Questions tagged [chain]
Repairing, maintaining, or replacing the chain on your bike that connects the front of the drivetrain (cranks, chainrings) to the back (cogs, cassette).
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Do I need a chain breaker tool to install a new chain on my bicycle?
Do I need a tool, or will the chain have the correct length? For example, my biggest cog in the rear is 34T and the biggest chainring at the front is 42T and the chain has 116 links. Is a chain with ...
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Chain size designations e.g. 1/2 x 3/32 : how to measure?
How is the second number, e.g. 3/32, determined? Do you measure:
a) the thickness of the spacer between the inner links
or
b) the distance between the inner links
I have an older bike and don't ...
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Can I use gear oil on my chain?
I don't have any chain oil right now, but I have some gear oil left over from working on my car. Would it be an effective chain lubricant? It's listed as 80W90, but reading the Wikipedia article ...
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Why does my shifter say the wrong gear?
I had a slow puncture in my rear tyre. I fixed it by flipping the bike upside down, removing the rear wheel, patching the inner tube and replacing the wheel. However, I seem to have caused a strange ...
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Identifying a KMC chain
I am replacing a chain on a bike with a 7 gears Nexus hub gear. In my ignorance, I thought I should have a single speed chain, i.e. 1/8" width. I bought a Shimano CN-NX10, which is marketed to ...
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What is the salient compromise that waxing a chain offers compared to lubing a chain? (Was: what's the sales pitch for waxing chains?)
I'm almost sold on tubeless setups (even for road tires), but it took me a while until I heard the "sales pitch" (what someone committed to tubeless tires would say to convince a tube user ...
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What are the advantages of using paraffin wax vs wet lube for bike chain lubrication?
I'm thinking of waxing my chain (with paraffin wax). What would the advantages of this be over wet lube (I use Muc-Off)? Does anybody have any experience with waxed chains?
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how do I paint a bicycle chain?
I've seen chains with so many colours, white, red, you name it.
I would like to give it a try (this paint job is intended for visual styling of the bike, nothing related to protecting it), but I have ...
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Fitting SHIMANO GRX FC-RX600 46/30 Chainset (11spd) to a road bike
Is it possible to fit the cyclocross GRX 48/31 crankset to a road bike? I have a SRAM Red eTap shifting on my road bike. This restricts me to a 10-28 cassette. I am about to take on a very hilly ...
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What makes a new chain jump other than a worn cassette?
My bike recently passed 5,000 miles. A chain gauge says the original chain isn't worn out and when I measure 24 links I get exactly 12-1/16", so the gauge isn't wrong.
However, I used wax on that ...
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My Shimano EZ fire plus on the right side isn't shifting below 3 and the left one wont shift above 3
The shifters have been doing this since I got the bike a while ago, but the chain is also starting to fall of the gears when I'm riding it. I don't know how to fix this so can anyone help me?
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Excessive chain wear
Few months ago (March 2024) I bought a 1x10 Triban GRVL 120 from Decathlon. AFAIU, it's an entry-level gravel bicycle with matching components.
Few weeks ago (after riding ~900 km) I checked the chain ...
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What to do about chain rubbing on unusually placed chainstay?
On my Nishiki Colorado Comp MTB, the chainstay crosses above the chain instead of going directly to the center of the crank. I didn't think much about it until I recently put a larger chainring on, ...
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Is a stiff chain after hot wax application a sign of a correct wax application?
In many hot wax application tutorials, it is advised that, after removing the chain from the wax bath and having allowed it to cool, the chain should become stiff, requiring manual movement of the ...
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clink-clink as I pedal
Only happens with any pressure on the pedals.
In normal use it clinks twice per pedaling cycle.
More specifically, it does it any time there is any pressure on the pedals and I suddenly release that ...
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Why does my crank go in reverse and my chain drop when I am not on the bike?
I have a problem of my chain dropping. What happens is when we stop and I unclip from the pedals, the crank rotates in reverse and the chain drops. I am in the large chain ring when this happens.
...
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How to choose a compatible set of chain, cassette and chainring?
I would like to change the chain, cassette, and the chainring of my bike. The cassette has 7 speed and chainring has 3. Is any combination of 7 speed cassette and 3 speed chainring built by any ...
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Cleaning chain a few links at a time
Looking at videos of cleaning bicycle chains online, it seems like an inevitably tedious process. Getting the muck out of the links especially. For example, as described in this video. I'm thinking, ...
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Grinding noise from freewheel after changing the chain
I have Elops 100 city bike:
I changed the chain on it because it had not been changed in years. I used 1/2 x 1/8 inch chain:
I can pedal, but when I pedal there is a terrible noise when I apply ...
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Strategy for waxing (reinstaling) 12 speed chains
I'm curious about chain waxing and prolonging my drivetrain life, plus efficiencies, but have recently installed a 12 speed road groupset (Shimano).
I assumed I would use reusable links to re-install ...
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Chain slipping when under pressure
My chain slips when under pressure especially when I try to stand up or suddenly speed up. New chain a rear cogs and new cycle derailleur.
Cheers.
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Chain slipping in 8th gear only
I couldn't find a similar thread that had my issue. I've recently replaced the cassette and chain within a week of each other (chain then cassette) I have a 2x9 setup. The chain slips on the cassette ...
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How to properly adjust rear derailleur for Wahoo Kickr?
I have a Merida Escultura 100 connected to a Wahoo Kickr (with the rear wheel removed, of course). I've ridden this combination for over a year and had the derailleur adjusted more or less so there ...
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New bike-vibration in pedals
I just bought brand new Scott Sub Cross 10 mens city/crossbike. It has 30 gears and the same day after I bought it I went driving on an asphalt road and started to feel grinding/vibration in pedals at ...
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Chain slipping on middle chainring
I have recently replaced the chain and the cassette. Previous chain never slipped. I never had any problems with it at all. But I have made about 10 000 km on it and the wear was beyound any limits, ...
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Shimano 7-speed chain - upgrading for more durability
I have a modest commuter bike with Shimano 3x7-speed Tourney gruppo on and I ride quite a few miles on it. Compared to my 105 11-speed road bike, I noticed that chains don't quite last as long ... on ...
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Is it economically advisable to replace cassette and chain to protect the crankset?
My chain and cassette are both pretty worn after 2000 and 5700km respectively. My drivetrain is all steel, and the relative price of my parts chain-cassette-crankset are about 0.7-1-7 and front ...
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SRAM PC-1 quick link?
What quick link would work on this chain for my fixie? Are the SRAM 10 or 11 speed links compatible?
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Quick link means I can't get the exact chain length I need
RE:11 speed chain
Hi, probably being silly here, but my new quick link chain has two more links than my original. I've removed one but for the quick link to work/fit I'll have to remove two more, so ...
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Chain rubbing the lowest point of the front deraillieur
Problem: when the smaller chain ring is selected, the chain is well centered in the front derailleur's bracket but is rubbing against its lowest part. See the shredded rubber remains there? It happens ...
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My bicycle's front derailleur rubs with my bicycle chain
My bicycle's gears are 3x7 when i keep it on 2x1,2x2,2x3,2x4,3x1,3x2 or 3x3 my bicycle's chain rubs with my front derailleur on the left side. Is it normal ? if not then how can i fix that?
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What's wrong with my campy derailleur?
I'm trying to tune my campy chroma 10 speed but it wont shift to either the 2 highest gears or 2 lowest gears. Could it be that the drivetrain is bent? Is this due to a bad hanger?
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chain is skipping on cog. What's wrong?
Here are two video which is shoot by my high speed camera.
Video 1
Video 2
My chain is brand new now.
What's wrong here? Is it rear derailleur or cog?
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Marking chains permanently for later identification
I'd like to mark chains so that I can identify each one out of a few chains of the same model.
Any idea how I can do this in a way that will survive exposure to solvents / lubricants / use on the ...
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When I am pedaling harder on a slope, the chain sometimes skips or get detached
When I am pedaling harder on a slope, the chain sometimes skips or gets detached from the front chainring.
I have several videos shot with high speed camera in order to record what was wrong here:
...
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I think my MTB chain is modified ( shortened )
I have a 2x9 crank and cassette system. And I can't get it to go on the last cog because my rear derailer is maxed out. I bought a used and altered MTB and I can see the chain is short.
So typically ...
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How do I attach this master link on the chain?
This is a master link with PYC brand. I couldn't figure out how to attach it on my chain as both pins are on the same side. Can you help me out? Also can you tell me for which speed this master link ...
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Front derailleur at limit, but still heavy chain rub on cage
Back story: I bought a Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 second-hand, with Shimano Ultegra components. The previous owner had used it with different components and had the original ones re-assembled before ...
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Chain stuck between chainring and frame
My chain fell out while switching the gears and now it is stuck between the chainring and the frame. (I'm not a native speaker nor a bicycle expert, the terms may be wrong)
I tried to unscrew the ...
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How to immerse wax a chain?
What is the best way to wax a chain using the immersion waxing technique?
I did some research and am attracted to the benefits of waxing my chain. I bought a few new chains to try it out but am ...
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Weird noise when pedalling
I noticed a weird noise when pedalling. I had my road bike with me when traveling (airplane), and I just came back from a trip. I only had to take the wheels off when packing it. Once I assembled the ...
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Old chain and crankset, I can't replace the crankset yet, should I replace just the chain?
I have a racing bike that is riding very smoothly without problems. Recently I bought a few SRAM chains on sale with the idea of rotating them a few times under the same crankset before they get too ...
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Chain with master link / quick connect link doesn't clear rear derailleur
Bought a chain with a master link (packaging said quick connect link), it looks just like this:
This bit however won't fit cleanly through my derailleur, it snags on the wall right as it goes onto ...
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10 speed chain skipping on 9 speed cassette
I have recently replaced a 9 speed chain with a 10 speed one on a 9 speed cassette. I read this is compatible. Shifting is fine and quieter but it is now jumping on the smaller cogs 6-9. Is this a ...
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New chain periodically rides the gear teeth
I have a Dahon eezz D3 which I recently changed the chain. When I did the test riding, I felt that the pedal some how skipped or jump, more frequently on the lower gears (I believe that it happened ...
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Chain wear due to standing while pedaling
Does standing up while pedaling increase chain wear (lengthen chain) faster than pedaling while seated?
CommunityBot
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How do I re-insert a chain pin that has been pushed completely out?
While breaking the chain, I pushed the pin too far and pushed it out completely. Now the chain is too short. How do I re-insert this pin, or should I look for other options.
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Will this chain work on my bike?
I've bought the Shimano HG40 chain which is advertised as a 5,6,7 and I think 8 speed chain. I've just received it and it also says 15,18,21,24. (Obviously including the front gears). My bike is a 2x6 ...
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How do you connect and disconnect a quick release chain link?
I can't find any nice video or pictures tutorial that explains how to connect and disconnect a quick release chain link. Am I not finding anything because it has another more common name?
How do you ...
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How to connect quick link for 6/7/8 gears Shimano chain?
I recently ordered a new chain and I am having trouble connecting the quick link, which I also ordered (first time doing it). It seems the pin of the quick link won't stick out far enough to be able ...
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