Half Link Chain Stretch

err in courier terms it's time to change chains when it's tight between the sprocket and chainring but you can pull the fucker right off from the 3 o'clock position on the chainring.

Slightly OT but do you need a different chain splitter for a half link chain? I have a quite good Park tools splitter and it's proving to be heavy work.

i have the hubjub one for 1/8 chains and it's a bit better

I got a "Spank Tweet Tweet" half link chain off eBay, which I suspected to have chain stretch for some time now. My mate bought the same chain for his SS MTB with vertical drops - he had to cut out a link after 3 weeks. Seems these chains are shit.

Slightly OT but do you need a different chain splitter for a half link chain? I have a quite good Park tools splitter and it's proving to be heavy work.

Looks fine - be brave.

Can you get powerlinks/replacement links for half-link chains - I'm not sure how it would work...

If you can - where?

Get a chain wear indicator to save wearing out chainring/sproket with a stretched chain.

i think the problem is solved by now.

Is the shimano chain wear indicator any good?

Its the TL-CN41 I have been looking at but it says it is for determining the life of "all multispeed shimano chains". Am assuming it will still be fine with KMC track/bmx chains, but has anyone else got experience of these?

have just used the above tool to check my chain

it appears that some of it is worn out, other bits are in useable condition, so not very clear at all

the chain is about 3 weeks old, so should not be that heavily used

i would only use one on a multi speed chain, where it is far more important.

so perfect for the road bike

"if" you feel you really need one

Probably a naive question but what is the advantage of a half-link chain? I have seen the Charge version at Evans, London Bridge - they look different and pretty but why are they used?

Probably a naive question but what is the advantage of a half-link chain? I have seen the Charge version at Evans, London Bridge - they look different and pretty but why are they used?

Stronger, able to get wheel tighter to the seattube also I have had luck getting road conversion frames to fit perfectly with half link chains.

but you don't need a chain full of half links for that. You just need one half link in a normal chain.

Aren't they supposedly better for grinding, which may not be applicable on most peoples fixed bikes...

Get a chain wear indicator to save wearing out chainring/sproket with a stretched chain.

nah its much better to just ride and ride on it till you reckon its no good any. more chain ware indicator, waste of money(sorry dancingjames). also cant the same thing just be achieved with a ruler

The main visible difference between an old chain and a brand spank one is the links get sloppy and the chain can shift more laterally. A new chain is pretty stiff laterally when held on its side, an old one isn't. As said above this is what causes stretch. You don't really need a ruler or anything to check this.

so when holding the chain on it side how do you determine how sloppy it is?

Don't say use a ruler :-)

how much sloppyness does a new chain have and at what sloppitude do you need to replace a chain?

When your chain is regulary late for appointments, unshaven and generally smelly you know its time for a new one.

nah its much better to just ride and ride on it till you reckon its no good any. more chain ware indicator, waste of money(sorry dancingjames). also cant the same thing just be achieved with a ruler

bullshit.

chainwear indicator - £5
chain - £8
cog - £15
c'ring - £30

whilst it can be achieved with a ruler, why not just make the job far easier? running a worn chain will fuck up your cog and c'ring much faster than one which is within acceptable tolerances. and then when you get a new chain, it won't fit your worn drivetrain because the longer pitch of the old chain will have extended the distance between the teeth of the cog/c'ring. resulting in faster wearing chain. i spend/lose £5 superfluously a week anyway.

chainwear indicator - £5
chain - £8
cog - £15
c'ring - £30

arguing about chainwear: priceless

fixed

Holy crap!
I just did a strip and clean of everything on my bike and found that my chain is way longer than it should be.
20 links measure 260mm.

Is that enough to have worn my sprocket and chainring significantly?

I have ridden about 900 miles on it since April and was hoping to replace the chain, chainring, bottom bracket, cranks and sprocket as soon as winter is over, in about March. Thing is I will probably cover about 700 more miles in snow up until March. I really didn't expect the chain to be in such bad shape after 900 (dirty)city miles.

What is the best solution - just replace the chain now and hope that the wear on the sprocket is not too much for the new chain or do you think the chain will last through the winter and I can bin the lot in March?

I don't want to replace everything now as it would only get trashed by the winter and if I had to replace the chainring I have to do everything as the chainring and cranks are in one piece.

I'd just bang a cheap KMC or something on there and hope for the best then change everything in spring and never use a halflink chain again.
It'll probably run quite rough but in this weather your chain ain't gonna be all that slick anyway so it'll be a bit more bearable.
I really struggle to understand the fascination with half link chains. A single half link in a normal chain gives you the same adjustability but about 1/200th of the stretching problem.