Why am I here and not riding the KK?
Put a new chain and block on yesterday as I was well over the 1mm wear factor, rattly inefficient chain. Rode at least 15 miles on it and it was fine, though I found I couldn't fit a second SRAM quicklink onto it which was odd, but not unusual as I think they're sh1te anyway.
Then on the first steep hill, after the ford, the chain snapped immediately. Fixed it ie shortened it, got up the hill then a bit further on it seized up as I could no longer get onto the largest back with middle front, so took the chain apart to free it and carried on.
Then it snapped again a bit further on - SRAM quiclink had come apart. That was enough, I put it back together and stayed on the smallest front cog and walked up the steep hills, coaxed it to Kidderminster, where it snapped again, walked it to the station and got the train home.
The chain or rather 2 1/4 chains were from a batch I got from Two Wheels in Stourbridge a few years ago, they had suffered water damage as the shop is like a leaking shack and got a little bit rusty, I got 6 or 7 for £40 as 3 of my 4 bikes take longer chains than normal. The same thing had been happening on my Xtracycle recently after I changed it, 2 identical snaps (where one side of the outer link is twisted outwards so that the pin comes out from from the attached inner link) until I changed the rear block too, it's been fine since. I'll be taking it in for an explanation as something badly wrong here - was I given 9-spd chains perhaps?
That was the only leisure ride I've been able to do this year apart from work and airports, a perfect day for it too, it's a real bumm3r. I think I'll go round to Kinver and back on my uni now instead.
