Chain length dilemma: Who to believe?

[fooferdoggie]

I'm gonna try that for my third cleaning,..

The plastic peanut butter jars are great.
The lids seal.
This is my old jar lid. The vacuum caved in the lid instead of leaking.



you dont peddle why are you worried about cleaning your chain? just put some heavy oil on it and not worry about it. your only goal would be to keep it from rusting.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

@Jeremy McCreary,
I use an old peanut butter jar with laundry soap and water to strip the packing gunk off a new chain. It is amazing how much black crud comes off. Stuff such as Simple Green works too. Then I like to soak it in another jar of nano wax. The dry lube does not attract grit. With a quick link, removing a chain for this purpose is easy. Reinstall it off the chainring so you have slack.

Thanks! Having no workstand, this chain stuff really kills my back. But if I decide to take the new one off again, I'll try this method.

Which brings up another question: Can you reuse a master link? I bought some extras from SRAM just in case. The packaging says quite clearly not to reuse them.

 

[PCeBiker]

@Jeremy McCreary,
I use an old peanut butter jar with laundry soap and water to strip the packing gunk off a new chain.

I'm on to the next stage of chain cleaning,..

 

[Gionnirocket]

Thanks! Having no workstand, this chain stuff really kills my back. But if I decide to take the new one off again, I'll try this method.

Which brings up another question: Can you reuse a master link? I bought some extras from SRAM just in case. The packaging says quite clearly not to reuse them.

I have.
Give it a visual inspection, if it looks as good as new it probably is.
I don't see you as an abusive power rider.

 

[PedalUma]

I've got everything I need to make a really tasty Vegan Chain Lube,..


View attachment 171031

In the alternate universe CA, out left, the packages would be in English and Spanish for Vegan chain lube.

 

[PedalUma]

Can you reuse a master link?

Yes, you can reuse a quick link (master link) in most cases for six, seven, eight, and nine speed chains. Some exotics can be different. I just cleaned my chain and am ready to ride. I am going to a place on the water that serves a quarter of an extra-large NY style pizza with a drink for $7. They call it a New York slice. Then I will hit some gravel trails.

 

[PCeBiker]

I have.
Give it a visual inspection, if it looks as good as new it probably is.
I don't see you as an abusive power rider.

Don't just look at it.
Wiggle it around to see if it's sloppy.

My Quick Link had a bit of movement to it, so I replaced it.
That link is now my spare,..

The fresh link is for my new chain/e-bike and I ordered more quick links.
Seven Bucks,..

I can wait until the celebrations are over.
I ain't gonna ride again till spring.

 

[PedalUma]

That modern take on a cruiser is so comfortable. I ditched the standard 42 tooth ring in front for a narrow/wide 48-t. The standard cassette on the Marin Stinson 2 is 11-47. I had to join two chains to get that length when doing an overhaul on the bike including, the head set, repacking the motor, and new housings and cables. Now I am strapping a camping chair to the rack and packing a book to go read in the sunshine, among wildflowers, and next to a waterfall. That is better than yelling an inanimate object, the TV. On two bikes this week I didn't have a quick link so I had to use the pin method where you remove a pin from three of the four layers, then reinsert it with a channel lock and set it with a pin extractor.

Edit: I did it.
I sat in the sun with no wind and read a book for 2.5 hours, listening to the waterfall and watching the birds and a cat on a log napping in the sun. So peaceful and unlike yelling at a TV where people are expected to be maimed, and all the commercials designed to make you feel less than. In the first photo is a type of cactus (above the saddle) that Luther Burbank developed as cattle fodder with no spines. He invented 800 species of new plants.

 

[mschwett]

Thanks! Having no workstand, this chain stuff really kills my back. But if I decide to take the new one off again, I'll try this method.

Which brings up another question: Can you reuse a master link? I bought some extras from SRAM just in case. The packaging says quite clearly not to reuse…

almost everyone I know, including myself and people with mid drives and really strong riders, re-use them a few times. if it doesn’t make a nice solid click when it snaps shut, replace.

since you ride in sandy environments, that stock grease they put on chains is horrible. it attracts sand like, well, something that attracts sand really well. it may be a decent lube in other environments (there are many studies) but for coastal ones with wind blown sand, no. I put the chain in a jar with chain stripper, swish it around lots, hose it down, and then apply drip wax (replace with your lube of choice.) for next time!

 

[fooferdoggie]

when the say not to reuse I think they mean on another chain since they wear out. they will last the life of a chain audit does not matter if you take it on and off several times.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Well, now that I have chain length sorted — thanks to EBR members — on to the right chain width for my 10-speed Deore cassette and derailleur.

I ask because my 10-speed Deore cassette and derailleur shifted perfectly with the previous SRAM EX1 chain — right up to the day that chain popped a side plate (see post #1). But with the new EX1, I'm getting sloppy upshifts and downshifts — including jumps of 2 gears at a time.

This occurs exclusively in the middle gears — which makes me think that more than a derailleur adjustment is needed. First and 10th aren't affected.

Don't think chainring or cassette wear is to blame. These components have only 1,200 miles on them, they don't look worn, and the old EX1 wasn't measurably elongated when it failed.

Did I buy the wrong EX1 chain? New chain photos below...

Note that the SRAM packaging (2nd and 3rd photos) clearly says "10s" on the back (3rd photo), but the sticker (4th photo) says both 10- and 8-speed.

 

[PCeBiker]

This is my guess, based purely on speculation,..

I think you've got a fatter chain if it will fit an 8-speed.
When you're in the middle gears, the chain line is straighter towards the chain ring, so the extra gap in the chain can catch an adjacent sprocket.

First and 10th pull the chain sideways, so it stays on the sprocket.


You also have an E-MTB chain that is made in Portugal.

Perhaps the chain only works properly in the mountains of Portugal? Sort of a proprietary thing maybe?

 

[PCeBiker]

Have you still got your old chain?

Can you take some measurements and compare them to your new chain?

 

[PedalUma]

It needs to be a designated ten-speed chain. Something like the KMC X10. Yes, I agree with @PCeBiker that the chain is too wide. The straight down photo is very good. It shows that the vertical is not aligned but off to the right. Get it aligned straight up and down in a middle gear. That means the cable needs to have no slack in the highest gear. Reset the cable tension in 10. Do that with two turns of the barrel adjuster out. And dial it in from there by sound, no clanking in a middle gear.

 

[PCeBiker]

,..Get it aligned straight up and down in a middle gear. That means the cable needs to have no slack in the highest gear.

I don't agree with that.
The derailleur feeds the chain on to the sprocket at the bottom.
By the time the chain is at the top of the sprocket, it's the chain ring pulling on the chain that pulls it to one side or the other.

,.. It shows that the vertical is not aligned but off to the right.

It's not just the alignment.
The chain looks as if it's tipping over sideways.

I think an 8-speed chain might have bigger rollers, and an 8-speed freewheel/cassette probably has deeper tooth pockets?

I think a proper 10-speed chain should fit snuggly.

 

[nutdriver]

It is my understanding that 8 speed and 10 speed chains are different widths. That makes the sticker on the chain that specifies both to be confusing. If you have some calipers I would measure your old and new chain widths and compare with the information linked below.

https://bike.bikegremlin.com/1220/1-bicycle-chains-compatibility/#3

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

This is my guess, based purely on speculation,..

I think you've got a fatter chain if it will fit an 8-speed.
When you're in the middle gears, the chain line is straighter towards the chain ring, so the extra gap in the chain can catch an adjacent sprocket.

First and 10th pull the chain sideways, so it stays on the sprocket.

You also have an E-MTB chain that is made in Portugal.

Perhaps the chain only works properly in the mountains of Portugal? Sort of a proprietary thing maybe?


View attachment 171391

It's possible that aliens have been messing with me. Maybe they abducted me just when the prior EX1 went on and transported me to the mountains of Portugal while making it look to me — through direct brain VR — that I was home in coastal SoCal the whole time. Chain worked fine.

Then, when the new EX1 went on, they dropped me back home so the ostensibly identical chain would shift badly for no apparent reason.

I can see them rolling with laughter now: "Man, that old dude will NEVER figure out what happened to him!" Well, they clearly hadn't figured on EBR.

The chainline explanation sounds a little more plausible, but you never know these days. My brother-in-law got abducted and came back Canadian — an overall improvement actually.
;^}

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

It is my understanding that 8 speed and 10 speed chains are different widths. That makes the sticker on the chain that specifies both to be confusing. If you have some calipers I would measure your old and new chain widths and compare with the information linked below.

https://bike.bikegremlin.com/1220/1-bicycle-chains-compatibility/#3

Confusing indeed. The new and old chain widths looked the same when I compared them by eye. But I'll try the measurements and report back.

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. I ask because my 10-speed Deore cassette and derailleur shifted perfectly with the previous SRAM EX1 chain — right up to the day that chain popped a side plate (see post #1). But with the new EX1, I'm getting sloppy upshifts and downshifts — including jumps of 2 gears at a time.

Well,.. you know what works on your e-bike.

I think that they sold you the wrong chain?
I don't think that an 8-speed chain should fit a 10-speed cassette?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Well,.. you know what works on your e-bike.

I think that they sold you the wrong chain?
I don't think that an 8-speed chain should fit a 10-speed cassette?

But the original, unopened SRAM packaging said "10s". The sticker added later said both 10- and 8-speed.

The old and new side plates are stamped "D2" and "K1", respectively. No clear indications of intended cassettes, and no online indication of what these codes might mean.