Twisted chain- what happened, how do I stop it?

shortyman
shortyman Posts: 48
edited August 2011 in Road beginners
Hi
I was out having a lovely ride. All of about a mile in my chain fell off the chain ring. No biggy, went to pop it back on and couldn't. The whole thing was twisted and I couldn't straighten it to get it back on. A few choice words later and my hubby broke the chain, we straightened it, powerlinked it back together and got going. Trouble is for teh remainder of the ride the chain repeated came off and on one hill the whole thing just seemed to lock up despite everything looking in place when I looked down.

So I was wondering if anyone could help? What on earth happened in the first place? (For info, I was bimbling in the middle of the cassette so no extremities when I tried to change gear)
Any idea how I could have reolved it without resorting to breaking the chain?
What could be going on to fix it?

I'm still quite new to all of this, so other than checking for general wear and tear and the throw position I don't really know what to look for?

Thanks in advance for any ideas- I've got 24hrs to fix it before my first 50mile club ride!!!!
Nicky

Comments

  • merak
    merak Posts: 323
    Bizarre! My guess: frozen link. Run the chain very slowly round the drive train when the bike's on a stand and you might see it. Failing that, and assuming, the chain is correctly routed through the rear mech, new chain.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Sounds like you have a problem with either chain length, indexing and maybe rear mech hanger alignment - particularly if the chain wasn't highly stessed at the time. Suggest you get an experienced mechanic to look at your drivetrain as it could be a number of things.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • PeeDee
    PeeDee Posts: 88
    I had a similar problem only yesterday, first the front derailieur was not working well, then the chain jumped off completely with a crunch. It turned out to be a stiff link in the chain. There was some chewed up metal between the roller and the side plate on one link. I managed to work it free and limp home, but the pin wasn't very firm afterwards so I don't really trust it any more.

    The chain was fairly new and had been well lubed. Throw the chain away and buy a new one I think.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Replace the chain. You'll never get each link fully straightened and it will always be noiser and more likely to fail unexpectedly.

    The front mech might not be properly adjusted, leading to it throwing off the chain in the first place. Make sure that it is correctly set for height and alignment and then verify that the limit screws are correctly adjusted.
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  • jim453
    jim453 Posts: 1,360
    This has come up before, and I still don't understand what you mean by twisted chain.

    How can it become twisted? what does it look like when it does?

    You don't mean it has a loop in it do you?
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    jim453 wrote:
    This has come up before, and I still don't understand what you mean by twisted chain.

    How can it become twisted? what does it look like when it does?

    You don't mean it has a loop in it do you?

    I'm guessing that some of the sideplates have been bent when the chain was thrown off.
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  • shortyman
    shortyman Posts: 48
    Thanks for the thoughts. Today I shall be cleaning it to within an inch of it's life to check nothing on the cassette/ front cogs and getting a new chain. Fit that and check my limit screws. See how that goes. If still problems, next stop the bike shop for a mechanic to check it out. Shame as the chain was less than 6 months.

    Twisted, how can it happen?
    I completely agree!!!! Thus the post. The chain was no longer the straight thing running over the teeth but as a closed loop had twisted such that the side of the chain rather than the holes wanted to run over the teeth in some places- think of an Esher picture! I have no idea why, and couldn't understand why a fixed loop could get this and then not go back to the natural state without intervention. But take it from me, it wasn't going !!!

    A van had gone past a few hundred meters before and sprayed road surface at me so I'm wondering if I was really unlucky and a piece got firendly with my drivechain somewhere, making everything throw a wobbly at the next gear change.
  • PeeDee
    PeeDee Posts: 88
    Do you have a lightweight 10/11 speed chain?

    My thoughts are that the modern trend for more gears and thinner and lighter chains means so much metal has been cut away to get the chain super thin and light that they don't have the strength to withstand 'mechanical incidients' like the older chains do.

    Just a fact of life in modern cycling I think.

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