A
autopi
Guest
so the other day i'm biking home and the chain (1/8") on my fixed gear
just up and breaks. i didn't notice anything abnormal up until that
point. although i was going at a good clip, i was fortunately able to
stop in time and didn't crash, but i was (am) alarmed, because i don't
know why it broke, and i don't want it to happen again, obviously.
the chain is (was) a SRAM PC-1, about 14 mos. old, iirc. from what i
can determine by looking at the chain, one of the plates just tore
apart where it holds the pin. this was not the master link. also, when
i went to unravel the chain from the cog, another link came apart,
though this one was not busted in the way the first one was. this was
also not the master link, i believe. i've put up some
photos--http://tinyurl.com/cyrjx--which show the gory remains of the
chain.
the bike had been inside my apartment and unused for the last month to
6 weeks. the chain was not particularly rusty (at least to casual
visual inspection), and did not squeak or seem stiff. it may have been
a tad bit tight, but i don't think by very much--if i pulled up on the
cable halfway between the chainring and cog, i could get somewhere
around 1/2" of play.
so...any theories as to what caused this and suggestions on how to
avoid it?
~v.
just up and breaks. i didn't notice anything abnormal up until that
point. although i was going at a good clip, i was fortunately able to
stop in time and didn't crash, but i was (am) alarmed, because i don't
know why it broke, and i don't want it to happen again, obviously.
the chain is (was) a SRAM PC-1, about 14 mos. old, iirc. from what i
can determine by looking at the chain, one of the plates just tore
apart where it holds the pin. this was not the master link. also, when
i went to unravel the chain from the cog, another link came apart,
though this one was not busted in the way the first one was. this was
also not the master link, i believe. i've put up some
photos--http://tinyurl.com/cyrjx--which show the gory remains of the
chain.
the bike had been inside my apartment and unused for the last month to
6 weeks. the chain was not particularly rusty (at least to casual
visual inspection), and did not squeak or seem stiff. it may have been
a tad bit tight, but i don't think by very much--if i pulled up on the
cable halfway between the chainring and cog, i could get somewhere
around 1/2" of play.
so...any theories as to what caused this and suggestions on how to
avoid it?
~v.