Hey All!
Thought You Would Be Interested In Some Pics Of What Chain Stretch Actually Looks Like Just For Reference. My Last Few Times Out On The Bike Were Less Than Stellar. One Day The Chain Threw Off Once On My Way To Work. No Biggy. Next Time Out It Left Me 2 Times. One Was At A Very Inopportune Time Just Coming Through An Intersection. The Last Time Out I Spent About 20 Miles Stopping Every Couple Of Miles To Re-install The Chain 'till Finally I Had To Limp Home The Last 3-4 Miles At About 10-15mph And Some Pedal Assist. (pedal Assist! Disgusting!) Fortunately My Setup Allows Me To Reinstall A Chain In Less Than 5 Min. Still, It Was A Very Frustrating Day.
I Suspected Chain Wear (stretch) But Couldn't Confirm Right Away Until I Got The Replacement Chain. The Old Chain Could Be Pulled Link-to-link And The Stretch Could Be Seen At The Sprockets As Tooth Alignment Was Very Sloppy. Didn't Seem Normal. The Old Chain Felt Waaay To Sloppy Side-to-side Also And Some Links Were Not Actually Stiff But I Could Feel Drag In The Movement. Also Not What I Remember It Being Like. When I Got The New Chain And Started Comparing, I Just Had To Photograph Them Together And Share Here.
This Is Bmx Chain From My Lbs. The Original Is About 1 Year Old/1800-ish Miles.
*1st Pic Shows Chains Side By Side Next To Tape Measure (boring)
*next, You Can See They Are Both Starting Out The Same. (more Boring)
*by 28 Inches On The Tape, You Can See The Two Are About 1/2 Link Apart.
*by The End Of The Chain They Are 1 Full Link Apart! Can't Imagine Why It Was Jumping Off The Sprockets???
As Further Reference, Look At The Bend Comparison Between The Two Chains. Old One On The Top Of The Photo; New Chain On The Bottom.
As A Matter Of Maintenance, I Replaced The Drive Sprocket Although It Didn't Show Any Abnormal Wear. I'll Keep It As A Spare For Now.
Moral Of This Story: I Guess I'll Be Checking/replacing My Chain More Often. 6 Months/ 1500 Miles; Whichever Comes 1st. Cheap Enough Insurance / Maintenance Item ~$9 At Lbs.
Hope This Helps Someone If You Experience Chain Throwing Problems. Something (else) To Check Anyway.
(PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE PHOTO DATES. MY CAMERA RESETS ITSELF WHEN BATTERIES ARE REPLACED. DATE IS FEB. 27, 2010)
Thought You Would Be Interested In Some Pics Of What Chain Stretch Actually Looks Like Just For Reference. My Last Few Times Out On The Bike Were Less Than Stellar. One Day The Chain Threw Off Once On My Way To Work. No Biggy. Next Time Out It Left Me 2 Times. One Was At A Very Inopportune Time Just Coming Through An Intersection. The Last Time Out I Spent About 20 Miles Stopping Every Couple Of Miles To Re-install The Chain 'till Finally I Had To Limp Home The Last 3-4 Miles At About 10-15mph And Some Pedal Assist. (pedal Assist! Disgusting!) Fortunately My Setup Allows Me To Reinstall A Chain In Less Than 5 Min. Still, It Was A Very Frustrating Day.
I Suspected Chain Wear (stretch) But Couldn't Confirm Right Away Until I Got The Replacement Chain. The Old Chain Could Be Pulled Link-to-link And The Stretch Could Be Seen At The Sprockets As Tooth Alignment Was Very Sloppy. Didn't Seem Normal. The Old Chain Felt Waaay To Sloppy Side-to-side Also And Some Links Were Not Actually Stiff But I Could Feel Drag In The Movement. Also Not What I Remember It Being Like. When I Got The New Chain And Started Comparing, I Just Had To Photograph Them Together And Share Here.
This Is Bmx Chain From My Lbs. The Original Is About 1 Year Old/1800-ish Miles.
*1st Pic Shows Chains Side By Side Next To Tape Measure (boring)
*next, You Can See They Are Both Starting Out The Same. (more Boring)
*by 28 Inches On The Tape, You Can See The Two Are About 1/2 Link Apart.
*by The End Of The Chain They Are 1 Full Link Apart! Can't Imagine Why It Was Jumping Off The Sprockets???
As Further Reference, Look At The Bend Comparison Between The Two Chains. Old One On The Top Of The Photo; New Chain On The Bottom.
As A Matter Of Maintenance, I Replaced The Drive Sprocket Although It Didn't Show Any Abnormal Wear. I'll Keep It As A Spare For Now.
Moral Of This Story: I Guess I'll Be Checking/replacing My Chain More Often. 6 Months/ 1500 Miles; Whichever Comes 1st. Cheap Enough Insurance / Maintenance Item ~$9 At Lbs.
Hope This Helps Someone If You Experience Chain Throwing Problems. Something (else) To Check Anyway.
(PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE PHOTO DATES. MY CAMERA RESETS ITSELF WHEN BATTERIES ARE REPLACED. DATE IS FEB. 27, 2010)
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