[Timon]

was SSing up a singletrack as seen in my complex photo below (took me about 3hrs). hill going up on one side, hill falling away fast on the other with a rockbed supporting the trail.

anyways...it was a pretty darn steep grade and i was standing up using a lot of torque, and on the downstroke of my right (inside towards hill) foot...the chain broke. sent me hands/face/chest first into the hillside.

i sat there for a minute and reflected on what would have happened if i broke the chain as i pedaled down with my left foot. figuring it was a 50/50 chance of it breaking on that side. sort of freaked me out a bit. minimum 5 foot drop, head first into a pile of rocks...and a mountainside to roll down afterwards.

anyone have that happen to them? anyone luck out like me?
i know it'll be in the back of my mind every time i'm in a similar situation, which is never good (makes me hesitant...etc).

 

[fishcreek]

glad you're okay, haven't broken a chain ever and i hope i never will, scary thought. my pedals clipped a root once and went OTB on a downhill like yours, im glad there were bushes around where i crashed and that saved me from a 50ft ravine. btw, what chain were you using? sometimes crashes is a good learning experience, keep on riding.

nice drawing too.

 

[johnnyb]

Some chains will bust on heavy torque loads, I had that happen with a SRAM PC-1 singlespeed chain. Lucky for me I carry an extra power link and got up and running in five minutes. Its been mentioned that the powerllinks work with Shimano chains too. Worth the five bucks.

How about riding downhill on something that steep and having the rear wheel wash out on the downhill side and fallng backwards down the hill about 10 feet? Everybody has close calls, glad you came out of it allright.

 

[Schmucker]

What chain?

 

[iamandy]

that drawing is awesome. pretty overcast day?

 

[Captain_America1976]

i broke my bars in two on saturday. luckily i was going very slow over a log, and not bombing down a big hill. knowing what could have happened i didn't mind walking back to the car.

 

[Doggity]

This is always my worst fear...well, one of 'em. I can just see the damn chain breaking right when I'm standing at 11:00, and having my nutz slam down on the top [email protected]#&! Glad you're OK; could've been WAY worse. SRAM 870 chain. Accept no substitutes, and replace before it's too stretched.

 

[Timon]

What chain?

generic, 1/8ths.

SRAM 870 chain. Accept no substitutes, and replace before it's too stretched.

thanks.
just picked one up this afternoon. also found out i'm able to run a 34/17 with no chain tensioner, and a new chain...and it's a little bit tight right now. any idea on how many miles i'll get out of it before needing to replace?