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Small Question...


Fixed Pants™

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Mostly in the title...

I have a KMC chain (don't know which KMC) and i need to transfer it over to my new ride, i guess i should use the chain tool on the master link? But i don't know which ones which, can anyone tell me what it should look like? Or can i just take any old pin out of any link?

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While Dan is correct, it's not overly useful at the moment :P

Have you tried running the chain on there, just to see if it does work?

Regarding the chain issue, you couldn't use the chain tool on the masterlink even if you wanted to, as the masterlink's pair of pins are fixed in place.

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OK, I sold Fat Pants a 3/16 ACS Claw when he needed a 1/8 one. :$ (Fookin sizes!)

The best I can do is sort him his money back and give him a diamondback dicta 1/8 freewheel (only 1/8 one I've got), so he can ride London this Sunday.

What's the deal with 3/16? How much would a new chain and sprocket cost him if he where to stick with the 3/16 one? Does anyone make them?

Sos mate! >_<

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That could well be part of the problem then. With 3/32 or whatever the hell the fraction is freewheels compared to whatever the other ones are, the actual pitch remains the same 1/2", it's just the width of the teeth that vary by a tiny amount. As you've got a larger chain going onto a theoretically thinner set of teeth, there shouldn't be a problem. The only problem you've got is that your chain is no longer 1/2" pitch 'cos it's haggard, whereas the freewheel's still retained it's 1/2" pitch. It's why mechanics recommend changing everything when you change your chain or sprocket or whatever, simply because they all wear each other to the same rate, so they all still fit.

So yeah, the reason it won't fit is probably 'cos it's an old chain. Take it to your nearest bike shop, just ask them to try wrapping a new chain around the sprocket and you'll soon see if it'll fit (Y)

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To give you an idea, my BMX chain had stretched so that it was an entire link longer. I'd be almost 99% sure that it's purely 'cos you've got an old chain. KMC Kools are notorious for stretching, so it's almost definitely that!

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It's the width of the teeth. Basically, you can't have an 8spd or a 9spd cassette with a thick singlespeed chain because it'd be a mile wide, and it'd be harder to shift. As a result, they made the teeth narrower so they could put them closer together, and made a narrower chain to suit. With BMX freewheels like the ACS Claw, it was mostly just a racer thing so you could run a smaller, lighter drivetrain.

Anyway, the thing is is that the pitch of the chain, the distance between the pins in the chain, is the same whether it's 1/8 or 3/32. Therefore, with a new chain, it SHOULD fit OK, as it's more likely that his chain has stretched. To give you an idea, with the Parktools chain wear tool, if it's more than 0.75% stretched, they think it's OK to just replace the chain, but if it's 1% stretched they reckon it's best to re-do the entire drivetrain. 1% of 1/2" is bugger all, so if it's that far out it's pretty likely that it won't fit over that freewheel.

So yeah, like I said, a new chain should do it, but bikes are awkward bastards so it might not :P

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Hang on. What size is your freewheel? Halfway through the thread it changed from a 3/16th to a 3/32th If you haven't noticed.

If its a 3/32th it will work fine, I'm running an 8th inch kool on a 3/32th ACS no problem, and a 3/32th chainring.

BUT it sounds like your ACS is the megga fat 3/16th size, which means yes, indeed it is the wrong size, and 3/16ths is obviously 1/16th wider than 1/8th. So your chain isn't going to fit. In other words, new chain or freewheel. My LBS has some 3/16th kool chains in stock, so they do exist, there fat as fook. Think orgun_donor is running one, looked like it on Christmas eve.

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Yeah. It is confusing, in fact that's why my LBS has the 3/16th chain in stock, I asked for some 3/32th's and they ordered the wrong one by accident. :rolleyes:

But anyway:

3/32ths is a standard size, its used for 6-8 speed setups, and racing BMX's.

1/8th is standard singlespeed and anything up to 5 speed. (same as 4/32ths)

3/16ths is used on mopeds and as a megga though BMX chain. (same as 6/32ths)

You can use a 18th chain on a 3/32th sprocket/freewheel fine, and a 3/16th chain can just about be used on a 1/8th sprocket/freewheel.

Obviously a narrower chain will not physically fit on a wider sprocket.

9 speed complicates things even more, but as trials riders, none of us give a crap.

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