Chains vs sidehops.

[Jake.]

Riiiiiightio same old chain topic again, but slightly different.

I'm a lefty, sidehop to righty, failed sides = battered chain. My current Z610 seems to be coloured white/red with bits of wall, I'm worried this will compromise the strength loads. Because of this, I was looking at getting a beefier chain, a Z710 to be precise, which is 1/8 compared to 3/32.

However, after reading a couple of "which chain shall I get?" topics on here, EVERYONE points at the Z610, literally everyone. I asked if the Z710 was better in one topic, and this was the reply from Adam@Tarty "They are fine, but the Z610 is better. Wider doesn't necessarily mean stronger." and Ghostrider88 explaining why the Z610 is better "They stretch less(remain strong longer) and are lighter."...

Opinions?

[trials hoe]

my 710 hasn't stretched a whisker since i put it on, but in theory a wider pin width chain will have more flex than a narrower one....so a 710 will be weaker than a 610. but with impacts, a wider chain would distribute the force over a bigger area so a wider chain will cope with more abuse in my way of thinking.

but chain vs wall is never going to be good haha and bits of wall between the link plates of the chain will mean lots of wear too. but so long as you don't knock any of the outer plates off the chain when failing it shouldn't be a major issue, unless you don't replace chains often enough for the wear to be a factor......impacts will weaken the chain too, but if its such a preoblem you could mod a chorrilas disc protector thing to the drive side and use it to shield your sprocket/chain from any offending walls.

never think about cracking your sprocket from failed hops?

Edited May 1, 2013 by trials hoe

[WIGAN ??]

just get a gusset tank chain and forget about it

[Jake.]

my 710 hasn't stretched a whisker since i put it on, but in theory a wider pin width chain will have more flex than a narrower one....so a 710 will be weaker than a 610. but with impacts, a wider chain would distribute the force over a bigger area so a wider chain will cope with more abuse in my way of thinking.

but chain vs wall is never going to be good haha and bits of wall between the link plates of the chain will mean lots of wear too. but so long as you don't knock any of the outer plates off the chain when failing it shouldn't be a major issue, unless you don't replace chains often enough for the wear to be a factor......impacts will weaken the chain too, but if its such a preoblem you could mod a chorrilas disc protector thing to the drive side and use it to shield your sprocket/chain from any offending walls.

never think about cracking your sprocket from failed hops?

Yeah in theory it has more flex but it's thicker so shouldn't do? My 610 stretched when I first had it on the limey 4 back in January, but stopped after a few rides...

Chain seems fine, just lots of marks and bits of brick haha. If I run my finger over it it'll turn a bit white from bits of wall, which is never good. I used to just run whatever chain I had but now that I'm doing bigger stuff and putting more power into the drivechain it's got me thinking more. And nah sprockets fine, it's a beefy as f**k one.

just get a gusset tank chain and forget about it

May have to.

[Mark W]

my 710 hasn't stretched a whisker since i put it on

That's impossible.

If you specifically want a wider chain, there's the Z510 HX. The difference in strength is pretty marginal though. Unless your chain's actually showing signs of the plates being properly damaged, a bit of brickdusty stuff isn't so bad. Before I got my bashring I landed on a wall with my Z510HX quite a few times and it didn't damage it. If the top of the plates gets mashed over and starts to make it appear to have stiff links or anything like that then it might be worth getting rid, but if it's working and doesn't seem too badly affected you could probably get away with it...

[aener]

Ignore Mark. He's completely wrong.

No bicycle chains are strong enough to withstand use on our bicycles. I was thinking about motorbike chains, but had clearance issues.

Brick-dust on a chain after crushing it in to bricks is a sign of imminent failure - you should definitely do something about it. I'd recommend finding the most expensive, heaviest chain you can and changing them every three weeks maximum.

Brakeless puts a lot of stress on chains, so I've been thinking of converting my drivetrain components to accommodate on of these:

It'll be tricky, but it might work out. Just hope this one's actually strong enough! Probably isn't though.

[Jake.]

Looks good mate, where can I order it?

[aener]

There's no official UK importers, so your best bet is eBay, unfortunately.

[inthesystem]

you want a gusset tank, fin.

[Rusevelt]

This is pretty heavy duty http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=46499

[inthesystem]

This is pretty heavy duty http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=46499

thats what i run! its a rebranded gusset tank!

[Rusevelt]

For a fraction of the price.

Guess you need to keep it heavily lube up to avoid the links going stiff.

[Blake]

I land on my z510HX all the time, works fine still

510's are proper meaty and cheap, but stretch a bit when you first get them. I've always ran them over z610's. Not sure why, I just always have.

[gage-mann]

510's seem to take more of a beating for us leftys than the 610's

[dezmtber]

910

[FamilyBiker]

wippermann 7R8!

i said it before,i know...lol

well,nother day nother try.haha

honestly,never snapped one of those despite it being declared as worn down by my rohloff caliper measure thingy,ridden one for a half year after the day i measured it,simply because i forgot about it...

edit:i also took one apart,the rolls are bushed,awesome

Edited May 1, 2013 by FamilyBiker