Why is an old chain unsafe?4 year old alivio 8 speed rear gears - compatible chainNew Chain causing skipping on cassette - will this work itself out or is it unsafe?Why does chain slip when I move my pedals?Mechanic says not to use top three/bottom two gears or the chain will throwReplaced chain, bike makes grinding noise?Why bother changing a chain?Old chain still shifting perfectly, should I change it out?New chain, pedal power seems weakerBroken stem tube – LBS “just” lowered handlebars. Is this safe?(Apparent) chain slippage causes on new bike - usual culprits already eliminated
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Why is an old chain unsafe?
4 year old alivio 8 speed rear gears - compatible chainNew Chain causing skipping on cassette - will this work itself out or is it unsafe?Why does chain slip when I move my pedals?Mechanic says not to use top three/bottom two gears or the chain will throwReplaced chain, bike makes grinding noise?Why bother changing a chain?Old chain still shifting perfectly, should I change it out?New chain, pedal power seems weakerBroken stem tube – LBS “just” lowered handlebars. Is this safe?(Apparent) chain slippage causes on new bike - usual culprits already eliminated
I recently took my bike in for a service and the mechanic urged me to replace my chain, potentially at great cost (might need a new wheel). He said it might jam or pop off. He couldn't explain to me why my safety might be threatened but repeatedly asserted that it would be threatened.
So, why exactly is an old stretched chain a safety issue? How exactly might I be more likely to crash because of this?
chain safety
New contributor
|
show 1 more comment
I recently took my bike in for a service and the mechanic urged me to replace my chain, potentially at great cost (might need a new wheel). He said it might jam or pop off. He couldn't explain to me why my safety might be threatened but repeatedly asserted that it would be threatened.
So, why exactly is an old stretched chain a safety issue? How exactly might I be more likely to crash because of this?
chain safety
New contributor
I don't know why you'd need a new wheel, unless the sprocket cluster needs replacing and the mechanic bungles things getting it off.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
1
The worst danger you face is the chain could jump off and jam the wheel, but that's more a function of derailer adjustment than chain/sprocket condition. More likely your chain would jam through one of several mechanisms and the crank would "lock" (or, alternatively, "slip"). If this happens at an inconvenient time (eg, in traffic or on a hill) it could result in injury.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
2
If your mechanic said that part of replacing a chain may include a new wheel it may be time to find a new mechanic.
– David D
6 hours ago
He must say that for liability reasons (if he didn't and you lose your balance when the chain jams or slips and bruise your pinkie you could otherwise sue him.)
– Peter A. Schneider
1 hour ago
1
Is it possible the mechanic said "you need a new freewheel"?
– shoover
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
I recently took my bike in for a service and the mechanic urged me to replace my chain, potentially at great cost (might need a new wheel). He said it might jam or pop off. He couldn't explain to me why my safety might be threatened but repeatedly asserted that it would be threatened.
So, why exactly is an old stretched chain a safety issue? How exactly might I be more likely to crash because of this?
chain safety
New contributor
I recently took my bike in for a service and the mechanic urged me to replace my chain, potentially at great cost (might need a new wheel). He said it might jam or pop off. He couldn't explain to me why my safety might be threatened but repeatedly asserted that it would be threatened.
So, why exactly is an old stretched chain a safety issue? How exactly might I be more likely to crash because of this?
chain safety
chain safety
New contributor
New contributor
New contributor
asked 9 hours ago
kennyBkennyB
1061
1061
New contributor
New contributor
I don't know why you'd need a new wheel, unless the sprocket cluster needs replacing and the mechanic bungles things getting it off.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
1
The worst danger you face is the chain could jump off and jam the wheel, but that's more a function of derailer adjustment than chain/sprocket condition. More likely your chain would jam through one of several mechanisms and the crank would "lock" (or, alternatively, "slip"). If this happens at an inconvenient time (eg, in traffic or on a hill) it could result in injury.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
2
If your mechanic said that part of replacing a chain may include a new wheel it may be time to find a new mechanic.
– David D
6 hours ago
He must say that for liability reasons (if he didn't and you lose your balance when the chain jams or slips and bruise your pinkie you could otherwise sue him.)
– Peter A. Schneider
1 hour ago
1
Is it possible the mechanic said "you need a new freewheel"?
– shoover
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
I don't know why you'd need a new wheel, unless the sprocket cluster needs replacing and the mechanic bungles things getting it off.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
1
The worst danger you face is the chain could jump off and jam the wheel, but that's more a function of derailer adjustment than chain/sprocket condition. More likely your chain would jam through one of several mechanisms and the crank would "lock" (or, alternatively, "slip"). If this happens at an inconvenient time (eg, in traffic or on a hill) it could result in injury.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
2
If your mechanic said that part of replacing a chain may include a new wheel it may be time to find a new mechanic.
– David D
6 hours ago
He must say that for liability reasons (if he didn't and you lose your balance when the chain jams or slips and bruise your pinkie you could otherwise sue him.)
– Peter A. Schneider
1 hour ago
1
Is it possible the mechanic said "you need a new freewheel"?
– shoover
1 hour ago
I don't know why you'd need a new wheel, unless the sprocket cluster needs replacing and the mechanic bungles things getting it off.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
I don't know why you'd need a new wheel, unless the sprocket cluster needs replacing and the mechanic bungles things getting it off.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
1
1
The worst danger you face is the chain could jump off and jam the wheel, but that's more a function of derailer adjustment than chain/sprocket condition. More likely your chain would jam through one of several mechanisms and the crank would "lock" (or, alternatively, "slip"). If this happens at an inconvenient time (eg, in traffic or on a hill) it could result in injury.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
The worst danger you face is the chain could jump off and jam the wheel, but that's more a function of derailer adjustment than chain/sprocket condition. More likely your chain would jam through one of several mechanisms and the crank would "lock" (or, alternatively, "slip"). If this happens at an inconvenient time (eg, in traffic or on a hill) it could result in injury.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
2
2
If your mechanic said that part of replacing a chain may include a new wheel it may be time to find a new mechanic.
– David D
6 hours ago
If your mechanic said that part of replacing a chain may include a new wheel it may be time to find a new mechanic.
– David D
6 hours ago
He must say that for liability reasons (if he didn't and you lose your balance when the chain jams or slips and bruise your pinkie you could otherwise sue him.)
– Peter A. Schneider
1 hour ago
He must say that for liability reasons (if he didn't and you lose your balance when the chain jams or slips and bruise your pinkie you could otherwise sue him.)
– Peter A. Schneider
1 hour ago
1
1
Is it possible the mechanic said "you need a new freewheel"?
– shoover
1 hour ago
Is it possible the mechanic said "you need a new freewheel"?
– shoover
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
A worn, stretched chain will accelerate wear on sprocket and chainring teeth. There will then be a greater chance that the chain will slip off of and override the sprocket teeth as you apply a power stroke through the crank. When this happens the pedal and your foot suddenly slips downward, which could throw you off the bike, especially if you were off the saddle and standing on the pedals.
A new chain is not usually regarded as a 'great cost'. They are not cheap but not expensive either. There's no reason you need a new wheel, unless there are other problems of course. You probably do need a new cassette though.
Whether you need to replace the chain and cassette depends on your situation, your bike and how you ride. If you have a quality bike, do a lot of miles and want an efficient drivetrain you absolutely should replace it. If you do a few casual miles occasionally and are not experiencing any problems you can probably get away with leaving it as it is.
2
I'm guessing the asker has a fairly low-specced bike, since most people who have nicer equipment know more about it. In that case, a new chain shouldn't cost more than about 10 dollars/euro/pounds, which is pretty cheap.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
add a comment |
As chains stretch, they wear the chainrings and rear cogs and the teeth on them start to become pointed and eventually don't grip the chain so well. The danger is that, when you push on the pedals, the chain slips from tooth to tooth on the chainring, which turns with much less resistance than you were expecting – you just have the friction of the chain slipping against the teeth, rather than the resistance of you driving the bike forwards. When the pedals suddenly turn much easier than you were expecting, you can very easily fall off the bike, especially if you were pushing hard, which is the time the chain is most likely to slip. Any time you fall off the bike while you're just cycling along in traffic is a potential under-a-truck moment. To some extent, you can mitigate this by cycling gently but there's always the risk that you try to pedal hard in some kind of emergency situation, forget that you can't do that, and come off.
Having said that, there is something a little confusing. Maybe you just misunderstood your mechanic, but there's no reason that you should require a new wheel, unless that's completely independent from your need for a new chain. However, you may well need new chainrings and new rear cogs: because the stretched chain wears them to match itself, they'll also skip with a new chain.
Assuming you're using fairly low-end components (because people who have higher-end components tend to know more about their bike than you do) I'd expect a new chain to cost about 10 dollars/pounds/euros ("about" means the currency unit doesn't matter much among those), new rear cogs to be about 25 and new chainrings maybe 30ish. Plus labour.
Agreed. Just want to point out that for nicer components (e.g. a recent 11 speed Ultegra or SRAM Force group) you can pretty much double the price estimates.
– Michael
4 hours ago
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
A worn, stretched chain will accelerate wear on sprocket and chainring teeth. There will then be a greater chance that the chain will slip off of and override the sprocket teeth as you apply a power stroke through the crank. When this happens the pedal and your foot suddenly slips downward, which could throw you off the bike, especially if you were off the saddle and standing on the pedals.
A new chain is not usually regarded as a 'great cost'. They are not cheap but not expensive either. There's no reason you need a new wheel, unless there are other problems of course. You probably do need a new cassette though.
Whether you need to replace the chain and cassette depends on your situation, your bike and how you ride. If you have a quality bike, do a lot of miles and want an efficient drivetrain you absolutely should replace it. If you do a few casual miles occasionally and are not experiencing any problems you can probably get away with leaving it as it is.
2
I'm guessing the asker has a fairly low-specced bike, since most people who have nicer equipment know more about it. In that case, a new chain shouldn't cost more than about 10 dollars/euro/pounds, which is pretty cheap.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
add a comment |
A worn, stretched chain will accelerate wear on sprocket and chainring teeth. There will then be a greater chance that the chain will slip off of and override the sprocket teeth as you apply a power stroke through the crank. When this happens the pedal and your foot suddenly slips downward, which could throw you off the bike, especially if you were off the saddle and standing on the pedals.
A new chain is not usually regarded as a 'great cost'. They are not cheap but not expensive either. There's no reason you need a new wheel, unless there are other problems of course. You probably do need a new cassette though.
Whether you need to replace the chain and cassette depends on your situation, your bike and how you ride. If you have a quality bike, do a lot of miles and want an efficient drivetrain you absolutely should replace it. If you do a few casual miles occasionally and are not experiencing any problems you can probably get away with leaving it as it is.
2
I'm guessing the asker has a fairly low-specced bike, since most people who have nicer equipment know more about it. In that case, a new chain shouldn't cost more than about 10 dollars/euro/pounds, which is pretty cheap.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
add a comment |
A worn, stretched chain will accelerate wear on sprocket and chainring teeth. There will then be a greater chance that the chain will slip off of and override the sprocket teeth as you apply a power stroke through the crank. When this happens the pedal and your foot suddenly slips downward, which could throw you off the bike, especially if you were off the saddle and standing on the pedals.
A new chain is not usually regarded as a 'great cost'. They are not cheap but not expensive either. There's no reason you need a new wheel, unless there are other problems of course. You probably do need a new cassette though.
Whether you need to replace the chain and cassette depends on your situation, your bike and how you ride. If you have a quality bike, do a lot of miles and want an efficient drivetrain you absolutely should replace it. If you do a few casual miles occasionally and are not experiencing any problems you can probably get away with leaving it as it is.
A worn, stretched chain will accelerate wear on sprocket and chainring teeth. There will then be a greater chance that the chain will slip off of and override the sprocket teeth as you apply a power stroke through the crank. When this happens the pedal and your foot suddenly slips downward, which could throw you off the bike, especially if you were off the saddle and standing on the pedals.
A new chain is not usually regarded as a 'great cost'. They are not cheap but not expensive either. There's no reason you need a new wheel, unless there are other problems of course. You probably do need a new cassette though.
Whether you need to replace the chain and cassette depends on your situation, your bike and how you ride. If you have a quality bike, do a lot of miles and want an efficient drivetrain you absolutely should replace it. If you do a few casual miles occasionally and are not experiencing any problems you can probably get away with leaving it as it is.
answered 9 hours ago
Argenti ApparatusArgenti Apparatus
37.3k23892
37.3k23892
2
I'm guessing the asker has a fairly low-specced bike, since most people who have nicer equipment know more about it. In that case, a new chain shouldn't cost more than about 10 dollars/euro/pounds, which is pretty cheap.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
add a comment |
2
I'm guessing the asker has a fairly low-specced bike, since most people who have nicer equipment know more about it. In that case, a new chain shouldn't cost more than about 10 dollars/euro/pounds, which is pretty cheap.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
2
2
I'm guessing the asker has a fairly low-specced bike, since most people who have nicer equipment know more about it. In that case, a new chain shouldn't cost more than about 10 dollars/euro/pounds, which is pretty cheap.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
I'm guessing the asker has a fairly low-specced bike, since most people who have nicer equipment know more about it. In that case, a new chain shouldn't cost more than about 10 dollars/euro/pounds, which is pretty cheap.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
add a comment |
As chains stretch, they wear the chainrings and rear cogs and the teeth on them start to become pointed and eventually don't grip the chain so well. The danger is that, when you push on the pedals, the chain slips from tooth to tooth on the chainring, which turns with much less resistance than you were expecting – you just have the friction of the chain slipping against the teeth, rather than the resistance of you driving the bike forwards. When the pedals suddenly turn much easier than you were expecting, you can very easily fall off the bike, especially if you were pushing hard, which is the time the chain is most likely to slip. Any time you fall off the bike while you're just cycling along in traffic is a potential under-a-truck moment. To some extent, you can mitigate this by cycling gently but there's always the risk that you try to pedal hard in some kind of emergency situation, forget that you can't do that, and come off.
Having said that, there is something a little confusing. Maybe you just misunderstood your mechanic, but there's no reason that you should require a new wheel, unless that's completely independent from your need for a new chain. However, you may well need new chainrings and new rear cogs: because the stretched chain wears them to match itself, they'll also skip with a new chain.
Assuming you're using fairly low-end components (because people who have higher-end components tend to know more about their bike than you do) I'd expect a new chain to cost about 10 dollars/pounds/euros ("about" means the currency unit doesn't matter much among those), new rear cogs to be about 25 and new chainrings maybe 30ish. Plus labour.
Agreed. Just want to point out that for nicer components (e.g. a recent 11 speed Ultegra or SRAM Force group) you can pretty much double the price estimates.
– Michael
4 hours ago
add a comment |
As chains stretch, they wear the chainrings and rear cogs and the teeth on them start to become pointed and eventually don't grip the chain so well. The danger is that, when you push on the pedals, the chain slips from tooth to tooth on the chainring, which turns with much less resistance than you were expecting – you just have the friction of the chain slipping against the teeth, rather than the resistance of you driving the bike forwards. When the pedals suddenly turn much easier than you were expecting, you can very easily fall off the bike, especially if you were pushing hard, which is the time the chain is most likely to slip. Any time you fall off the bike while you're just cycling along in traffic is a potential under-a-truck moment. To some extent, you can mitigate this by cycling gently but there's always the risk that you try to pedal hard in some kind of emergency situation, forget that you can't do that, and come off.
Having said that, there is something a little confusing. Maybe you just misunderstood your mechanic, but there's no reason that you should require a new wheel, unless that's completely independent from your need for a new chain. However, you may well need new chainrings and new rear cogs: because the stretched chain wears them to match itself, they'll also skip with a new chain.
Assuming you're using fairly low-end components (because people who have higher-end components tend to know more about their bike than you do) I'd expect a new chain to cost about 10 dollars/pounds/euros ("about" means the currency unit doesn't matter much among those), new rear cogs to be about 25 and new chainrings maybe 30ish. Plus labour.
Agreed. Just want to point out that for nicer components (e.g. a recent 11 speed Ultegra or SRAM Force group) you can pretty much double the price estimates.
– Michael
4 hours ago
add a comment |
As chains stretch, they wear the chainrings and rear cogs and the teeth on them start to become pointed and eventually don't grip the chain so well. The danger is that, when you push on the pedals, the chain slips from tooth to tooth on the chainring, which turns with much less resistance than you were expecting – you just have the friction of the chain slipping against the teeth, rather than the resistance of you driving the bike forwards. When the pedals suddenly turn much easier than you were expecting, you can very easily fall off the bike, especially if you were pushing hard, which is the time the chain is most likely to slip. Any time you fall off the bike while you're just cycling along in traffic is a potential under-a-truck moment. To some extent, you can mitigate this by cycling gently but there's always the risk that you try to pedal hard in some kind of emergency situation, forget that you can't do that, and come off.
Having said that, there is something a little confusing. Maybe you just misunderstood your mechanic, but there's no reason that you should require a new wheel, unless that's completely independent from your need for a new chain. However, you may well need new chainrings and new rear cogs: because the stretched chain wears them to match itself, they'll also skip with a new chain.
Assuming you're using fairly low-end components (because people who have higher-end components tend to know more about their bike than you do) I'd expect a new chain to cost about 10 dollars/pounds/euros ("about" means the currency unit doesn't matter much among those), new rear cogs to be about 25 and new chainrings maybe 30ish. Plus labour.
As chains stretch, they wear the chainrings and rear cogs and the teeth on them start to become pointed and eventually don't grip the chain so well. The danger is that, when you push on the pedals, the chain slips from tooth to tooth on the chainring, which turns with much less resistance than you were expecting – you just have the friction of the chain slipping against the teeth, rather than the resistance of you driving the bike forwards. When the pedals suddenly turn much easier than you were expecting, you can very easily fall off the bike, especially if you were pushing hard, which is the time the chain is most likely to slip. Any time you fall off the bike while you're just cycling along in traffic is a potential under-a-truck moment. To some extent, you can mitigate this by cycling gently but there's always the risk that you try to pedal hard in some kind of emergency situation, forget that you can't do that, and come off.
Having said that, there is something a little confusing. Maybe you just misunderstood your mechanic, but there's no reason that you should require a new wheel, unless that's completely independent from your need for a new chain. However, you may well need new chainrings and new rear cogs: because the stretched chain wears them to match itself, they'll also skip with a new chain.
Assuming you're using fairly low-end components (because people who have higher-end components tend to know more about their bike than you do) I'd expect a new chain to cost about 10 dollars/pounds/euros ("about" means the currency unit doesn't matter much among those), new rear cogs to be about 25 and new chainrings maybe 30ish. Plus labour.
answered 6 hours ago
David RicherbyDavid Richerby
13.3k33467
13.3k33467
Agreed. Just want to point out that for nicer components (e.g. a recent 11 speed Ultegra or SRAM Force group) you can pretty much double the price estimates.
– Michael
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Agreed. Just want to point out that for nicer components (e.g. a recent 11 speed Ultegra or SRAM Force group) you can pretty much double the price estimates.
– Michael
4 hours ago
Agreed. Just want to point out that for nicer components (e.g. a recent 11 speed Ultegra or SRAM Force group) you can pretty much double the price estimates.
– Michael
4 hours ago
Agreed. Just want to point out that for nicer components (e.g. a recent 11 speed Ultegra or SRAM Force group) you can pretty much double the price estimates.
– Michael
4 hours ago
add a comment |
kennyB is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
kennyB is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
kennyB is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
kennyB is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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I don't know why you'd need a new wheel, unless the sprocket cluster needs replacing and the mechanic bungles things getting it off.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
1
The worst danger you face is the chain could jump off and jam the wheel, but that's more a function of derailer adjustment than chain/sprocket condition. More likely your chain would jam through one of several mechanisms and the crank would "lock" (or, alternatively, "slip"). If this happens at an inconvenient time (eg, in traffic or on a hill) it could result in injury.
– Daniel R Hicks
7 hours ago
2
If your mechanic said that part of replacing a chain may include a new wheel it may be time to find a new mechanic.
– David D
6 hours ago
He must say that for liability reasons (if he didn't and you lose your balance when the chain jams or slips and bruise your pinkie you could otherwise sue him.)
– Peter A. Schneider
1 hour ago
1
Is it possible the mechanic said "you need a new freewheel"?
– shoover
1 hour ago