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Had a chain snap on a rainy descent yesterday
I was bombing down a hill near the river when my chain let go at 30 mph, nearly sent me over the bars. Turned out I missed a worn pin during my last lube job, has anyone else had a close call from skipping a quick chain inspection?
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the_lee1mo ago
Bombing a wet descent at 30 mph is no joke. I had almost the exact same thing happen last spring. Was flying down a long straightaway, chain snapped and whipped my leg so hard it left a bruise for two weeks. Nearly ate it right there because I was trying to pedal through a flat section and suddenly had nothing under me. It's that split second where your brain goes "where's the resistance" and your body starts pitching forward. What got me was I had literally looked at the chain the day before and thought "eh, looks fine." Now I run my fingers over every single pin when I clean it, and if I feel even a tiny bit of roughness or a stiff link, I replace the whole damn chain. Way cheaper than a hospital bill.
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michaelcoleman1mo ago
Think about how many things in life are like that though. You check your tires on the car and they look fine, then you're on the highway in a downpour and realize they're basically slicks. Or your roof looks okay from the ground until a storm hits and you've got water dripping through the ceiling. It's that "good enough" mentality that gets us. We look at something, give it a quick once over, and convince ourselves it's fine because changing it would be a hassle or cost money. Then when it breaks, you're kicking yourself knowing you saw the signs but just didn't want to deal with it. I do the same thing with my brake pads on my truck. Oh they've got some life left, I'll check next month. Then next month comes and I'm grinding metal.
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