Ah, that's why.....

[I like Skol]

I'm sure my chain knew it's time was up. Let me explain, I ordered a chain wear measure around Christmas but it was out of stock which didn't bother me as there was no rush. Last week I got notice that it had been posted.

On the Friday I went out on a hilly adventurous 30 mile ride but noticed the chain was running a bit rough so looked forward to measuring it with said new tool to see where it was. Tool arrived on Saturday and showed chain was at 0.75% wear but not yet at 1% so I ordered a new chain from CRC.

Last night I decided to do the commute for the first time in a while so slapped some extra oil on the old chain for one last ride then set off. About a third of the way into the 10 mile trip I began to wonder if it had been a good idea, especially as I still had my wifes words of warning ringing in my ears (Big bosses meeting at her work at 8.30am so don't be home late!!!).
The chain was jumping and snatching terribley but I couldn't see why as it was dark. Anyway, I eased off a bit and got to my night shift then rode home fairly quickly this morning but couldn't work out what the problem was. The bike is quite new, maybe done only 400 miles but I was sure that it was worse in certain gears. Surely at such low mileage and when the chain measures only marginally stretched I can't be having meshing problems? I was going to be quite cross if the cassette had copped for it too.

Once home I quickly spotted what the fault was now we have such light mornings. I can't believe it has lasted at least most of the way through my big 30 mile ride and then another 21 miles of commute as it must have been like this since it started to run a bit rough initially?

Ignore the gloop, I over oiled it to try to smoothen things out for the chains last outing. New chain should be here tomorrow.

 

[dan_bo]

That'll do it! looks like saddleworth mud that!

 

[2Loose]

You must have a good fairy looking after you!

 

[ComedyPilot]

Muddy hell....!

 

[gaz]

That is one unclean chain!

 

[XmisterIS]

Tip for spotting damaged chain in future - (1) clean it. (2) use this:

and nothing else. Ever. It is the dog's nads. I use it on all my two wheeled things, both motorised and humanised. It dries to a surface that has almost no stickiness at all and attracts very little dirt.

 

[potsy]

Blimey!! I'm surprised you could see anything wrong with it through all that muck

you're definitely in trouble if you ever come on a cc ride with Fossy

 

[slowmotion]

Another parishioner mercifully free of the curse of OCD...Praise Be...

 

[ColinJ]

Tip for spotting damaged chain in future - (1) clean it. (2) use this:

and nothing else. Ever. It is the dog's nads. I use it on all my two wheeled things, both motorised and humanised. It dries to a surface that has almost no stickiness at all and attracts very little dirt.

Ooh, I've just read a few reviews of that - it sounds really good! I'm almost out of lube and I've noticed how crappy my chain has been getting. I'll give it a go.

I've had a quick look around and this seems a great deal on eBay unless you know somewhere cheaper?

 

[XmisterIS]

It is amazingly good, I buy it in bulk now (just ordered a box of 6 cans). That price looks pretty good though! I think I got mine off ebay too. It is so thick that you only need one or two coats on the chain for it to be well coated. It is so durable too that on a bicycle chain it lasts for ages! On a motorbike chain you need to add another coating about once a week, for regular riding. To make sure I get two coats without wasting lube, I bought a can of spray-on glass enamel paint from B&Q, then I rinsed my chain and sprayed one of the links with paint. That way I have a marker on the chain so I can count two rotations of the chain while I'm putting lube on. The enamel paint is pretty much permanent.

 

[Jezston]

Nice macro lens by the way OP

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I feel so much better about how I let my chains get sometimes after reading this

 

[pshore]

PMSL at that chain - with all that mud I thought we were in the MTB forum.

Re the motorcycle lube, don't try just any because other brands (I've not tried this one yet) are really sticky because they are designed to not fling off at high speed. The gunk attracts all the dirt then are a nightmare to clean off. You need a can of chain cleaner for that job.

 

[potsy]

To make sure I get two coats without wasting lube, I bought a can of spray-on glass enamel paint from B&Q, then I rinsed my chain and sprayed one of the links with paint. That way I have a marker on the chain so I can count two rotations of the chain while I'm putting lube on. The enamel paint is pretty much permanent.

Or if you have one, use the quick link as your starting point. Not tried anything like that but it sounds pretty decent.

 

[I like Skol]

Nice macro lens by the way OP

Yes, it is an amazing camera. I got it last year. It's a Panasonic DMC-FX60 and after using a Fuji one bought in 2002/2003 it is light years better. The size was the most amazing thing as it has a huge zoom capability (proper zoom, not digital) yet is smaller and not much thicker than my card wallet.

The only problem is that after about 6 weeks my wife dropped it when the lense was out and it put a nice dent in the lense housing and I think it has knocked things out a bit as in my opinion the pictures aren't quite as sharp as before. Even that picture of the chain is slightly blurred in places. When new I took a very close up picture of the material of a pair of jeans I was wearing and it was incredibly sharp and looked as though the material was woven from heavy duty tow ropes!