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Hyperglide chains - worthwhile or junk?
Hi,
I just got a new mountain bike (Trek 4500) with a Shimano Hyperglide (HG73) chain for a 9 wheel cassette system and on the first ride, on about the fifth hill the chain broke at the special replacement/joining pin. My question is, is this typical of these chains - are they known to be unreliable or was I just unlucky (or did the shop which put the bike together do something wrong)? Is current wisdom to use these chains or replace them with another brand, and if so what? Thanks for any tips, Barry. |
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#2
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"BarryNL" wrote:
I just got a new mountain bike (Trek 4500) with a Shimano Hyperglide (HG73) chain for a 9 wheel cassette system and on the first ride, on about the fifth hill the chain broke at the special replacement/joining pin. My question is, is this typical of these chains - are they known to be unreliable or was I just unlucky (or did the shop which put the bike together do something wrong)? That was almost certainly due to a poor job of joining the chain. I've never had a problem with Shimano 9-speed chains, even the lowly HG-53. Art Harris |
#3
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On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 22:04:19 +0200, BarryNL wrote:
Hi, I just got a new mountain bike (Trek 4500) with a Shimano Hyperglide (HG73) chain for a 9 wheel cassette system and on the first ride, on about the fifth hill the chain broke at the special replacement/joining pin. My question is, is this typical of these chains - are they known to be unreliable or was I just unlucky (or did the shop which put the bike together do something wrong)? Is current wisdom to use these chains or replace them with another brand, and if so what? I've been using the SRAM chains myself, but that's just what's inexpensive and has that cool, no-tools master link. I'm not aware of anything wrong with the Shimano chains or any excess of trouble from them. Ron |
#4
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The only time I had a problem with them was when I put it back together
wrong. That's why I switched to SRAM with the powerlink. |
#5
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Hi,
I just got a new mountain bike (Trek 4500) with a Shimano Hyperglide (HG73) chain for a 9 wheel cassette system and on the first ride, on about the fifth hill the chain broke at the special replacement/joining pin. My question is, is this typical of these chains - are they known to be unreliable or was I just unlucky (or did the shop which put the bike together do something wrong)? Is current wisdom to use these chains or replace them with another brand, and if so what? Thanks for any tips, Barry. Barry: The bike manufacturers rarely use the special connecting pin that you & I do, because they're difficult to install on a production line (specifically, there are repetitive-movement injury issues, or so I've been told). Most likely, if you look very carefully at the sideplates, you'll find a bit of a bulge where the pin mangled it a bit as it pushed in. If you bring it back to the shop, more than likely they won't give you any trouble and will install a new chain for you, with the two-stage nearly-bombproof connecting pin. Properly installed, the HG73 (and all other HGX3 chains) work very well and should not be avoided for reliability reasons. For those a bit confused by a Trek 4500 with a 9-speed cassette, please note that, in general, European models will be a bit better spec for the same model number than their US counterparts. They're also considerably more expensive. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com |
#6
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Mike Jacoubowsky wrote: Hi, I just got a new mountain bike (Trek 4500) with a Shimano Hyperglide (HG73) chain for a 9 wheel cassette system and on the first ride, on about the fifth hill the chain broke at the special replacement/joining pin. My question is, is this typical of these chains - are they known to be unreliable or was I just unlucky (or did the shop which put the bike together do something wrong)? Is current wisdom to use these chains or replace them with another brand, and if so what? Thanks for any tips, Barry. Barry: The bike manufacturers rarely use the special connecting pin that you & I do, because they're difficult to install on a production line (specifically, there are repetitive-movement injury issues, or so I've been told). Most likely, if you look very carefully at the sideplates, you'll find a bit of a bulge where the pin mangled it a bit as it pushed in. If you bring it back to the shop, more than likely they won't give you any trouble and will install a new chain for you, with the two-stage nearly-bombproof connecting pin. Properly installed, the HG73 (and all other HGX3 chains) work very well and should not be avoided for reliability reasons. For those a bit confused by a Trek 4500 with a 9-speed cassette, please note that, in general, European models will be a bit better spec for the same model number than their US counterparts. They're also considerably more expensive. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com Gotta ask Mike, do you inspect and then add the shimano connecting pin on all the bicycles you receive from your 'manufacturer? |
#7
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Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
Hi, I just got a new mountain bike (Trek 4500) with a Shimano Hyperglide (HG73) chain for a 9 wheel cassette system and on the first ride, on about the fifth hill the chain broke at the special replacement/joining pin. My question is, is this typical of these chains - are they known to be unreliable or was I just unlucky (or did the shop which put the bike together do something wrong)? Is current wisdom to use these chains or replace them with another brand, and if so what? Thanks for any tips, Barry. Barry: The bike manufacturers rarely use the special connecting pin that you & I do, because they're difficult to install on a production line (specifically, there are repetitive-movement injury issues, or so I've been told). Most likely, if you look very carefully at the sideplates, you'll find a bit of a bulge where the pin mangled it a bit as it pushed in. If you bring it back to the shop, more than likely they won't give you any trouble and will install a new chain for you, with the two-stage nearly-bombproof connecting pin. Thanks for the info. So the factory pin is possibly the problem. Then, to expand my story slightly, I actually bought two of these bikes (for me and the wife) and its actually her chain that broke. Should I be thinking about replacing the factory joining pin on my bike as well with one of the two stage pins? I have noticed that on my bike the pin sticks out slightly further on one side and is virtually flush with the plate on the other. Thanks, Barry. |
#8
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"BarryNL" wrote:
So the factory pin is possibly the problem. Then, to expand my story slightly, I actually bought two of these bikes (for me and the wife) and its actually her chain that broke. Should I be thinking about replacing the factory joining pin on my bike as well with one of the two stage pins? I have noticed that on my bike the pin sticks out slightly further on one side and is virtually flush with the plate on the other. Shimano make a special pin for joining the chain. http://tinyurl.com/ba999 You're not supposed to reuse the regular pins (like we used to do before 8 and 9 speed chains came along). The fact that one side protrudes further out is proof that it wasn't installed right. I would be a good ide to replace the joining pin on your bike. But make sure the side plate wasn't damaged when the chain was initially joined. I'd go back to the LBS and have them inspect and make right at no cost to you. Art Harris |
#9
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Gotta ask Mike, do you inspect and then add the shimano connecting pin
on all the bicycles you receive from your 'manufacturer? We inspect them with a fine-toothed comb and, if we find a mangled (evidence of bulging at pin) link, we replace the entire chain (and, of course, use a two-stage connecting pin). However, one got past us last week, mangling a derailleur and rear wheel. An expensive mess that the bike manufacturer is paying for. Actually more upsetting that it got past us than anything else, given the extent to which we've documented this situation. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com "Qui si parla Campagnolo" wrote in message ups.com... Mike Jacoubowsky wrote: Hi, I just got a new mountain bike (Trek 4500) with a Shimano Hyperglide (HG73) chain for a 9 wheel cassette system and on the first ride, on about the fifth hill the chain broke at the special replacement/joining pin. My question is, is this typical of these chains - are they known to be unreliable or was I just unlucky (or did the shop which put the bike together do something wrong)? Is current wisdom to use these chains or replace them with another brand, and if so what? Thanks for any tips, Barry. Barry: The bike manufacturers rarely use the special connecting pin that you & I do, because they're difficult to install on a production line (specifically, there are repetitive-movement injury issues, or so I've been told). Most likely, if you look very carefully at the sideplates, you'll find a bit of a bulge where the pin mangled it a bit as it pushed in. If you bring it back to the shop, more than likely they won't give you any trouble and will install a new chain for you, with the two-stage nearly-bombproof connecting pin. Properly installed, the HG73 (and all other HGX3 chains) work very well and should not be avoided for reliability reasons. For those a bit confused by a Trek 4500 with a 9-speed cassette, please note that, in general, European models will be a bit better spec for the same model number than their US counterparts. They're also considerably more expensive. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com Gotta ask Mike, do you inspect and then add the shimano connecting pin on all the bicycles you receive from your 'manufacturer? |
#10
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"BarryNL" wrote:
So the factory pin is possibly the problem. Then, to expand my story slightly, I actually bought two of these bikes (for me and the wife) and its actually her chain that broke. Should I be thinking about replacing the factory joining pin on my bike as well with one of the two stage pins? I have noticed that on my bike the pin sticks out slightly further on one side and is virtually flush with the plate on the other. Arthur Harris wrote: Shimano make a special pin for joining the chain. http://tinyurl.com/ba999 You're not supposed to reuse the regular pins (like we used to do before 8 and 9 speed chains came along). The fact that one side protrudes further out is proof that it wasn't installed right. I would be a good ide to replace the joining pin on your bike. But make sure the side plate wasn't damaged when the chain was initially joined. I'd go back to the LBS and have them inspect and make right at no cost to you. Art's right that your uneven rivet is unsafe. I'd add a snaplink rather than use a Shimano pin, especially where side plate damage is likely. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
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