Millar's broken chain at the Giro d'Italia...

[DRZRM]

or please remember to recycle your plastics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqTKaDmUr1w&eurl=http://withleather.com/?start=6

Edit: Sorry, I just saw Ada's post below, well better late (or repeated) than never. Now I'm going to go check Italian craigslist for that Felt.

[shinomaster]

I love it. What a pro.

[jpw]

was it a pin or a plate that gave way?

who made the chain?

[A.L.Breguet]

Not crashing is pro.

[toaster]

I was thinking about this the other day, the chain is an amazing piece of equipment. With all the miles raced and the numbers of pro riders using just a few models of chains, the fact that this failure is pretty rare is astounding.

In my own experience, an event that causes trauma to the chain that results in problem can happen any time for unknown reasons. I can't think of anything I did that caused the tweak in the chain, it just for a second got out of line at a critical moment and one link suffered a twist and then there's a problem.

Over tens of thousands of miles, this has happened to me maybe 3 or 4 times.

[paczki]

Seems like an appropriate response to me. He looks like he would have taken the stage otherwise. And after that Mavic disk wheel fiasco.

[R2D2]

You don't see golf pros slinging their clubs if they loose a hole.Very amatuerish behavior. I'm sure Felt is thrilled.

[paczki]

You don't see golf pros slinging their clubs if they loose a hole.Very amatuerish behavior. I'm sure Felt is thrilled.

Golf pros don't suffer horribly in a breakaway only to have their equipment fail.

[david]

You don't see golf pros slinging their clubs if they loose a hole.

actually, you do.

regardless, i dig what millar did. maybe not the most professional thing to do. but i love the passion, the rage, the fury.

[William]

In the heat of it, I can forgive the action and get why he did it. Not great from the sponsors standpoint, but the frustration of something you can't control taking you out, understandable.

The chain is the unsung hero of bike components. When it works, you take it for granted. When it fails, you're usually going to get the brunt of it. I remember a pack sprint at PIR in the 1-2-3 field, guys chain snapped about 50 yards from the line. Went down wicked hard and took about half the pack with him. I lucked out since I was near the front, but that was one nasty wipe out. One moment out of the saddle hammering, bumping elbows in the thick of it, the next getting a ride to the hospital in the back of an ambulance.





William

[giordana93]

this is only slightly off topic, but I just don't remember chains breaking back in the day before hyperglide and 9-10 speeds. Is this just my getting-to-be-an-old-fart amnesia (hey, I'll be 44 soon) or do other folks recall that 6 speed and even 7-8 speed (uniglide, not HG) chains almost never broke, except maybe after some maintenance when one used a "chain breaker" and didn't get the pin back in just right?

[ThasFACE]

was it a pin or a plate that gave way?

who made the chain?

According to Vaughters (on the slipstream website), it was a shimano chain that split at the plate. Everyone was befuddled, it seems.

[Lisa]

Reminds me of Bob Roll when his pedal broke at the end of a long two-man break with the slowest spinter in the peleton.....I think there may been some added stomping.

[R2D2]

actually, you do.

regardless, i dig what millar did. maybe not the most professional thing to do. but i love the passion, the rage, the fury.


Post the video....

[Tobias]

Over tens of thousands of miles, this has happened to me maybe 3 or 4 times.I’ve had zero chain failures over tens of thousands of miles. Could be that I’m a lot easier on equipment than you due to smaller size or less power, or could be just plain luck.

In a way I find it kind of cool when products are so reliable that a failure gets so much attention because it stands out as a rare abnormality.

[Tobias]

I'm sure Felt is thrilled.At least it shows the bike was pretty light. :)
He tossed it quite a ways with ease.

[72gmc]

David can apologize to Felt.

I certainly hope Bjarne didn't apologize back when he tossed that hideous Pinarello. That thing should have been heaved by someone at Pinarello before it ever saw the race course.

[BURCH]

Hmm, I am torn on this one. I keep going back and forth between thinking it was childish and that it was purely an act of frustration/passion from a breakdown. I was actually expecting him to start running with his bike to the finish. That would have been great. Throwing the bike took me by surprise, but I bet it made him feel better :D

Instead of comparing this to golfers, what about NASCAR drivers? I don't watch that sport, but I feel like I have seen them throwing helmets and such on ESPN. Is that from a breakdown or just another driving cutting them off?

[shinomaster]

I think it's freaking awesome that he cared so much about a possible win that he threw his POS Felt into a gutter. He probably suffered a huge adrenaline rush and took it out on his bike. Ever almost get hit by a car and want to punch someone? It happened to me yesterday on my commute home...I thought I was going to rip the bars off my bike.

[david]

Post the video....

okay...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR1_8HYTyKo

[coylifut]

I liked how fast it all went down. He stepped off and tossed it in one fluid motion. I usually fall on the side that these guys need to always put on a bella figura, but I keep hitting the replay button and gigling at this one.

[regularguy412]

First, I think Dave our resident chain expert should weigh in on this one.

I'll also agree that it's possible that the older, wider 6/7/8-speed style chains might be more reliable. However, it seems that I've also heard or read somewhere that a narrower chain (shorter pins) 'should' be stronger since there's less leverage on the side plates from a longer pin. These two views would seem to be in direct conflict with one another.

I'm still flying the flag of 8-speed. I started using it in early 1997, right before 9-speed came out. In many thousands of miles, I, too, have never had a chain failure. And,, maybe I, too, am not powerful enough to break one. But I do see a lot more chain issues (not necessarily breakage, but easier to screw up and tougher to set up) with 9 and 10 speed systems.

Hopefully, I've not jinxed myself for the upcoming fast Metric that I'm doing tomorrow.

Mike in AR:beer:

[RPS]

I'll also agree that it's possible that the older, wider 6/7/8-speed style chains might be more reliable. However, it seems that I've also heard or read somewhere that a narrower chain (shorter pins) 'should' be stronger since there's less leverage on the side plates from a longer pin. These two views would seem to be in direct conflict with one another.Not claiming to be an expert on chains or anything else, but I don't see why these views are in direct conflict.

A chain only transmits power in tension, and the width doesn't do much of anything, does it? The pins resist chain tension by being placed in shear, and that's not affected much by the chain width.

We could argue that a narrower chain in combination with narrower sprockets will increase wear rate because of higher contact loads, but the width in itself will have little affect on strength due to the pin length. Having said that, let's not forget that to keep making chains lighter and lighter and also narrower they also remove metal from the side plates. I'd be more concerned about that.

[benb]

Thought I had read somewhere else that he actually had a side plate failure on the chain, not a pin failure.

If that was the case... I really want to bet it was a chain with the plates drilled out..

I've never broken one on 8/9/10, dirt or road... I think it is still very rare.. we just saw it in a highly public place.. no different then a shark attack at a heavily televised surfing event.

[regularguy412]

Not claiming to be an expert on chains or anything else, but I don't see why these views are in direct conflict.

A chain only transmits power in tension, and the width doesn't do much of anything, does it? The pins resist chain tension by being placed in shear, and that's not affected much by the chain width.

We could argue that a narrower chain in combination with narrower sprockets will increase wear rate because of higher contact loads, but the width in itself will have little affect on strength due to the pin length. Having said that, let's not forget that to keep making chains lighter and lighter and also narrower they also remove metal from the side plates. I'd be more concerned about that.


Yep. I'll agree with that. When they're putting out 5.5 watts / kg on climbs and breakaways, something's gotta give.

Mike in AR :beer:

[giordana93]

I made the reference to hyperglide in my post because that is when I remember chains starting to break, esp. in mtb races where there was no support, and (iirc) it was blamed on the hyperglide teeth that had a tendency to grab the chain and, yes, allow one to shift under tension. does anybody remember having to let up slightly when shifting precisely to take tension off the chain and coax it on over to the next cog? now we even have the pins and ramps on the front. just my .02. and not trying to be a retro grouch. I've never broken a chain either and have ridden 8 speed up til this year.

[regularguy412]

I made the reference to hyperglide in my post because that is when I remember chains starting to break, esp. in mtb races where there was no support, and (iirc) it was blamed on the hyperglide teeth that had a tendency to grab the chain and, yes, allow one to shift under tension. does anybody remember having to let up slightly when shifting precisely to take tension off the chain and coax it on over to the next cog? now we even have the pins and ramps on the front. just my .02. and not trying to be a retro grouch. I've never broken a chain either and have ridden 8 speed up til this year.

Yes. I started out on 5-speed cogs and straight-cut teeth. The soft-pedal for a couple of strokes method became so ingrained that I still do it -- although mostly when I'm shifting to an easier gear in back and definitely when I'm going either up or down on chainrings in front. I also select what I believe will be the proper gear 'before' the corner, not after. That's from riding downtube shifters for so long.

I'm old. :D

Mike in AR:beer:

[benb]

Yah I actually still softpedal too.. guess I lied, my first geared bike did have a 5-speed rear cluster & friction shifting... I skipped 6/7 and when I got another bike it had 8 (MTB) and then later that same year got my first road bike with 9..

[Kervin]

Toss

I can feel for him throwing the bike. I had a latex tube loose its stem on the bell lap of a crit - I tossed my bike when I came to a stop. It was the maddest I've ever been on a bike.

chain

I've only had one road chain break since the early 80's - a Regina hollow pin SL (what was I thinking using that!).

[RPS]

I made the reference to hyperglide in my post because that is when I remember chains starting to break, esp. in mtb races where there was no support, and (iirc) it was blamed on the hyperglide teeth that had a tendency to grab the chain and, yes, allow one to shift under tension. ...snipped.....Mountain bikes with their smaller rings also place more tension on the chain, increasing the chance of failure.

That's one of the very minor downsides of compacts and triples. For the same amount of force applied to the pedals, we generate more chain tension with smaller chainrings.

Obviously pro road racers are not using either; but it allows the rest of us to apply as much tension to the chain even though we can't generate all those watts.

[Darrell]

modern peened over pins on flush sided chains can fail because of the
extra strain on the chain during heavy grunt gear shifting.
No matter what grunt you have on the pedals when you shift, the chain will shift, it bends very sharply from cog to cog over the ramps on modern cassettes.
Lots of side splitting stress on the chain.
That did not exist on pre hyper glide etc
{the 8 V were not flush riveted.}
The thing is, you should still clutch the pedals when you change.
always, well at least a little bit
and never never use those joiner links in a chain.
They do fail as they are no where near as strong as the peened over pin into the counter sink of the chain leaf in the chain.
This is the good reason Campagnolo and Shimano do not offer that joiner link in their chains, there is no need to use one!
Real mechanicos never have to remove a chain to clean it, you can do it perfectly well on the bike. No team mechanic ever removes a chain to clean it. EVER!
What happened with Millar is ??????
It is not unheard of. Just this one was in the final run in! :crap:

and no one can be sure if he would have won that stage.
He was very nervous on the run in and was showing it.
Don't mistake that for a certain victory.

Tossing the bike was uncool, but oh well........................... :no:

Lunch is over, back to the bench for me

Cheers from too many kilometers in the Eurpopean team car Dazza

[3chordwonder]

That's one of the very minor downsides of compacts and triples.
Obviously pro road racers are not using either

Sorry about the thread drift, but I read somewhere/some time that Basso used a compact in the Alps?

Any truth to that?

[M.Sommers]

Sorry about the thread drift, but I read somewhere/some time that Basso used a compact in the Alps?

Any truth to that?

"A particularly interesting product from FSA to be launched for 2006 is the K-Force MegaExo Compact chainset. CSC's Ivan Basso used an FSA SLK Compact chainset with 50X36 chainring combination in last season's Giro d'Italia and Tour De France, riding to stage wins in the Giro and a superb runner-up spot behind seven time Tour winner Lance Armstrong in France. This marks the first time a rider using a compact chainset equipped bicycle has been on the podium in a Grand Tour."
By Cyclingnews staff

[RPS]

Sorry about the thread drift, but I read somewhere/some time that Basso used a compact in the Alps?

Any truth to that?I didn't mean to suggest they never use them -- I should have worded it differently.

Tyler Hamilton got a lot of attention for using a compact due to an injury.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2003/news/jul28

And it's been too many years for me to remember in detail, but I seem to recall many riders using triples during a Vuelta a Espana stage some time back. Some of the climbs were incredibly steep on that stage.

Hopefully one of the race historians can shed some light -- or you can do a google search.