Great no-nonsense video with lots of good information presented at a good pace that's not too slow or fast. I like how you don't talk down to your viewers like we're little kids. Also appreciate the absence of those stupid intro's/logos that waste viewers' time! Thanks!
Good video Clint. I use a shoelace instead of the spoke tool you made. It works in the same way, but I keep it in my saddle bag for when I need to pop a master link apart. I am working on a video to show how I use it. Looking forward to your next video. - Nick
At 4:54, the device to keep the chain in place needs to be used from above the chain and not from below, as you showed. This way the links hang from below without the device being in the way when re-joining the chain.
I always soak the new chain in solvent/cleaner in advance of installing. Much easier and more thorough. Surprised to hear you advise doing it after as if it were a regular cleaning. Any reason that’s better that I might be missing?
I'm very careful about what I use on my chain. Really just rubbing alcohol or simple green and then chain lube. Many years ago in my more ignorant mechanic days I used mineral spirits in a chain cleaner. It cleaned the chain so well it made it brittle and it broke within a few weeks. And it was a new chain!
I also don't like to take that coating off until I know the drivetrain is okay and I'm not going to have to put the oil chain back on. If I did need to put the old chain back on I would want to preserve the new chain in the coating.
I worked in a roller link chain factory and made a lot of high end chains. This chains would be for construction equipment, oil drilling etc. and we would dunk the chains in an oil bath basically for shipping, it was not special lube. Not sure if bikes are any different but these chains were very expensive. The company I worked at viewed bike chains as a low end product.
So you're telling me that white spirits make metal brittle? You don't know much about metal do you? Also you don't need a 10 speed for a 10 speed and 11 for 11, you can easily use an 11 on a 10, 12 on 11, 10 on 9 so on so forth. That coating on chains is also just an oil used to prevent rust, the best thing to remove it and prepare the chain for fresh lube is paraffin oil, something that you need to soak it in off the bike, it's actually the best thing for cleaning a chains, bearings, etc. If you truly want to look after a chain then you should remove it from the bike and soak it in paraffin to clean it, it's a light oil and unlike water it allows the fresh lube to enter the chain and lubricate it properly, it protects from rusting during the cleaning process and is not aggressive towards the metal like most bike degreasers, it's also not bad for you which is a bonus.
Doing mine today ! I got the pin version SHIMANO ! Was wondering what to do with the sludge that comes on the chain from the factory very sticky and tacky ! thanks !
I'm a roadie, not MTB, but I never clean off the coating that comes on my new chain. I always feel that is the best protection it will ever have, so I ride until it needs cleaning. Depending on the time of year, I can often get 500 or 600 miles before I have to do any chain cleaning...
Once the chain is broke, that pin used to break it has lost the peen that keeps it in place. (that is that little ring of metal left on your chain breaker tool) Although it still fits pretty tight when reassembled, it does have a chance of backing out a bit then the chain will brake under load. I was told when reassembling to use the new pins provided. Have I ever had a chain break because of this? No, but I suppose it is possible.
I’ve recently just had to replace cassette n chain on my bike, stupidly left it a bit late to change chain so bottom 5 gears skipped with new chain. This time I bought 2 chains with cassette and thought to rotate chains every so often depending on use. Also what chain oil do you use? I’ve just bought Fenwicks professional said to last 500 miles.
Does riding style and type affect the rate of chain stretching over time (ie if you tend to do a lot of hard, steep hill climbs, would you expect faster chain stretch? What about more rocky / technical?). Have also wondered why some people seem to break chains on the trail more often, while others never have this problem. Is this mostly due to bad / rough shifting? My philosophy is if I am "smooth" on the drivetrain, and never jerk it hard, I will rarely break a chain and get longer life. Not sure if this is accurate though. Thanks for the great / informative videos, as always! I never get tired of watching your videos.
Why not remove the package oil before putting on the new chain? That way you can wax the bare metal before installing, or use your favorite lube for local conditions after installing the new chain.
Two reasons. One, if for some reason the drivetrain is too worn out to accept the new chain and you put the old one back on, you want to preserve the chain with that coating. Two, it's just simply much easier to spin the pedals backwards with a rag over the chain to get it off.
So if you've stretch it too far and you put the old chain back on, wouldn't you just want to continue to ride it and run the entire drivetrain down to the ground and then replace the entire drivetrain later? If you don't care about stretching the drivetrain, you could probably get a couple more thousand miles of usage. I used to replace my chain a few times a year, but then I realized it's just more convenient to keep the same chain and replace the entire drivetrain perhaps once a year. Any downside to it?
Cassettes and chain rings are more expensive to replace than a chain, my first GT Zaskar I bought when I started to ride more serious, did not replace the chain for a couple or more years. I wore out the drive train. That’s not the way to go , now that LBSs have Schooled me on that I replace chains min once a year , and have 3 bikes too .
Interesting comments. I thought this topic was very basic but it sounds like a lot of people needed this. A chain checker is a tool with infinite return on investment.
how in the world would you stretch your drivetrain?? Ive never heard of that Clint..Is that the word you meant to use? OR maybe something else?? Thanks dude.
That's exactly what happens. The cassette wears out to form with the chain. Specifically what happens to the teeth you can call it stretch or wear but there's a slightly bigger gap between the cassette teeth to wherr the new chain won't fit that Gap properly. I've had it happened several times.
Good tutorial you have confirmed me that it is necesary to take out completely or almos completely the coating of the new chain. I think that its not recomended to size the new chain right next to the old one and worst do it by hanging just becaus of the stretch in the worn chain. Theres some chain calculators or calculation in order to size correctly the new chain.
Or - Just throw the pin away - if you want to reuse it, better join it with a master link. Only time I ever broken a chain riding, I knew it was a pin I had inserted
i guess sometimes the chain just breaks... go figure : P, may be best to have a master link + save the pin so you dont close any doors on possibilities.
In germany most bike shops let you ride about 3500km and then change the cassette together with the chain. Imho it's nonsensical and designed to be a ripoff - it doesn't even account for the wear of your chainrings!
They actually do stretch. One way to check to see if a chain is worn out is to measure the distance between the pins. If you hang an old chain up next to a new one the old one will be longer. I've done it many times! Trust me, they stretch.
The mechanisms that allow different component parts to wear/dislodge/break are varied, e.g. in a rope individual fibres are breaking, but produce an effect on overall length for instance that is accurately described as stretching.
I was supposed to have a new cassette installed and chain. I think they used my old freakin chain and didn’t change it. And now it’s skippinh and making noises on my easy climb gear already a few rides in. Unreal. Pissed
Great no-nonsense video with lots of good information presented at a good pace that's not too slow or fast. I like how you don't talk down to your viewers like we're little kids. Also appreciate the absence of those stupid intro's/logos that waste viewers' time! Thanks!
Good video Clint. I use a shoelace instead of the spoke tool you made. It works in the same way, but I keep it in my saddle bag for when I need to pop a master link apart. I am working on a video to show how I use it. Looking forward to your next video.
- Nick
Thanks this worked for my retro bike. Good tip for long life for the chain!
Good advice on chain maintenance. I prefer a steel ruler to check chain stretch as I find it more precise than a chain-checker-tool.
At 4:54, the device to keep the chain in place needs to be used from above the chain and not from below, as you showed. This way the links hang from below without the device being in the way when re-joining the chain.
I always soak the new chain in solvent/cleaner in advance of installing. Much easier and more thorough. Surprised to hear you advise doing it after as if it were a regular cleaning. Any reason that’s better that I might be missing?
I'm very careful about what I use on my chain. Really just rubbing alcohol or simple green and then chain lube. Many years ago in my more ignorant mechanic days I used mineral spirits in a chain cleaner. It cleaned the chain so well it made it brittle and it broke within a few weeks. And it was a new chain!
I also don't like to take that coating off until I know the drivetrain is okay and I'm not going to have to put the oil chain back on. If I did need to put the old chain back on I would want to preserve the new chain in the coating.
I worked in a roller link chain factory and made a lot of high end chains. This chains would be for construction equipment, oil drilling etc. and we would dunk the chains in an oil bath basically for shipping, it was not special lube. Not sure if bikes are any different but these chains were very expensive. The company I worked at viewed bike chains as a low end product.
So you're telling me that white spirits make metal brittle? You don't know much about metal do you? Also you don't need a 10 speed for a 10 speed and 11 for 11, you can easily use an 11 on a 10, 12 on 11, 10 on 9 so on so forth. That coating on chains is also just an oil used to prevent rust, the best thing to remove it and prepare the chain for fresh lube is paraffin oil, something that you need to soak it in off the bike, it's actually the best thing for cleaning a chains, bearings, etc. If you truly want to look after a chain then you should remove it from the bike and soak it in paraffin to clean it, it's a light oil and unlike water it allows the fresh lube to enter the chain and lubricate it properly, it protects from rusting during the cleaning process and is not aggressive towards the metal like most bike degreasers, it's also not bad for you which is a bonus.
Doing mine today ! I got the pin version SHIMANO ! Was wondering what to do with the sludge that comes on the chain from the factory very sticky and tacky ! thanks !
Rubbing alcohol on a rag. I just did it tonight!
I'm a roadie, not MTB, but I never clean off the coating that comes on my new chain. I always feel that is the best protection it will ever have, so I ride until it needs cleaning. Depending on the time of year, I can often get 500 or 600 miles before I have to do any chain cleaning...
What about the chain checker? Wasn't that the "when" part ?
Yes
A new KMC X10XL chain causes empty pedals and a loud sound. Original KMC ebike E10s chain doesn't have the issue. The ebike is new. What's the cause?
Once the chain is broke, that pin used to break it has lost the peen that keeps it in place. (that is that little ring of metal left on your chain breaker tool) Although it still fits pretty tight when reassembled, it does have a chance of backing out a bit then the chain will brake under load. I was told when reassembling to use the new pins provided. Have I ever had a chain break because of this? No, but I suppose it is possible.
I have not. I've reassemble chains with the pin like that and had no issues.
I have not either. I think it is more of a theoretical problem. But Murphy's law always rules. Great videos man.
Very informative, thank you Clint !!!
I’ve recently just had to replace cassette n chain on my bike, stupidly left it a bit late to change chain so bottom 5 gears skipped with new chain. This time I bought 2 chains with cassette and thought to rotate chains every so often depending on use. Also what chain oil do you use? I’ve just bought Fenwicks professional said to last 500 miles.
I use Rock N Roll Gold lube
Honey mustard
I cut my chain too short, i think 1 or 2 links short. Can i add or put back the chain i cut?
Yes you can add them back in. Hopefully you have a link with the pin sticking out, or can make one like that with the extra.
Clint Gibbs ok thanks!
Does riding style and type affect the rate of chain stretching over time (ie if you tend to do a lot of hard, steep hill climbs, would you expect faster chain stretch? What about more rocky / technical?). Have also wondered why some people seem to break chains on the trail more often, while others never have this problem. Is this mostly due to bad / rough shifting? My philosophy is if I am "smooth" on the drivetrain, and never jerk it hard, I will rarely break a chain and get longer life. Not sure if this is accurate though. Thanks for the great / informative videos, as always! I never get tired of watching your videos.
Brent Moseley ... chain crossings might be the main reazon to Blow up a chain in no time
Why not remove the package oil before putting on the new chain? That way you can wax the bare metal before installing, or use your favorite lube for local conditions after installing the new chain.
Two reasons. One, if for some reason the drivetrain is too worn out to accept the new chain and you put the old one back on, you want to preserve the chain with that coating. Two, it's just simply much easier to spin the pedals backwards with a rag over the chain to get it off.
any reason youre using kmc chains instead of shimano or sram?
Yes, they last two to three times longer.
Really? I've had sram and kmc chains on both of my mtb bikes, 3x9, and they wore out exactly the same, around 1500 kilometers.
Thanks, well explained as usual.
So if you've stretch it too far and you put the old chain back on, wouldn't you just want to continue to ride it and run the entire drivetrain down to the ground and then replace the entire drivetrain later? If you don't care about stretching the drivetrain, you could probably get a couple more thousand miles of usage.
I used to replace my chain a few times a year, but then I realized it's just more convenient to keep the same chain and replace the entire drivetrain perhaps once a year. Any downside to it?
There are a couple of downsides but you just gave me a good topic for a short video. Not you'll have to wait a couple of days 😉
Cassettes and chain rings are more expensive to replace than a chain, my first GT Zaskar I bought when I started to ride more serious, did not replace the chain for a couple or more years. I wore out the drive train. That’s not the way to go , now that LBSs have Schooled me on that I replace chains min once a year , and have 3 bikes too .
Interesting comments. I thought this topic was very basic but it sounds like a lot of people needed this. A chain checker is a tool with infinite return on investment.
I try to vary my bike maintenance videos so I cover basic stuff and more advanced stuff.
Keep up the great work!
Great advice, thanks
how in the world would you stretch your drivetrain?? Ive never heard of that Clint..Is that the word you meant to use? OR maybe something else?? Thanks dude.
That's exactly what happens. The cassette wears out to form with the chain. Specifically what happens to the teeth you can call it stretch or wear but there's a slightly bigger gap between the cassette teeth to wherr the new chain won't fit that Gap properly. I've had it happened several times.
^ Don't follow random rules, just inspect the drivetrain with your two eyeballs.
I would say replace the cassette every three times you replace the chain. You could do every other time but to me it seems a bit excessive.
I do know how and when but still like this video
some of these bike lubes are toxic, best to use gloves or get non toxic lube.
Really Toxic
Maybe I'm the only one who replaces the chain by feel . Time to get a chain checker I think. Bike feels super fast with a new chain
Good tutorial you have confirmed me that it is necesary to take out completely or almos completely the coating of the new chain. I think that its not recomended to size the new chain right next to the old one and worst do it by hanging just becaus of the stretch in the worn chain. Theres some chain calculators or calculation in order to size correctly the new chain.
gabingo ... i duno about ... otherwise the manufactureres would tell US something on this subject on the users' manual ... am i right ...
just ride for few rides chains stretch quickly if skips a little
Simon uhu ?
... rephrase ...
Or - Just throw the pin away - if you want to reuse it, better join it with a master link. Only time I ever broken a chain riding, I knew it was a pin I had inserted
J B, only time i ever broke a chain, it was the master link. :p
i guess sometimes the chain just breaks... go figure : P, may be best to have a master link + save the pin so you dont close any doors on possibilities.
In germany most bike shops let you ride about 3500km and then change the cassette together with the chain. Imho it's nonsensical and designed to be a ripoff - it doesn't even account for the wear of your chainrings!
Some cassettes today are so expensive!
Exactly - I'd want to get as much life out of it as possible.
Chains do NOT STRETCH. THE PINS WEAR .
They actually do stretch. One way to check to see if a chain is worn out is to measure the distance between the pins. If you hang an old chain up next to a new one the old one will be longer. I've done it many times! Trust me, they stretch.
www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/bicycle-chain-wear-explained-46015/
Because the pins wear it gets longer.
The mechanisms that allow different component parts to wear/dislodge/break are varied, e.g. in a rope individual fibres are breaking, but produce an effect on overall length for instance that is accurately described as stretching.
New chain and old cassette = Skip
Instead buy new chain and cassette.
Better buy a new bike. N+1 rule still applies.
I was supposed to have a new cassette installed and chain. I think they used my old freakin chain and didn’t change it. And now it’s skippinh and making noises on my easy climb gear already a few rides in. Unreal. Pissed