# half link chains are brill!!



## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (28 Jun 2009)

*.*

.


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## dan_bo (30 Jun 2009)

And they look ace as well.


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## Radius (30 Jun 2009)

Until they break, and stretch at about double the speed of a normal chain.


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## dan_bo (1 Jul 2009)

Radius said:


> Until they break, and stretch at about double the speed of a normal chain.



eh?


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## Radius (1 Jul 2009)

Perhaps an overzealous statement, but those are the reports I've heard of riders running halflink chains. If you can't get the magic gear though, it may well be your only option


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## dan_bo (1 Jul 2009)

I've been running one on me trackie for 6 months or so and it's been fine. Not sure i'd want one for finding a magic gear though. Then again, i'm not sure i'd want to be running a magic gear..........


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## Radius (1 Jul 2009)

You most likely wouldn't ever need one on a track bike...


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## RedBike (1 Jul 2009)

I'm glad the bikes finally sorted. Did you find your creak?

As for purring. lol, the thing I like most about the fixie is that it is completely silent!


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## kyuss (1 Jul 2009)

Radius said:


> Until they break, and stretch at about double the speed of a normal chain.



Not sure about the breaking but I'd wholeheartedly agree with the stretching. Mine was fit for the bin after only 400 or so miles. Took a chainring with it on it's way out too (though that seemed to be made from cheese). Bloody noisy it was as well.


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## dan_bo (1 Jul 2009)

So is this a half- link chain thing or a brand of half link chain thing?


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## RedBike (1 Jul 2009)

Yours is on a spotless track bike Danbo. Perhaps they only wear quickly when used in muddy conditions on a MTB? (Not good for the OP).


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## kyuss (1 Jul 2009)

Well, mine was a Gusset Slink. Pretty cheap to be honest but I was shocked at how quickly it wore out. I guess more expensive ones might be more durable.

I'm not sure of the exact science but I believe chain stretch on half links chains is something to do with the fact that they are essentially an inner and outer plate in one link and although the wear on the pins (which is what causes the stretch) is the same on both a regular chain and a half link, with a half link you're spreading the wear across 1/2 inch instead of 1 inch so the stretch effect is doubled.

Or something like that.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (1 Jul 2009)

chain stretch doesn't matter to me, i have a tensioner fitted. for me it's great. redbike, no not yet, need to get out on wet day so the caked on mud will soften so i can clean and strip properly, i think you may be right about the breaking from the rear suss links. i sprayed a bit of wd40 and it wasn't as noisy.

as for trashing a chain and ring more often. bear in mind i was running full xtr set up which cost a bloody fortune so even if i go thru 5 a year i'm still quids in.


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## Joe24 (1 Jul 2009)

They look pretty shitty anyway i think.
Normal chain looks much more elegant.
Might just be me though........


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## Joe24 (1 Jul 2009)

shauncollier said:


> *chain stretch doesn't matter to me, i have a tensioner fitted*. for me it's great. redbike, no not yet, need to get out on wet day so the caked on mud will soften so i can clean and strip properly, i think you may be right about the breaking from the rear suss links. i sprayed a bit of wd40 and it wasn't as noisy.
> 
> as for trashing a chain and ring more often. bear in mind i was running full xtr set up which cost a bloody fortune so even if i go thru 5 a year i'm still quids in.




Eh? How does the tensioner remove the chain stretching? Is it the magic of a chain tensioner that stops the chain wearing?
Might be the WD40 though, i heard it was pretty magic, the perfect lube!


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## RedBike (1 Jul 2009)

If the chain stetches it will wear out that lovely XTR chainring at a frightning rate. You need to find out if you can fit a standard chainring or if you need XTR specific chainrings. The latter will probably cost you about £50/£60,


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## Joe24 (2 Jul 2009)

If my brain could compute all of this, id reply with something worth while.


I need sleep


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## RedBike (2 Jul 2009)

Shaun yes, I can see why you went single speed. The cost of some of these parts is scary isn't it! I use a mix of XT and deore parts for this very reason. I can't afford to keep paying out for XT bits. (I can't really afford to keep paying out for Deore bits!) 

Deore chainrings, deore cassette and rear mech pullies but XT mechs and chainset. 

I might well end up single speed myself one day. I keep putting it off though as I definately prefer my gears when steep hills are involved; and all my MTBing routes seem to involve chugging up some HUGE hill somewhere. - God bless the granny ring!


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## skwerl (2 Jul 2009)

shauncollier said:


> joe24....eh?! if chain stretches, the tensioner takes up the slack..duh!!



duh - the main issue with chain stretch is that the chain pitch increases from it's 1/2" and causes wear on rings and sprockets, as well as being noisy. It has little to do with the overall length of the chain.

i believe this is what Joe was trying to point out


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## Joe24 (2 Jul 2009)

skwerl;782738][quote=shauncollier said:


> joe24....eh?! if chain stretches, the tensioner takes up the slack..duh!!
> 
> quote]
> 
> ...



Exactly, and wouldnt it wear out the sprocket enough for it to start slipping? Slipping when you start to put too much force on it.
Might just be my brain working things out wrong.


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## Joe24 (2 Jul 2009)

shauncollier said:


> sorry, but you lot are not getting the point are you? the chain pitch alters..really? no shoot sherlocks! this may be a problem if you are running a magic gear or chain tugs. the chain wears, the chain is made of hardened steel. the front ring which is made of soft alloy wears with the chain. the rear sprocket which has tall teeth also wears with the chain. eventually the whole drive train is trashed, no shoot. BUT, with the half link chain, which in my opinion, for my purposes is brilliant, has stopped all my set up problems that i had with, the 9 speed chain and the KMC ss chain. so, as per my original post, which i don't think people have read, HALF LINK CHAINS ARE BRILL!!!!
> 
> by the by. have any of you lot actually tried to convert a full sus to ss? if you had then maybe you would know what i mean. full sus, 5 inch travel in my case, has a hell of a lot of chain growth and parallel rear stays which causes problems trying to get the correct chain length on full link chains, which means you have to push down on the slack, which causes severe setup problems. however with the half link chain NO SUCH PROBLEMS because you can get the correct chain length and push up.
> 
> god i hate clever arses



Hang on, i still dont get this.
If this was the case, why dont bikes with gears not have their chains stretch?
Oh, i cant have alloy rings, i think i had one of those on my fixed one time and i bent it
Why is the half link chain any different to a normal chain?


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## alecstilleyedye (2 Jul 2009)

shauncollier said:


> fixies don't use alloy front rings? i didn't know that. why are they not strong enough?



mine does. i was amazed that a bike from the '50s would have alu chain rings* but it does. only held onto the crank spider with 3 quite weedy bolts too. i suspect that the only reason they don't bend is that the stronglight crank flexes a lot more than modern day cranks.

*it came with a set varying from 46-50. only using one at a time, of course.


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## Joe24 (2 Jul 2009)

shauncollier said:


> joe, they do just as bad as ss, however, because of the amount of excess chain required, when they stretch they get chain suck & gear change problems. i used to get 3 chains to a cassette and front ring. what i'm trying to point out is, i no longer need to change chains when the pitch is a fail on the chain checker gauge. i just ride till destruction then replace 3 cheapy cheap items for the price of 1 shimano xtr front ring.
> 
> half link will probably wear worse. but £54 3 times a year against £350 3 times a year plus 6 chains. don't need to be a mathematician to see the benefits.
> 
> *fixies don't use alloy front rings? i didn't know that. why are they not strong enough?*



I had this happen when i had an alloy one





It was pretty new aswell, hadnt done many miles!
That wasnt a pleasent call to make either! I had gone to see my gf(although she wasnt my GF then) and my parents didnt know, thought i was at school, dad had just got home from work, mum still at work..........
Oh, and i just put abit of power in from track standing at lights, trying to race a motorbike


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## RedBike (3 Jul 2009)

shauncollier said:


> redbike,
> 
> you know your going to end up ss, you keep dabbling. it took me about 8 to 10 ten weeks before i was clearing the same hills i was before ss. but, because ss had forced my fitness levels up, i really started clearing trials more easily and far more enjoyably. some the stuff i can do now would have taken longer to get my fitness with gears. i would have preferred to started out 32:20 instead 32:18. spinning out isn't a problem for me as i only do about 1 mile on tarmac.
> 
> also on ss, sometimes i'm lucky, sometimes my lbs has some second hand xtr rings in the scrap bin. never thought of it before, but they maybe worn too much for gears, but will probably do for ss, might be worth a try at your local lbs for used bits to keep price down.



I can foresee a light-weight fully rigid single-speed for those flatter routes happening but I'm still less than keen to switch for 'normal' rides. Could well be going single speed on a cyclo-x bike soon so i'm half way there I suppose!

I have effectively been riding a single speed road bike all month. I have a flip flop hub so I can easily switch between fixed and single speed. I still prefer the bike fixed wheel but as the fixed sprocket keeps throwing the chain off I have ran it single speed nearly all the time. I can't be bothered having to stop to put the chain back on while commuting to work and spinning like a mad man down the hills having only just woken up moments earlier isn't my idea of fun.


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## skwerl (3 Jul 2009)

shauncollier said:


> by the by. have any of you lot actually tried to convert a full sus to ss?



no. I ride fixed and just as well as ss seems to be for ranty-arse types who post vague comments and then get all girly and upset when people query their logic.


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