I am going through a phase of snapping chains which is bloody annoying but keeps my riding mates entertained!

The problem is not restricted to one bike but the common theme is they are both 29ers and are both running on a 1×9 setup. I have a 34 chain ring up front and a bog standard rear cassette.

Breakages have not occurred under any significantly high stress situations. Once I was mentally preparing to have an attack on a hill, I moved into position, thought about going just as the chain went. On Saturday, I was moving away from a junction, nice and easily, and on other occasions they have gone for apparently no reason at all.

At first I thought it was just because the chains were Shimano so swapped over to SRAM. The only difference seems to be the catastrophic (or other) nature of the breakages. Sometimes the plate snaps, sometimes they just ease apart.

Now I am renowned for my mechanical ineptitude and am usually elbowed out of the way by more competent riding mates (who want to get on with the ride some time this century) so my hamfistedness isn’t an issue here.

Does anyone else have this type of problem or is it just me?

are you running the chain ring in the ‘middle’ position on the crank?

If it’s on the outer it may be ‘bending’ too much when in the larger sprockets at the back?

I’d look at chainline, in any event and make sure the chainring looks to be in the middle of the cassette.

If we exclude Shimano failures at the joining rivet being incorrectly fitted, and the dud batch of SRAM PG9** chains a few years back, then it seems the chains are simply not strong enough or the rivets sufficiently crimped, or you are changing down under too much load.
I would switch to KMC chains with their excellent quicklink (8 and 9 speed experience, not 10).

KMC X9 start under £20….check CRC, Merlin, WoollyHatShop, XCRacer etc.

PaulD

It’s got to be something to do with the way you are fitting or using them, SRAM chains are plenty strong enough.

It is just you.
I’d learn not to shift under load.

@wwaswas chainline is fine. I had both bikes checked out at my LBS too and they confirmed all was in order. Good call though!

@PaulD, I’m not sure the changing issue is it, they have practically all gone when I have been ‘just riding along’ as opposed to changing gear. I have been riding MTBs for about 20 years now and it is fair to say that I have snapped more chains in the last 8 months than in all the time I have been riding – except for when I was new to singlespeeding!

I will however, explore the KMC chains.

I will however, explore the KMC chains.Wippermann Connex

that said i have used shimano, sram and wipperman on my 29er 1×9 (32 x 11-34) and never broken a chain..

Have you checked your chainring and sprockets for damaged/bent/worn teeth?

slowjo – Member
Once I was mentally preparing to have an attack on a hill, I moved into position, thought about going just as the chain went.

You were about to say “elite rider coming through” and I claim my £5.

Seriously though, chain issues mostly develop over time, so what you are doing when they go is usually irrelevant. Does sound odd that you are breaking a few, impossible to diagnose, perhaps if you can even see it.

We use sram chains on the tandem and don’t break them even with two powerful folk jumping on the pedals – I guess bad shifting / bad chainline / worn out chain. Its something with your setup that is causing it.

Are you changing gears when putting the power down?

Are the gears not set up properly and shifting on their own with the power down.

Are you heavy – I hover around 72-75kg and never snapped a chain once (on or off road) – just wonder if you 80-90kg then you produce more torque on climbing and thus more prone to snapping chains?

Drive trains are almost new. No bent teeth or worn anything.

LOL at cynic-al

You were about to say “elite rider coming through” and I claim my £5.

It was a ‘gentle’ evening ride and I’d decided to spice it up a bit! In the end I just went nowhere!

Shorty, no and no.

Foxyrider, erm, just under 15 stone (94 kilo I think). Not sure that is heavy enough to be deemed ‘heavy’ but at 6ft 4 there’s not a lot of fat floating about 🙂

Wasn’t suggesting you were fat slowjo – just suggesting that if you were a heavy rider then prob why? 🙂

I’ll second the Wipperman, I went through 2 or 3 Shimano and the same amount in SRAM chains in a year and switched to a Wipperman. Still running the same Wipperman chain 3 years on. Also it’s the only quick link/powerlink thing I’ve found that seems to work properly! This is the one I have: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/wippermann-connex-920-9-speed-chain/

It’s not the weight foxyrider, it’s the power 🙄 😆 I wish! You may be right though.

One Wipperman on the wishlist then!

I’ve had chain failures on consecutive rides on a relatively unworn drive train. Presented with the prospect of running 4th quick-link, I binned the chain and bought a new one – just another cheap Shimano. Problem solved. I assumed it was just a dud chain.

But if you get this on two different bikes, it’s got to be the common denominator: the rider, eh? 😉

Does anyone else have this type of problem or is it just me?

My riding mate does,he has been a nightmare with chains and mech hangers,and it’s past a joke sometimes.

We thought we had it narrowed down to MTB ,but he has snapped them (chains)on road bikes.

Some it is down to his riding style ( he is not smooth ) and some of it is down to him not being very good at setting his bike up.
I have worked on his bike and suggested he buy certain bits ,but he tends to replace the obvious,then ignore a lot of tiny things that then end up contributing to another break . 🙄

He is the best example of someone who should go SS 😆

BTW,he’s a lovely bloke , just a bit of a bike breaker.

I had a spate of breaking chains. In the end I put it down to poor maintenance and lazy shifting. Concentrating on both of those has seen no more snappages.

I’ve been through four chains this year, to the point where I now get free ones from Connex via my LBS so I can give them feedback (no joke!).

I’m a fairly frequent snapper of chains in general – as soon as they go I just bin them as once they’ve got to that stage a powerlink isn’t going to save you.

I’ve found condition of chain and cassette, making sure you’re not running it too short and cleaning it properly helps.

At least you change them. My ham fisted riding pal had a chain break and we had to take a link out to rejoin and finish the ride. The following week the same happened. ‘Bad luck, 2 chains in 2 rides ‘ say I. ‘Oh , it’s the same one’ says he! He then had a very short chain but it got us home. He does have previous on this sort of thing. This week his ride was finished by a tyre that split completely down the sidewall. It turned out it had split earlier and he had put a patch on it assuming it would last a 25 mile ride in The rocky Peaks.