Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Silver View Post
But this is something else: She's got a 20 year old chain...but I broke mine in the first three months I was riding.

Hmmm, maybe I need to lose more weight.
That's the difference between a 5- or 6-speed chain and a 9- or 10-speed chain. The new ones are much narrower and therefore much less robust. And the pins are typically flush to the sides of the links in new chains, making the chain more susceptible to failure. That's why I advise to keep the old chain as long as possible, because you won't find another as robust and you'll be replacing them annually.