More junk 'pro' equipment

[CAMPYBOB]

Another in a long list of busted chains. DurableAce this time?



Didn't even make it off the ramp...

Lessee...I better go over the 36 steps it takes to install a Campy 11-speed again.

Hmmmmm? What's missing from this picture?



Full photo spread at Bike Radar: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/gallery-olympic-time-trial-highs-and-lows-34816/

Tone Loco: "Not with my pesos!"

 

[531Aussie]

Ha!! Don't get me started. As a Shimano guy, I was hoping that that was an 11sp Campag chain, but I quickly found out that it wasn't, after checking out Rabobank's gear.

I guess the obvious answer to the question of what happened is that the chain wasn't attached properly, or something else went drastically wrong, but still.....
Does anyone know why it busted?

For the newbies reading this, here's a little gem about light, 'fast', cutting edge bling: "there's nothing fast about something that's busted and sitting on the side of the road." Ha! It never gets old.

I couldn't believe how narrow the 11sp chain was when I first saw one, and likewise with 10sp before that. And then there's obviously the thinness of the plates! 'Back in my day', the plates were so thick that the pins were re-useable (as you'd obviously know, but many lurkers wouldn't). In fact, I still only have one 10sp bike, and race mostly on my 9sp DA stuff. I'm in hurry to get more super-narrow chains, and I doubt I'll ever get 11sp.

I was once building a new Campag-equipped bike for a friend, and after I read all the' by-laws' about attaching the chain, I said: "er, um, I think you'd better get the shop to do this bit, coz i don't want it on my conscience if something farks up."

 

[CAMPYBOB]

'Back in my day', the plates were so thick that the pins were re-useable (as you'd obviously know, but many lurkers wouldn't).

Yeah. Those old Regina Oro 5-speed chains were bomb proof. They used to last and last and last....all season. TWO seasons! Removed, cleaned and re-installed many times. No special pins. Not use-this-plate-only. No connector link.

My first 10-speed Campy chains and the $100 chain tool freaked me out. Not only did they look fragile (I never managed to bust one...knock on wood!), but the skinny things wore out in 1500 miles. And killed cassette cogs in 5000 miles.

Now that I'm on 11-speed, I started a special savings account to keep a couple of spare chains and a new cassette on hand.

I actually set aside 'quiet time' to install the 11-speed. The 10-speed was a little touchy-feely...the 11-speed requires something close to 'the skilled hands of a rocket surgeon'!!! And...a damned near $200 chain tool!

The price we pay for maximum gearing!

 

[531Aussie]

Originally Posted by 531Aussie .
I'm in hurry to get more super-narrow chains, and I

Bugger! Typo. I obviously meant to write "I'm in no hurry". AH well. Yes, one of my friends ended up buying the $10,000 Campag chain tool, but then ended up using 'quick links', or what ever they're called.

'Quiet time'. Ha ha! Too true. I have since done a couple of 10sp Campag chains for my friends, and the first time was kinda funny.
There were a few guys at this guy's house drinkin beers as I was building the bike, and when it came time to do the chain, one of them noticed that I hadn't spoken for about ten minutes; it was because I had my head buried in the instructions, making sure I got it right. The guy said: "jee, you've gone quiet." I go: "yeah, I'm trying not to fark up this chain." Then everyone went quiet, and another guy says: "woah, how's the tension?!" Ha.
Hmm, maybe you had to be there.

Yep, it's easy to forget how broad the old plates and chains were. I have a worthless 6sp 'ATM' bike that I sometimes ride to the local shops in summer. The last time I rode it I looked at the chain, and it almost looks like a track chain compared to the new stuff.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Yes, one of my friends ended up buying the $10,000 Campag chain tool,

That's funny! Sad...but funny! Campagnolo...turning tools into art before Snap-On had a clue on how to keep mechanics in debt!

but then ended up using 'quick links', or what ever they're called.

Doh! Honestly, if Campagnolo made a connector link I would probably use it.

Hmm, maybe you had to be there.

Heh...yeah. Do the 11-speed a couple of times and you're still sweating bullets! Doing the chain swap every couple of months doesn't give me enough practice to do it on auto-pilot so I think
I'll still be sweating for a couple of more installs!

The Campy chain tool IS sweet, what with that cute little flip arm for the rivet bucking operation...er...step, but I think I gave $179 for it! The two Park tools required (yeah, that's right...TWO tools to install a freakin' chain!) were over a hundred bucks. Lordy! It's enough to drive a guy to drinking.

I stopped at a LBS in the east burbs of Cleveland the other day and one of the salesmen and I got to talking. He was running Campy Chorus 11-speed also and in trying to build a database on the group he asked me to relate my experience with it. I told him it was working perfectly, basically as good as the 10-speed stuff with the option of a bail-out gear without losing any ratios...and that the chain replacement was an overly complicated for any mechanical device less involved than the steering servo linkage on the Mars 'Curiousity' rover!

 

[alfeng]

FWIW. I've mentioned this before, but 'I' have found that a 9-speed SHIMANO chain works satisfactorily [COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]for me[/COLOR] with a 10-speed CAMPAGNOLO cassette ...

• and, being the infidel that I am, I simply take my time when pressing the standard pin back into the plate with an otherwise non-descript LIFU chain tool ...
• that is not to say that there aren't times when I've botched pushing the pin in ... but, that sometimes happens with fatter chains, too ...
• I suppose, THAT is probably another reason why I prefer to use long cage rear derailleurs!?!

___________

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Which is also to say that if 'I' ever venture to put an 11-speed Campagnolo cassette on any of my bikes that I will probably try to use an asymmetric-or-"regular" 10-speed [/COLOR]Shimano[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)] chain, first, before opting for an 11-speed Campagnolo chain.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)] .[/COLOR]

 

[531Aussie]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB .

Heh...yeah. Do the 11-speed a couple of times and you're still sweating bullets!..........

Yep, boutique proprietary tools; what's the world coming too?!?! I vaguely remember the old guy at the local shop using slip-joint adjustable pliers once or twice to push pins in.

Ha! Nup, I'm too scared of the Campag 11sp chains. Yeah, some things need to be done regularly, or else we forget. My friends sometimes get nervous when they see me reach for the instructions when i'm working on their bikes (man, I can never remember if I'm supposed to put caps on the cable casing ends inside the Ergo levers ), but I try to assure them I'm just being extra careful. Ha

While I sometimes enjoy *****ing about the new stuff being less reliable and tricky to work on, it is pretty cheap and easy putting in the Shimano replacement pins

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Yep, boutique proprietary tools; what's the world coming too?!?!

It's insane. The Campy chain tool is like all Eyetalian tools...nicely made, but priced at 2x the actual value. And I'm just dumb enough to pay the piper because I'm also dumb enough to trust only me with my life.

I vaguely remember the old guy at the local shop using slip-joint adjustable pliers once or twice to push pins in.

I have a couple pairs of the old roller chain pin pliers. I think one pair is the 1/8" x 1/2" pitch size.

30+ years ago...in the days of 5-speed racing bicycles...a friend split an outer plate off his Sedis chain...which he, a master auto mechanic, had found a way to screw up when he installed it. 20 or so miles from home and no boutique chain tools among us. He coasted the bike downhill into a small town and borrowed a screwdriver. Using a rock for an anvil and another rock as a hammer, he quickly and successfully repaired the chain. Yeah, so simple a cave man could do it!

I see Park still offers its chain repair plier: http://www.parktool.com/product/plier-type-chain-tool-ct-2

 

[531Aussie]

ha. Now that's a real man. He probably could've used his teeth.

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by 531Aussie .

ha. Now that's a real man. He probably could've used his teeth.

Between chain duty and meth use he probably didn't have any left.

 

[insurancedesks]

Originally Posted by 531Aussie .

ha. Now that's a real man. He probably could've used his teeth.

haha, real man, i love it , good boy. good sport . good result