Hello travellers!
Both of my chains is quite messed up..(long story..) I am in a small town in Tanzania right now and find a chain with the "name" H20 and the size 1/2" + 3/32". If I buy that chain, will it take me the 1000 k's to Lusaka...? I dont know if it will fit at all, I have LX/Deore stuff (9 "gears" at the back and 3 in the front) Or is it better to continue with the chains I alrady have? Both of them are to short so I cant use all the gears properly..
thanks
/Lars
tulkas
1
tagemi
Hej Lars, I'm not a bike expert at all so this may be of no use, but according to my catalog 9 "gears" at the back should have 1/2" x 11/128" chain with 116 links, while 1/2" x 3/32" with 114 links is for 6-8 "gears". I guess you'll at least need 116 links for it to work properly, don't know if 3/32" will work.
2
cdc
Since you don't say exactly what's wrong with your existing chains, it's not entirely clear, but can you combine "good" parts of your two existing chains into one new one that's long enough? You'll need a chain tool to do this, of course. One good reason to do this is that if your existing chains have "stretched" (worn, actually) your gears have probably worn to match. I find that unless I replace it early, when I replace a chain the new one starts "skipping".
There are two major widths of chain; 3/32" is the right one for most derailleur bikes, but as tagemi notes, 9-gear clusters prefer chains with that interior width but that are narrower on the outside due to thinner walls. Check this discussion and the links at the bottom of that page.
If I were you I'd buy the new chain anyway; as bike parts go, chains are pretty cheap, and it gives you options if things get worse out where there aren't any new chains at all.
(also not a pro bike mechanic or anything, so I could be full of it)
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