Earlier this morning I went out for a bike ride. I’ve been doing this a fair amount lately. The very early morning is a good time to ride. Folks are, mostly, not out yet. It’s dark, cooler, and quiet. During the Summer months, little preparation is required. The morning temperatures are cooler, but not so low as to require careful layering. I’ve only lately added arm warmers to my mornings.
Today I took one of the fixies. No mess with gearing. Quiet. Smooth. Lot’s of wildlife about. The deer are out in numbers, and the coyotes seem to be tracking them.
As I rode, I sort of drifted into a bit of a reverie. It was the chain that did it.
We cyclists depend on our drive chains, but how often do we really think about them? The roller drive chain first appeared toward the end of the Industrial Revolution. They came into being, and almost immediately into wide use, in the 1880s. I don’t think it a coincidence that the modern bicycle came into being almost as soon as the roller chain was available.
Our chains are amazing. They are (mostly) quiet, strong, incredibly efficient, and relatively trouble free. It’s not hard to keep a chain in good working order. Oddly, it’s not hard to really mess one up too.
A chain doesn’t ask much. “Keep me clean and lubricated,” it says. “Apply power smoothly. Don’t jerk or jolt me,” it says. “Do these things, and I will roll for a very long time. I will get you where you wish to go.”
A typical bicycle chain has one link per inch. That link is made up of two pins, two outer plates, two inner plates, and two roller bushings. A multi-gear bicycle chain will usually have something like 112 to 114 links in the chain. A road cyclist will average pulling about 1,750 links per minute. This will happen minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day.
A decent chain, well maintained, and ridden with some finesse, can last as long as 5,000 miles.
The chains on fixed gear bikes are subjected to some unusual stresses. Fixie riders often transfer from conventional pedaling to “adverse pedaling,” and back. “Adverse pedaling” is the act of using the driveline “backwards,” in braking mode. An accomplished fixed gear rider may do this many times within an hour of riding. When the transition occurse, the chain is subjected, briefly, to twice the normal load. And yet, it keeps on working.
My Bowrey, the bike I used this morning, has over 3,000 miles on its chain. A lot of those miles have been rough. It’s been through rain, mud, dusty dirt roads, several very hilly century rides, numerous commutes, and countless path rides.
It shows no significant wear, and it’s still quiet enough to allow me to sneak up on a deer in the early morning dark.
No comments:
Post a Comment