Skipping chain

[SPHDS]

As always this may be a bit of a blond question, but want to be sure!

Lately (ok, since Friday!) I have noticed that when in top gear the chain seems to skip/jump every 3-4 revolutions of the pedals (does it about twice every 7!) It also seems to 'tick' in lower gears (whirrrrrrrr tick whirrrrrrr) at same interval, is this a sign of a dodgy link or something more serious?

 

[spandex]

It sounds like a stiff link.

 

[jpembroke]

Stiff link or the chain is very stretched and needs replacing.

 

[PatrickPending]

as the above or if its a new chain on an old casette/frewheel its likely that that is worn. Could also be the chain is a tad too long

 

[SPHDS]

Righteo, cheers! Thought so, well back off down the LBS then! (cocked up replacing the chain on my last bike and don't want a repeat of that!)

 

[SPHDS]

Patrick, other way round - new casette and old chain!

 

[PatrickPending]

Patrick, other way round - new casette and old chain!

Thats probably the problem.

works either way, I just guess not many people would change a casette/freehub and not a chain so the new chain and old casette is far more common. If you're running an old chain on a new casette it could well be a problem due to your chain being worn and not matching the spacings on the rear casette terribly well (they tend to wear together so when one is replaced so should the other be). However replacing your chain before it reaches the point where it is worn down enough to wear down the rear casette allows you to get maximum life from your drivetrain - you just need to change only the chain before it gets stretched by less than 1% (I'd recommend a chain tool tho a ruler can be used - see links below - no pun intended)

 

[PatrickPending]

Righteo, cheers! Thought so, well back off down the LBS then! (cocked up replacing the chain on my last bike and don't want a repeat of that!)

replacing a chain is relatively straightforward, you just need a decent chain tool to remove a few links and well if you get a chain with for example something like a sram powerlink its dead easy.


http://www.parktool.com/repair/byregion.asp?catid=5&imageField2.x=24&imageField2.y=5


http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

 

[SPHDS]

Booked into the LBS for Thursday, thought it might be the casette/chain combo, just wanted to be doubly sure!

 

[andrew_s]

A regular tick/jump is most likely a stiff link. If you wind the chain backwards and watch the chain where it comes off the bottom jockey wheel, it should be visibly not straight.
Fix with a bit of oil, and making like to bend the chain sideways, both ways but not hard enough to actually break it.
It could also be a link that's about to break, with the side plate coming off the rivet.

If it was a worn chain, the skipping would be related to how hard you were pressing on the pedals.

 

[SPHDS]

It does do it more noticably when accelerating, but is most prevalent in top gear. I think it is a combination of the two really - it getting old, worn out and stiff (bit like me!)