frozen chain link

[redrhodie]

I noticed a slight click on my ride yesterday. It was worse today. I inspected the chain, and sure enough, there's one really stiff link. It kinks when it goes around the jockey pulleys, which is what was causing the noise.

I just tried cleaning and lubing (with ProLink) all parts of that link, but it's still kinking. The roller inside the link moves freely, but the outside bars still don't. Has anyone else seen this before? Is it time to replace the chain, or is there a trick to loosening it up? The rest of the chain is perfectly fluid, it's just this one link.

[Chicken Little]

I think ya better go for a new chain. The side plates sound bad. How many miles on that chain? You can soak the link in gear oil, but I think you have a weak point there.

[redrhodie]

I must have around 3000 miles on this chain. Is that about the time they go, anyway?

[Blueberry]

3000 is a lot by my standards. We usually replace 2000-2500.

CA

[DebW]

There is a way to free stiff links with a chain tool. But it doesn't always work on old chains. With a chain at 3000 miles, time to replace it.

[aicabsolut]

Sheldon Brown says:

Stiff links
If you have a regular, repeating skip or hitch every 3 or 4 turns of the pedals, you may have a stiff chain link. This is commonly the link where the chain was joined when it was installed. When the chain tool presses the pin through the chain, the head of the pin tends to pull the uppermost chain plate along with it, so that the two outer plates are squeezing together against the inner plates.

The easiest way to fix this is to bend the problem area of the chain into a "Z" shape, with the bad joint on the diagonal part, then flex the chain back and forth. This will slightly spread the tight plates, and free up the link.

If your chain has a link that has been bent in a chain-jamming incident, it can cause similar symptoms. Generally, the bent link (or the whole chain) will need to be replaced.

The easiest way to spot stiff/damaged links is to shift the bike into the small/small gear (the gear you should never actually ride in.) This gear has the chain at its slackest, and flexes it farther than any other gear, as it goes around the small rear sprocket and the derailer pulleys. Slowly backpedal while watching the chain as it feeds through the rear derailer, and you will usually be able to see the bad link jump.

But yeah, you might as well as replace, though I got over 6k off my last chain....but I did wear out the cassette in the process. Everyone told me it was totally fine through 5000-5500....