CHAINS!!!! AARRRGH!!! Has this ever happened to you?

[faded1004]

i actuall cleaned my chain tonight... i still have to go clean up the mess i made in the garage... hahaha, my bike left a black skid mark on the floor...

i think the terrain you ride adn the care you give may have to do with long term life, but maybe there is always be small imperfections that might break a chain right away... the power links are easy to use...

[richie_rich]

I've been running the same SRAM hollow pin on my bike for (X), not sure how long. I broke it once about a year ago, took a link out and it's still going strong

[freekengo]

I've been running the 991 chains for the past 2 years without fault on 5 different bikes. I do change them religiously when it gets between the .5 & .75 mark on the tool though. I looked at the specs from the SRAM website and according to them the 991 is supposed to be their strongest chains for what it's worth.

[Abui]

Do you have pictures of the breaks? Broken side plate or rivet popping out?

[bikeadict]

first off I don't think this is a brand of chain issue.... I mean its not the same old which is better shimano or sram. I run a sram drive train and in the beginning 7 or so years ago I alwayse ran LX or XT chains. I liked them and they didn't brake very often. However, at some point I began running sram chains 971s and 991s I had pretty good success with them but around a year ago I started snapping all the chains I bought be it 991s or 971s I even switched to a wipperman stainless and I broke it. I had kept my cassette and chainrings in great shape changing them out every so often so I doubt it was them....

I'll go ahead and say I'm tough on my drivetrain... I want it to shift anywhere anytime be it up a hill or not.

Really steep rollers get me in trouble when I go to down shift at a high torque.


in anycase I switched to a one of those fancy teflon wippermans around 6 months ago and I'm thrilled with the performance. Its pretty heavy but shifts like a dream even under load.

too bad their hella expensive and hard to find....

[mazda-monkey]

I snapped a Shimano chain after 1 year of use. LBS said my chain was worn out and suggested / installed a SRAM chain, then I had nothing but problems with the chain links separating. Happened 2-3 times, then I installed a Shimano XTR chain - no more problems!

[DBD]

Originally Posted by bikeadict

...but around a year ago I started snapping all the chains I bought be it 991s or 971s I even switched to a wipperman stainless and I broke it....

Perhaps there was a bad batch of material going around because I noticed a lot of riders complaining about chains snapping around that time. Mostly SRAM but others as well as you pointed out.

I have broke a few chains but I just figured it was normal wear 'n tear since I used to let my chains go to crap.

[KonaDupee]

I have been running a SRAM 991 chain for about a year. Had not had a single issue with it until last weekend @ Blackstar. Broke a link, threw on an extra power link & was back riding in 5 minutes.

I still love the 991. Will definitely buy one again. Perhaps you just got a bad batch?

[Pain Freak]

I have Sram on one bike and Shimano on the others. I've broke a lot more Shimano's then Srams although both will and do break. I use a dura ace for Shimano and very seldom have any problems. I put close to 20,000 miles on my road bike before I replaced it and now I have over 8,000 on the next one and all is good. For mountain biking I've had only one Sram break in 5 plus years, but I have had at least 3 XT chains break. I love the ease of repairing the Srams if you do have a problem.

[ChariotsOfTires]

Originally Posted by Abui

Do you have pictures of the breaks? Broken side plate or rivet popping out?

No pictures, but both breaks were the side of the chain link popping off of the pins. The sides of the broken link curled out in both instances.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by ChariotsOfTires

No pictures, but both breaks were the side of the chain link popping off of the pins. The sides of the broken link curled out in both instances.

One theory - downshifting with too much torque.

edit - looking at my pictures I have this (SRAM?) --

[ChariotsOfTires]

Originally Posted by KonaDupee

I still love the 991. Will definitely buy one again. Perhaps you just got a bad batch?

I am hearing this as a common theme now. I would assume that the two companies get their material from different suppliers (maybe wrong there). I a little bummed. I liked the idea of running all SRAM components, but I'll get over that. I just want to keep riding with out the chain issues.

Thanks for all your replies!!!!

[ChariotsOfTires]

Originally Posted by Abui

One theory - downshifting with too much torque.

edit - looking at my pictures I have this (SRAM?) --

Well I was under torque both times (climbing a short hill), but I was not shifting. Just pluggin along on the trails.

Thanks for the picture - Mine looked more like the link slipped off of the pins. The link wasn't actualy broken like yours was.

[Blueman]

About replacing cassette and rings when changing chains... It really depends on how often you change your chain. Chains strech, a streched chain will wear the teeth on your gears and then a new un-streched chain won't mesh with the worn teeth. If you don't change your chain until you are having skipping or shifting problems, you should change all your gearswith the chain. If you change your chain often before you start to have problems, you can get longer life out of gears.

[mtbchip]

WOW....... much like the tubes VS UST, I have made a change for the better.

I don't use chains anymore, just like tubes, they are retro! I have a driveshaft for my mtbike. It's in the "skunkworks" now, so no peek-a-boo's until I get the patent thru.......

In all seriousness, I tried and broke SRAM chains left and right. I was told by countless different bike shop people that the SRAM, even on my XTR components, would be better. I even broke those hollow pin wonders. Went back to XTR Shimano and no problem, really.

......... NOW.......Back to your regularly scheduled mtbike daydream'n!

Have a great weekend Y'all! (should have REALLY been posted 4/1)

[Winger]

Broken Shimano : 1
Broken SRAM : 1 (+1 that would have broken if I hadn't noticed during cleaning)

Tani made an interesting comment about the strength of 9 speed chains. I had made the observation on my own bikes that the 8 speed chain seemed a lot more robust. The thing lasts forever without wear. I can stand & crank without it breaking. And in roughly the same miles, I've never broken an 8 speed chain, while I've broken three 9 speed chains.

Bring back the 8 speed cassettes!

....on the same note, Mtn Bike Action speculated that 10 speed cassettes weren't too far away.

[TKCastle]

I run shimano and SRAM hollowpin and full pin chains. I love shifting under load and running crossed gear(little ring front, little ring back) and from 7+ years of riding this way i have broken 1 shimano xt chain.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by thephat

Could be a bad run of chains, all from one box.

I have not noticed a pattern of Shimano chains being stronger than Sram on the whole. I know folks who have had bad luck with Shimano. I know some folks who swear that no 9 speed chain is strong enough for mountain biking.

Also, check for bent teeth on rings and cogs. Are you getting chain suck? Maybe just some dancing in one of the rings? You may have a drivetrain wear issue being exposed by the new chain. Chain suck, skipping gears, and miss shifts under load all can cause chain failure.

I know some folks who swear that no 9 speed chain is strong enough for mountain biking.

I am in that camp

[Zippy]

I had a similar issue with the hollow pin chain: replaced a broken 917 with a hollowpin and it broke on my second ride...in the middle of the Xterra West Championships. Actually UP shifting instead of downshifting; weird. Went back to the 971 I had been using before and no problems since.

Got into a nice argument with the kid at the shop who sold me the chain and couldn't believe I broke it (all 145 pounds of me!)...I don't shop there anymore...

[Bullcrew]

3 991 non hollow pins this season so far!
still running them.