Would this chain go onto a 'normal' geared bike?

SubLuminal

Looks nice and fairly cheap to boot - but would it go onto a regular geared bike? Says its for SS and BMX but.. doesn't look particularly wide, and if I got 2 of them to ensure I had enough length..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25434

Any thoughts?

Chips Lovell

That's a 1/8 chain which is really only for single speed bikes. As far as I know, the only geared bike it would fit on is an old 3 speed.

Golfanatic

how many gears do you have, if you hae more than one (if you have a derailleur) it wont fit

SubLuminal

yep, derailller, front and rear. Trying to put together a bike for my girlfriend, want to make something a bit special for her so going for fancy things rather than simple things.. recipie for disaster I know.. but its more of a labour of love rather than going for pragmatic, sensible options. She won't be using it for racing or downhilling, just a general 'getting around' bike so..

Well then, being that that chain is out the window (why, by the way? Is it too wide? what sizes should I look for that wont be too wide for front/rear deraillers?) - can anyones suggest coloured chains for a geared deriiller bike that aren't too expensive? Hoping to find something for a tenner, ish.. Yellow or blue will do it! Gold also fine (looks like yellow..)

Chips Lovell

SubLuminal wrote: »

Is it too wide?

Yes

SubLuminal wrote: »

what sizes should I look for that wont be too wide for front/rear deraillers?

They don't really market chains for geared bikes by width anymore. It's simply a case of getting a 10 speed chain for a 10 speed bike (i.e. 10 sprockets on the back) or a 9 speed chain for a 9 speed and so on.

SubLuminal wrote: »

- can anyones suggest coloured chains for a geared deriiller bike that aren't too expensive? Hoping to find something for a tenner, ish.. Yellow or blue will do it! Gold also fine (looks like yellow..)

KMC make gold coloured chains in 9 and 10 speed and maybe more. You'll probably only find other colours aside from silver or gold available on single speed chains.

SubLuminal

well, my current bike has 6 sprockets on the back (6 speed, no gears/derailler on front) so would I be correct in assuming that anything marketed as 6 or over would be fine? EG, if it says 10speed, it'll go on a 6 speed, but might be a little long, and I can just make it shorter with a chain tool?

DirkVoodoo

SubLuminal wrote: »

well, my current bike has 6 sprockets on the back (6 speed, no gears/derailler on front) so would I be correct in assuming that anything marketed as 6 or over would be fine? EG, if it says 10speed, it'll go on a 6 speed, but might be a little long, and I can just make it shorter with a chain tool?

A 10 speed chain will be too narrow and won't mesh with the teeth of the cogs.

It will also be needlessly expensive, I would imagine 6 speed being much older, will be much cheaper.

Look, cheap: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Wippermann_Connex_Intrax_7Z1_5~6~7_Speed_Chain/5360006846/ (May not be right, I know nothing about 6 speed and the chains, I'm 9 speed up unfortunately!)

SubLuminal

man this is complicated!

My the cassette on my rear wheel is new though. Shimano, 6 gear cassette..

DirkVoodoo

Here is some light reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogset

SubLuminal

Aha! Very informative. Well currently my bike has a shimano MF TZ20 6 speed freewheel on it. I was planning to put the same on the girlfriends bike as I'm pretty pleased with mine, but maybe I'll find something better for her. Something that'll let me put a fancy coloured chain on it, because I know she'd really like it, even though it is a bit silly and hipsterish

Thanks for all the help so far guys!

blorg

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

A 10 speed chain will be too narrow and won't mesh with the teeth of the cogs.

It will also be needlessly expensive, I would imagine 6 speed being much older, will be much cheaper.

A 10 speed chain should actually work on a six speed but as you say would be overly expensive.

Derailleur chains are all 3/32" on the inside; it is the outside width that varies and gets narrower as the number of speeds increases. So you can use a higher speed chain on a lower speed drivetrain but not the other way around.

Golfanatic

any six speed chain will do not sure that you can get them in colours though.

Golfanatic

and youll ownly need to order on chain it should me enough

Chips Lovell

A 7 speed chain should do the trick then in that case. They're dirt cheap.

I seriously doubt if anyone makes them in different colours other than gold or silver since the colour would quickly get scrapped off from shifting gears, something which isn't an issue on single speed drivetrains.

SubLuminal

ah, good point re the scraping.. although on a bike with only a rear mech it hopefully wouldnt be that bad, as the chain isn't pushed so much as lead by the sprocket wheel onto a different cog, I suppose the front one would take the paint of pretty quick tho yeah, its a much more violent process there!

feck it, I'm not dropping €35 euro on a chain just for the aesthetic though. The cheap one looks so similar in the pic, I might give it a shot, anyone on here want to buy a nearly new chain at cost if it doesnt work? lol..

DirkVoodoo

blorg wrote: »

A 10 speed chain should actually work on a six speed but as you say would be overly expensive.

Derailleur chains are all 3/32" on the inside; it is the outside width that varies and gets narrower as the number of speeds increases. So you can use a higher speed chain on a lower speed drivetrain but not the other way around.

Ah good to know. I thought a 6 speed chain would run wider than 3/32", like I said I know nothing about anything before 9 speed really

SubLuminal

At first I was like "Damn the expense!" but now I'm like "Damn, the expense!"

lol

blorg

SubLuminal wrote: »

At first I was like "Damn the expense!" but now I'm like "Damn, the expense!"

lol

Last time I replaced a 6/7 speed chain it cost me a fiver.

SubLuminal

blorg wrote: »

Last time I replaced a 6/7 speed chain it cost me a fiver.

Yeah but I'm being silly and trying to get a trendy coloured or gold one.

blorg

It will be black within a week anyway unless you are exceptionally meticulous about cleaning it.

If you are that concerned with a gold chain you might take it as a sign that you need to convert the bike into a fixed gear.

SubLuminal

blorg wrote: »

It will be black within a week anyway unless you are exceptionally meticulous about cleaning it.

If you are that concerned with a gold chain you might take it as a sign that you need to convert the bike into a fixed gear.

Nevarrr!! well, not this one anyway. My bike is my only bike, and the one i'm looking for a fancy chain for will eventually be the girlfriends racer..