Snapped a chain today on an uphill. First time happened.

[jeff_o]

I was doing my usual route here in Marsfield area near Macquarie Uni. After a while I can hear a ticking sound and I stopped to inspect my chain from above. looked ok until i hit an uphill and snapped my chain. the break section hit the front der and my my front der inner and outer plates are warped. God I'd like to think I have strong legs but I consider myself a weak rider and this is the first time it happend to me. Would this be covered by shop or manufacturer warranty? It's a Trek 2.5 bought from Clarence last year.

[find_bruce]

How many ks have you done on this chain?

[jeff_o]

about less than 1000k-ish. it's a 2010 model bought out 2011 with full ultegra 6700 groupset.

previous owner put about 400k max. i put about 600k max.

[RonK]

previous owner put about 400k max. i put about 600k max.

Warranties are generally not transferable, so if you are not the original purchaser you are probably on your own. Perhaps the shop might make a goodwill contribution, if you are a regular customer.

[find_bruce]

I would be surprised if Clarence St cyclery or any other bike shop would give a warranty to someone who was not the original purchaser, but if you ask them, they may give you a discount on replacement parts

[queequeg]

There were a bad batch of Ultegra 6700 chains when they first came out. The Outer plates would crack near the pins. Have a look at your chain to see if the other plates have cracks too.

Just buy a new chain. They're cheap. My last Ultegra 6701 chain was about $35. In fact, buy two and keep a spare!

[jeff_o]

@queequeg: it's exactly how you described it. It's as if 2 slices of a pizza was taken away. yeah i'll just have to buy a replacement chain.

[uncle arthur]

Chains break. It's just the way it is, being that they are a sacrificial part.

The world is an imperfect place.

[Nobody]

Can't remember ever braking a chain. But then I've never had any 10 or 11 speed chains.

Might be worth trying another brand this time.

[Richard.L]

Not sure if it is the angle of the picture or just manufacturing but the link on the left seems pretty thin too.

[jeff_o]

yes, the ultegra 6700 chains' outer plates are now not shaped perfectly '8', but shaped like parallelogram to shave weight.

[jeff_o]

ok i just got back from clarence st. cyclery (where the bike was bought by my friend). as you have guessed, they won't help me out with this as i'm the 2nd owner. whatever component failure damage happened is out of warranty (chain and front mech).

[jacks1071]

I was doing my usual route here in Marsfield area near Macquarie Uni. After a while I can hear a ticking sound and I stopped to inspect my chain from above. looked ok until i hit an uphill and snapped my chain. the break section hit the front der and my my front der inner and outer plates are warped. God I'd like to think I have strong legs but I consider myself a weak rider and this is the first time it happend to me. Would this be covered by shop or manufacturer warranty? It's a Trek 2.5 bought from Clarence last year.

Train your ears into that "tell tale" ticking noise, I've snapped one chain and I had that noise happening for like a week and couldn't find the cause until it let go.

Since then, I've had it happen another 2 times over the years and everytime one of the outer plates had come away so it was clicking on the front mech as it went through.

If you watch the pro-mechanics service bikes they often hold the chain between their fingers and turn the cranks - I asked one once what he was doing and they are feeling for any popped plates on the chain.

[MichaelB]

@queequeg: it's exactly how you described it. It's as if 2 slices of a pizza was taken away. yeah i'll just have to buy a replacement chain.

Had the same thing happen to me. Lucky I noticed the odd noise when riding, so was lucky. Use KMC chains now.

[Mulger bill]

If you watch the pro-mechanics service bikes they often hold the chain between their fingers and turn the cranks - I asked one once what he was doing and they are feeling for any popped plates on the chain.

Another cool maintenance tip, thanks Deon.

[RonK]

ok i just got back from clarence st. cyclery (where the bike was bought by my friend). as you have guessed, they won't help me out with this as i'm the 2nd owner. whatever component failure damage happened is out of warranty (chain and front mech).

Well, a chain is a maintenance item anyway, and to be sure it looks well-worn. And unless it is severely damaged you should be able to straighten the front derailleur cage, they are not particulary sensitive and will still work ok even with a bit of distortion.

[jacks1071]

@queequeg: it's exactly how you described it. It's as if 2 slices of a pizza was taken away. yeah i'll just have to buy a replacement chain.

Had the same thing happen to me. Lucky I noticed the odd noise when riding, so was lucky. Use KMC chains now.

You might not know this but KMC make Shimano chains.

[Crawf]

My 5600 chain suffered the same fate (as pictured) last week... I had ignored the ticking for a few days because I thought it was my RD playing up and auto shifting, but it was obviously the plate bending!
Always check when you hear that abnormal tick and rubbing, otherwise it could be on a fasttrack to snapdom and a taxi.