Chain Replacement is LAME

[Cody J]

I having a fun time replacing the chain for my bike. I ordered my kit from powerking motors which took a while but seems like a great company nonetheless.

The chain is a Chinese made chain obviously so a standard BMX chain is not going to work. I read an older thread on this forum saying the sprockets could be replaced so the BMX #41 chain could be used. Do I have to replace both sprockets? Also, Can I get a smaller tooth (36) sprocket that works for a BMX #41 chain? Any recommendations for sellers would help.

On that note, getting parts ordered seems to be alot of trouble. I checked out spookytooth but their parts inventory is lacking. A good parts resource would be most helpful.

 

[HoughMade]

BMX chain is not #41- what your probably saw is a thread that suggested either #41 or BMX chain to replace the standard Chinese 415 (which comes with the kits).

I have no experience with the BMX chain, so I cannot comment on that. I'm sure others will.

I use #41 chain which can be had for about $13 for 10 feet. It is stronger that the chain that comes with the kit and fits the sprockets perfectly.

415 chain has a pitch of 1/2"- that is the measurement from pin to pin. #41 has a pitch of 1/2" as well (so does bicycle chain). The #41 is wider between the side plates, but either the same width or only slightly wider overall as the side plated are thinner that the 415, but the chain is still stronger. #41 works perfectly with the standard sprockets.

I guess BMX chain is wider than standard bicycle chain which allows it to be used with these kits, but as i said, I have no experience with them.

 

[Cody J]

Thanks for clearing that up Hough. Any recommendations on where to get the #41 chain? I googled this store:

http://www.willardssmallengines.com/shop/go-kart-parts/chain/-41-chain-priced-per-foot.html

 

[HoughMade]

I get mine at Tractor Supply Company. Other have gotten theirs at Lowes. Also, any small engine shopt should have it.

 

[spad4me]

I do not have a tractor supply.
I do have a Wall Mart.
I have a kings kit the supplied chain and front sprocket are awful.
The easiest way ( for me ) is to buy a .81 wide ten tooth front sprocket from thats dax . Or grind the sides and the edges of the stock ten tooth front sprocket until a BMX chain will fit.
You need Two single speed chain kits from wall mart and you might as well get a chain breaker to assemble the chain with out a master link.
and possibly without a chain idler pulley . A tight direct trouble free solution.

The rear 44 tooth sprocket will fit a BMX chain no problem.

 

[h0tr0d]

Every Lowes has a hardware section with the drawers of nuts and bolts. In those drawers is a chain section. 14 bucks gets you 10 feet. They also have the masters ans half links there too. Check em out.

 

[Huntington]

I get mine at work, best part is.. they don't care because they know I am using it to get to work... but if you don't want to wait for mail and pay s/h charges you can go to a lawn mower shop. I live in So Cali so not too many tractor shops but the mower shops use #41.

 

[s_beaudry]

I have used willards before, they are excellent in terms of shipping and service.

I have also used www.northerntools.com many many many times! They are very inexpensive and I have used several chains from them for various projects. They usually run about $14 for 10 feet of chain.

 

[DougC]

I having a fun time replacing the chain for my bike. I ordered my kit from powerking motors which took a while but seems like a great company nonetheless.

The chain is a Chinese made chain obviously so a standard BMX chain is not going to work. I read an older thread on this forum saying the sprockets could be replaced so the BMX #41 chain could be used. Do I have to replace both sprockets? Also, Can I get a smaller tooth (36) sprocket that works for a BMX #41 chain? Any recommendations for sellers would help.

On that note, getting parts ordered seems to be alot of trouble. I checked out spookytooth but their parts inventory is lacking. A good parts resource would be most helpful.

McMaster-Carr is another place that sells roller chain by the foot.

As far as I have been able to determine, this is how it is-

#40, #41 and bicycle chains are all 1/2" pitch (distance between pin centers). The main difference is in the roller widths used.
From widest to narrowest, they are:
#40 has 5/16" wide rollers.
#41 has 1/4" wide rollers.
Older newsboy-cruiser bicycle chain uses 3/16" wide rollers.
"Modern" multi-speed bicycle chain uses 5/32" wide rollers, with newer/more-gear chains even narrower. (these are specified in metric sizes really, but they hit very close to these English units)

"BMX" chain really comes in two widths: cheap BMX bikes come with 5/32" (standard-width) chain, while better ones will have 3/16"--so if you want the 3/16", make certain to measure its width before buying.

McMaster does not carry the #415 size chain at all, but you can get it from many go-kart and minibike parts suppliers online. McMaster mostly carries only ANSI sizes, and #415 is not an ANSI size.
~

 

[mralaska]

Scroll to the bottom of this page for a decent comparison between the different chain sizes (edit- does not include BMX/bicycle chain): http://www.azusaeng.com/chain/mcyclchn.html

As far as finding chains at Lowes, you may have better luck in some stores than others. The hardware guy at the Lowes I went to looked at me like I had two heads when I said I was looking for roller chain. The only sprocket chain that store had was a twisted chain for some sort of specialized sprocket.

Northerntool has #41 chain $10/10ft but my stock 415 chain is working just fine (at least for now) since I eliminated the tensioner by using engine shims to adjust the chain.