I just snapped my 10 speed Ultegra 6600 chain last night on a group ride- 50 ft from my car, whew! I picked up a replacement packet of reinforced pins to resecure it, albeit the the pins are labeled as Dura-Ace 10 speed 7800 reinforced pins. One would think there are really the same pins, but are they? Any authority out there that can answer that definitively for me? Thanks! I didn’t see any pins labeled as for the Ultegra, so it is smart to use the Dura-Ace pins?
… that’s the 2nd chain break story I’ve heard/read about in the last week. i’m no bike tech so I can’t answer your question. With CdA just 18 days away, I feel some bad mojo circling around. They say bad $hit comes in 3s … I’m lighting a candle … might even draw some pentagrams on my garage wall and sacrifice a small cat or something.
Same pins. Will work fine. If installed properly, you should have no problems.
I’m rolling at that one. You’ll do fine as long as you can out sprint that black cat crossing the road to the center line. Good luck.
Let me get this straight… You snapped a chain and your only going to use replacement pins to fix it?
Realize you can do that… Personally, I’m getting a new chain regardless of the miles on it…
Seriously, you can worry about replacing tires, aero wheels, too many spacers and all that happy crap, but if you chain breaks on the bike course, um, you’re stuck.
Suck it up and buy a new chain. Hell, pop for the SRAM or Wipperman one too. If an IM isn’t a reason to splurge ON THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT ON YOUR BIKE, I don’t know what is.
Bob
Ditto on the new chain… one that has snapped can never be relied on again. Go with a SRAM or Connex (Wipperman, Mavic) chain instead. Much more reliable.
Dura-Ace chain at Performance Bike for $21.99
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=1602&subcategory_ID=5134
Edit:
Oops, sorry that was 9 speed 
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=17629&subcategory_ID=5134
Dura-Ace 10 speed for $33.99
jaretj
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If you do buy a new chain - and I hope you do - be sure to soak it in some citrus degreaser to get the packing grease (The really sticky stuff) off of it.
Bob
That sure would get the packing grease off.
Do you feel that it would do anything to the grease within the links?
jaretj
That’s the point. When you put a fresh chain on your bike, you want it devoid of any grease, crud, or lube. Once you’ve “stripped” the chain you then allow it to dry and apply your lube so there is only one lube on the chain.
Bob
The packing grease isn’t really a lube of any sort… it’s just there to keep the chain from rusting during shipping and it’s stay on the shelf at your LBS, mailorder, or whatever. Take it off and reaply chainlube of your choice.
Exactly my point.
Bob
Really?
You want to take all of the lub out of the pins and rollers and then re-lube it?
There are a lot of people that would argue against that.
jaretj
I would argue that you want your chain as clean as possible before applying your lubricant. If there is a sealed section of lube in the rollers and pins, that’s news to me.
Here is the process that I/we use…
- Soak the chain in some citrus degreaser to get the packing grease off of the chain,
- Allow it to dry or blow it dry with a compressor
- Install the chain and
- Apply your lube of choice.
Simple as that.
Sheldon Brown disagrees with you:
New chains come pre-lubricated with a grease-type lubricant which has been installed at the factory. This is an excellent lubricant, and has been made to permeate all of the internal interstices in the chain.
This factory lube is superior to any lube that you can apply after the fact.
Some people make the bad mistake of deliberately removing this superior lubricant. Don’t do this!
The factory lubricant all by itself is usually good for several hundred miles of service if the bike is not ridden in wet or dusty conditions. It is best not to apply any sort of lube to a new chain until it is clearly needed, because any wet lube you can apply will dilute the factory lube.
Here’s the link:
http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#lube
As far as this:
Seriously, you can worry about replacing tires, aero wheels, too many spacers and all that happy crap, but if you chain breaks on the bike course, um, you’re stuck.
I’d disagree. Carry a multi tool with a chain tool on it, a spare link or two, and a few spare pins on your bike or in your flat tire kit and you’re totally set in the event of chain failure. Even better, carry just the chain tool and one of the SRAM (or other) quick link deals and you’re all set in half the time.
Having worked on bike for a while, I resectfully disagree with Sheldon Brown, especially on lower end chains like the Ultegra and or $15 SRAM’s. Have you actually seen the crap that coats these chains?
No, offense, but I don’t know what people are using for a flat tire kit, however maybe I should be using a backpack with all the stuff you suggest.
Dude, we’re talking about a chain link (probably a gram or two and half an inch long), a few chain pins (even less weight and size), and a chain tool (lots of multi tools have them built right in so many people are probably already carrying one). It’s not like I’m telling people to carry the entire catalog of Park tools here.
For someone doing an IM who’s worried about snapping a chain, that’s cheap, small insurance. Probably smaller and lighter than a spare inner tube or a CO2 cartridge. At any rate, I wasn’t specifically recommending that people carry that stuff, just pointing out that it’s an option - and as such, a broken chain isn’t an instant incurable DNF.
Go ahead and call me a Sheldon fanboy if you’d like, but he’s been working on bikes since before most of us were born. Personally, I take his advice as hard fact unless there’s clear evidence to the contrary. That said, chain lube practices are practically a matter of religion and there are obviously lots of successful options. All I’m trying to do here is point out the alternative to the information you were posting.
Some brands of chain specifically state that purposely degreasing that initial layer of grease will void the warranty.
I have tried Sheldons method, and my anecdotal evidence is as follows:
The factory lubricant works exceptionally well. In fact, the drivetrain is super smooth and quiet (because of the heavy lube). However, I still recommend removing it totally before installing the chain. I left it on there one time when putting on a new chain to try it out. The grease is so thick, that after a few rides when cleaning was necessary, I was unable to remove all of the dirt and grime that builds on the chain without allot of sweat and effort. A thinner, lower viscosity lube is much easier to clean than that.
That being said, I did in fact leave it on my girlfriend’s bike when putting on her chain. She rides infrequently and she looses chains to rust before wear, so I figured that it would be a good trade off. So far, it has. She hasnt ridden enough to really pick up allot of grime (and it can be cleaned, just a total pain in the a$$) and the chain is very well protected from rust.