Chain and stiff links question

[Pedal Castro]

I recently (<1000km) put a new 11s chain on my road bike which I rarely allow to get wet. New new I have only used Squirt as a lubricant, which has worked well as far as I could tell. However, on Sunday the chain developed a stiff link which I sorted by pushing the pin in slightly to expand the spacing between the outer plates. Since then I have had to repeat this exercise every 30-40 miles or so. I am not sure if it the same link but I suspect not. Is this issue caused by the Squirt? I have never had this issue before but never used this particular lubricant before either. 

[Biggsy]

Lack of lube would have to be really extreme to be solely responsible for a stiff link, but maybe that's what you've got for all I know.  What do the rest of the links feel like now when pivoted by hand?  Dry as a bone?

You should make sure it's not the same link each time - by marking the offending link or counting its position from a distinctive other link if there is one.  (I'd put a scratch on it, personally, but people will complain that's a stress riser).

I haven't used Squirt.  I have tried other "dry" wax stuff - not great lubrication but was some lubrication.  I wouldn't have minded the need to frequently reapply if it was as clean as claimed.  It wasn't.   There are no magic answers for chain lube, I'm afraid.

[Brucey]

IIRC you are meant to clean the chain completely (i.e remove all other lube inside and out) before using squirt.  Quite what will happen if you don't do this is anyone's guess, but one possibility is that it leaves the chain liable to suffer problems if you don't.

BTW speaking of guessing, it might help if you say what kind of chain it is and how it is joined.

cheers

[Hot Flatus]

Very odd.

Given that a snapped chain means at the very least cracking your nuts on the top tube, but probably worse, I'd scrap the chain.

[Samuel D]

IIRC you are meant to clean the chain completely (i.e remove all other lube inside and out) before using squirt.  Quite what will happen if you don't do this is anyone's guess …

I used Squirt (for a few months*), once applying it to a new KMC X8.93 on top of whatever factory lubricant that chain comes with. The result was an unbelievable gunge that felt draggy even when pedalling down the road (not just when turning the cranks backward by hand).

So how stiff are these stiff links, Pedal Castro? Just highly viscous or mechanically binding? If the former, it’s probably just Squirt reacting with existing lubricant, which, as Brucey says, should be thoroughly removed first.



* As Biggsy found with other dry lubricants, Squirt is not as clean as claimed. Furthermore, although it tests very well in the laboratory for low friction, I found it to be draggier than cheap oil after a few hundred kilometres of typical dirt. Since I’m not willing to deep-clean my chain every 300 km (about once a week for me), that put an end to my experimentation with Squirt. Besides, it’s simply too expensive for my taste, not least because it has to be so frequently reapplied whether or not you deep-clean the chain before doing so. But don’t let all this put you off. Just make sure you apply it to a degreased chain.

[Pedal Castro]

The answer your question, as stiff as a ... on second thoughts let's not go there, mechanically binding for sure.

Update:: I used a chain tool to push the pin through even more before leaving work tonight and that seems to have fixed it. I am thinking just one link hàd been damaged by a stone so I will remove the now slightly bent link and replace it with a quick link.

[Ham]

Is this a KMC chain? My limited experience of 11 speed KMC includes that of a link breaking with not much more than 1,000 miles on it. The investigation by KMC (who, to their credit, replaced the chain FOC directly) was "something happened".

My conclusion is that 11 speed chains have different rules; I'm swayed towards Shimano style after that experience.

[Brucey]

I dunno for sure that this applies to all 11s ones but KMC make lots of chains for shimano.

cheers

[Pedal Castro]

Is this a KMC chain? My limited experience of 11 speed KMC includes that of a link breaking with not much more than 1,000 miles on it. The investigation by KMC (who, to their credit, replaced the chain FOC directly) was "something happened".

My conclusion is that 11 speed chains have different rules; I'm swayed towards Shimano style after that experience.

Yep, KMC 11s, thinking about it, the previous KMC chain on this bike also had a problem with jumping gears which I found was due to warped outer plate. On that occasion a pinch with a pair of pliers sorted it and the chain was fine to the end of its natural life.

[Pedal Castro]

Update: riding up a 14% out of the saddle I heard a twang so immediately stopped and saw that the problem link was not long for this world so I squeezed it tight with my chain tool, which I don't normally ride with but it did anticipate needing it, and twiddled up to hill to the car. Back at the hotel and new chain fitted ready for tomorrow's race. These modern chains are just crap!

[frankly frankie]

I wouldn't let a chain tool anywhere near an 11-sp chain.  Not if I was thinking of riding it afterwards.

Given that a snapped chain means at the very least cracking your nuts on the top tube, but probably worse, I'd scrap the chain.

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