Breaking Chains

[Mrj35]

I was out riding with a couple of buddies on the weekend and they both broke their chains. I told them its because there shifting while torqueing hard in boost mode.

Like when I shift I switch the gear I let it click then I pedal, kind of a softer pedaling style when switching gears than I did on my regular bike. I haven't broken a chain yet in about 600kms so far.

Any of you break any chains often?

 

[steve_sordy]

I have always had what I refer to as "mechanical sympathy". Because of it I simply cannot change gear under load. I have never broken a chain whilst pedalling, no matter what terrain I'm traversing. But I have broken chains, two of them! Both were when the mech scooped up a stick of one kind or another and jammed. The sudden stop snapped the mech in half and the chain went with it. It's also worth mentioning that I have only ever snapped a chain when on an emtb!
I'm sure that the extra torque has something to do with it.

 

[Mik3F]

Only broke one chain this far and that was at Dyfi, luckily for me it snapped at the quick link so a quick and easy fix

 

[JP-NZ]

Ive never broken one on my Ebike, but I have broken a GX chain on my old enduro bike. Was victim of the crappy GX 12 speed derailluer that snapped the top jockey wheel and proceeded to wind itself round my back wheel and snap the chain on a fast downhill run. Part of the reason I never run Sram gearing

 

[arTNC]

I have always had what I refer to as "mechanical sympathy". Because of it I simply cannot change gear under load. I have never broken a chain whilst pedalling, no matter what terrain I'm traversing. But I have broken chains, two of them! Both were when the mech scooped up a stick of one kind or another and jammed. The sudden stop snapped the mech in half and the chain went with it. It's also worth mentioning that I have only ever snapped a chain when on an emtb!
I'm sure that the extra torque has something to do with it.

I have the same issue...LOL!...never heard the term "mechanical sympathy"...kinda fitting. I've been a gearhead all my life with automotive, motorcycle, and bicycle involvement on a serious level. I have a real respect for machinery and mechanical devices. I can't stand to abuse machinery. That doesn't mean I don't hammer on my equipment, but that's only after I've made the best choices and best care and service of that equipment.

As far as bike chains go, I've only broken one chain, and it was on the 2003 SC Bullit with the Bafang mid-drive. It only occurred when a fairly thick length of wire jammed into the front chainring and brought the bike to a halt...result...broken chain link. I'm also somewhat careful about timing shifts between pedal strokes, and I seldom hear that hated, grinding crunch of a bad shift.

Also as an aside on this bike chain issue, as emtb's have arrived, I don't think most chains we've been using on our pedal-only bikes are up to long term use as some newer chains might be. I've mentioned this before, but I think designs like the Shimano Linkglide may be a step in the right direction...and...maybe more robust designs will follow. It's only logical that when you up the potential power and stress on a chain, that something needs to give...or improve. Motorcycles had to use this approach as power increased. While chains got better, they also got bigger up to a point.