between
>the rollers and inners

KMC don't list any bushed cycle chain in their aftermarket catalogue,
neither do SRAM. Izumi still sell plenty, but a $60 NJS V-Supertough
is probably overkill for a utility bike :-)
Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary
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