new chain skipping under load

[fizgig]

I put on a new chain as mine was showing 70-75% worn according to my gauge, seemed to work fine in the neighborhood and on the stand. I took the bike to the tree farm yesterday and the chain was slipping/skipping on climbs, I wasn't shifting. I turned the barrel adjuster 1 click counterclockwise and it made it worse, so I went to clicks clockwise and it seems to help for the most part but still had a few issues here and there. It is the proper length, I laid them side by side and counted 55 outside links apiece (SRAM 9 speed), bike is 3 years old, GF 29er, came with SRAM X-5 parts, if I had to guess I'd say under 3,000 miles. I couldn't find any frozen links.

Should I get a new cassette? Will it just break in? Am I ruining the new chain? Anything else I should know?

[utabintarbo]

Time for a new cassette. I tend to swap chains at ~500-700 miles, and have no problems with the cassette. If I wait much longer, they pretty much have to be swapped out as a unit.

[jonw9]

If you want to get tricky, there are some people that do a ~3 chain method, where they use 3 chains and rotate them around so they each get worn a little bit. Then at the end, you have 3 worn-out chains, and rings cassette.

So, the idea is you get a bit longer intervals since you are wearing the chains at a similar rate, and won't run into the skipping cassette issue that you are experiencing (until the end).

Here is a similar type discussion: http://forums.competitor.com/topic/1126

[fizgig]

Thanks Bob, rookie mistake, I didn't think it'd be too bad but I got the chain gauge for Xmas, checked and it was toast. I actually have a PG-980 sitting on a shelf and the rest of the tools to swap it out.

I put a ton of stuff on an amazon wish list a while back so people would stop buying me "As Seen On TV" crap and car wax for various holidays and it's worked out nicely.

[Leroi Brown]

It could also be that your front chainring is worn to the old chain, as that's more often the culprit for a "skipping" chain, in my experience. Check to be sure that it's not actually slipping in the front.

[Critter7r]

Did you try going one more click clockwise? If one CCW made it worse, and 2 CW made it better except for .... then maybe one more woulda done it. It may have simply been the chain getting too close to the bigger sprocket next to it and grabbing a tooth with the edge of the chain.

Not to pooh-pooh all the people telling you to get a new cassette, but I ran the same cassette for 3 years riding 1500+ miles per year at Holdridge, Pontiac and Highland, plus a lot of dirt roads and PCT with the family a few times. When I compared it to the new cassette I got this spring, the teeth were about 25% thinner (in the direction of chain travel) on the center 3 or 4 sprockets. I mean, it was worn out. I still wasn't having any skippin issues, my problem was with that the cranks felt sloppy (no *beep*, right?) and I could feel the chain sliding around on the sprockets (the front chainrings were at least 4 years old).

Anyhow, I think that the adjustment is more important than the wear issue.

[Loren]

Also, I've found that it helps to really clean the new chain, stripping off the shipping lubrication and applying a good dry lube.

[fizgig]

I'll try another adjustment, but it could be I'm expecting too much from cheap-ish components. I thought that factory chain lube was a bit thick, and then thought what the *beep* do I know, they must be doing it right... but they might be more concerned with ensuring it doesn't rust or sticks in high-heat shipping or something.

[DRC]

Every time I have experienced this, it was the front chainring that needed to be replaced.

[iamkickstand]

Every time I have experienced this, it was the front chainring that needed to be replaced.

me too.

[brokenbones]

Worn chain rings or cassette doesn't really matter at this point, probably the damage is already done. Put the old chain back on and ride those parts to death. Then replace everything at one time when you absolutely have to.

[Roy]

Did you make sure that the new chain was the same length as the old chain?
Old shift cables are always the first suspect for bad shifting and the last one I think of. It is almost impossible to adjust the shift alignment when the cable is hanging up on dirt. It is easy to chase the shift alignment off a whole cog when you have worn cables.
Cables are cheap, replace the cables first.
Expect to replace standard cables 2 times a season. Plastic coated cables can last 3 times as long, but can cost 4 times as much.

Roy

[Leroi Brown]

Did you make sure that the new chain was the same length as the old chain?
Old shift cables are always the first suspect for bad shifting and the last one I think of. It is almost impossible to adjust the shift alignment when the cable is hanging up on dirt. It is easy to chase the shift alignment off a whole cog when you have worn cables.
Cables are cheap, replace the cables first.
Expect to replace standard cables 2 times a season. Plastic coated cables can last 3 times as long, but can cost 4 times as much.

Roy

If it was shifting just fine before chain replacement, it's very likely not the cables. It would be worn chainrings and/or cogs. Derailleur movement is not affected by a new chain.