Hoping someone could shed a little light on this.
A few weeks ago I took the hardtail out for a commute. On the way out the door noticed the chain quite rusted from previous wet ride. I was running late, so I ignored this and figured I could get away with it. It wasn't riding great and the front mech needed a slight adjustment as it was slightly scraping when on the middle chain ring. I was riding in the middle chain ring and began pushing hard uphill. Chain broke, twisted and bent the front mech, chain got stuck in the wheel, bent the rear mech and broke the mech hanger.
Weeks later, I replaced all broken items. Bike was feeling great with all those lovely new parts. Problem is once again pumping hard in the middle chainring the new chain snaps. Luckily nothing else broke. Is there something else that could be wrong? Obviously I'm pointing my finger at the middle chainring, but I don't think there is anything wrong with it.
Did it snap at the joining link? sideplates or pin?
IMO broken chains only come with either poor installation or misshifts under power. We don't even break chains on the tandem and thats with two biffers jumping on the pedals.
How did you connect the new chain ? Power link or pin
New Chain - KMC powerlink it broke at the pin.
Your right, I never break chains. This is what worries me. Shifting seems ok and I felt that I was firmly in the gear I wanted to be in when it snapped.