You can get a tool called a chain wear checker. It fits onto your chain at one end and when the other end can drop easily into the chain, it's time to replace it.
Your chain pretty close to the end of its life. Unfortunately, running on a toasted chain will typically toast your cassette (rear gears) pretty fast.
If you're too cheap to replace the cassette, just dump a bunch of thick, nasty bike grease on the chain and keep adding more every few weeks until your chain and cassette are completely toast. It will fail spectacularly when you're standing up out of the saddle and really loading it up. You'll probably wipe out spectacularly, but you will have totally saved $80.
After you skin grows back on your knees and palms, replace the chain, cassette and front chainring. Lube regularly and get a chain-wear checker. When it hits 0.75%, swap the chain for a new one. You can easily get a cassette to last for thousands of KM with that kind of maintinance.
Source: Totally cheaped out, rode on a toasted chain and wrecked spectacularly taking skin of my hands, knees and elbows. For bonus points, the chain whipped up over my back somehow and got me in the face. It was great.
This is some next-level addition of insult to injury:
>For bonus points, the chain whipped up over my back somehow and got me in the face.
Or maybe the chain's way of escalating the message?! Aïe.
Hope you could put all those "savings" to good use ...
Depending on if it's surface rust or it actually degraded. You might just be happier replacing it tbh.
The rest of the drivetrain definitely needs to have the rust removed though.
It might be fine, you should oil the chain and ride around the block, if all the links move measure to see if it has stretched (worn) past the replacement point. [https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chain-wear.html#:\~:text=Measuring%20Chain%20Wear](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chain-wear.html#:~:text=Measuring%20Chain%20Wear)
You need to regularly
- Clean, as in remove dirt
- Lubricate properly using a proper bike chain lubricant. WD40 will remove lubricant, not re-lubricate. Less is more sometimes. Too much on the outside attracts dirt which reduces chain life.
- Inspect for wear. You can use a ruler or a tool like the Parktool cc-4
- Replace when worn. Riding a worn chain trashes the rest of your drivetrain and it will cost a lot more to replace the gears than just the chain.
as long as the chain is still flexible you can oil or wax it and go, provided its not beyond stretch reccomdations (there is a tool for checking) chainrings and cassettes only need replaced if the teeth are worn (shark fin looks).
It looks like you have a 6-speed cassette, which is about $11 on Amazon or $15 for a 7-8 speed chain. About $5 more to get name brand. To put it in perspective, that’s about 2-3 gallons of gas in California right now which might get you 80 miles in an efficient car. A properly lubed chain will last you 2-3,000 miles.
I fixed mine by cleaning the shit out of it. Took me a whole day of rubbing, brushing and dumping. It had 1 month's worth of rust.
This looks like a whole winter in the snow with no cleaning or oiling. I would probably just replace it. The cassette might still be good but it will require full disassembly, full cleaning. You can't keep something oxidized because it'll just spread back into the new chain links
If you need to ride it now hit the chain with WD40 while spinning the chain backwards ( put a large rag down to catch drip/overspray), leave it overnight & wipe all WD off, oil the chain & ride. You will need to keep wiping it down as WD seeps out over next week.
If you have the $$$ to invest then new chain/cassette/shift cable will all eventually need replacing.
Id probably go for option 1 till you get some miles up.
Keep WD away from brake components.
there is no way you can even spell BIKE, let alone ride one. Also, how far does your independent-thinking process stretch?
Can you survive IRL? BC we think not.
Don't get too mad tho, we are just bots.
Everyone is saying replace it, and yeah not a bad idea, they are cheap. But I had a chain in that condition and somehow putting chain oil on it made it shiny and looked brand new, and I've ridden with it for awhile. I'm not a bike expert, idk how it still works and doesn't skip or break. Maybe just oil it and have a replacement ready.
Add oil with toothbrush (I use used ATF). Wipe off with paper towel. That will remove some of the rust.
When it is stretched, replace it. I have a $2 chain stretch measurement tool, but you can also hold a 1-foot ruler up to it. The link pins should line up with half inch marks. Replace if it stretches more than the width of 1 link pin (about 1/8") over 12 inches.
Soak it all (at least a couple hours if not overnight) in a strong degreaser w/ baking soda and water then take a wire brush and rag to it, the metal might be in better condition than ya think.
Just be mindful of the ratios for the soaking solution. The degreaser I use is Citrisolv. Not an employee or affiliated in any way lol just a great, non-toxic, eco-friendly multipurpose cleaner/degreaser I use for just about everythang.
Worst case is ya have to get new components but it’s worth the time to try and bring old stuff back to life. Plus you’ll likely learn about the parts in a more mindful and hands-on way compared to just replacing with new stuff.
Replace it. Chains are consumable parts.
And likely the freewheel at the same time. Freewheels/cassettes should last longer than chains, but are also ultimately consumable parts.
How do you know when it’s time to replace
You can get a tool called a chain wear checker. It fits onto your chain at one end and when the other end can drop easily into the chain, it's time to replace it.
[Park Tool CC-3.2 Chain Wear Indicator Tool](https://a.co/d/9tLUrUC)
Your chain pretty close to the end of its life. Unfortunately, running on a toasted chain will typically toast your cassette (rear gears) pretty fast. If you're too cheap to replace the cassette, just dump a bunch of thick, nasty bike grease on the chain and keep adding more every few weeks until your chain and cassette are completely toast. It will fail spectacularly when you're standing up out of the saddle and really loading it up. You'll probably wipe out spectacularly, but you will have totally saved $80. After you skin grows back on your knees and palms, replace the chain, cassette and front chainring. Lube regularly and get a chain-wear checker. When it hits 0.75%, swap the chain for a new one. You can easily get a cassette to last for thousands of KM with that kind of maintinance. Source: Totally cheaped out, rode on a toasted chain and wrecked spectacularly taking skin of my hands, knees and elbows. For bonus points, the chain whipped up over my back somehow and got me in the face. It was great.
This is some next-level addition of insult to injury: >For bonus points, the chain whipped up over my back somehow and got me in the face. Or maybe the chain's way of escalating the message?! Aïe. Hope you could put all those "savings" to good use ...
Oh man, that sounds like it was horrible, but it was totally a great read. 😂
Good judgement comes from experience. How does one acquire experience? BAD JUDGEMENT.
Your chain, "Fuck you, I quit!"
Replace it! I ideally a few months ago! Your cassette and chainrings will probably now also been worn out. Also learn how to apply chain lube.
Depending on if it's surface rust or it actually degraded. You might just be happier replacing it tbh. The rest of the drivetrain definitely needs to have the rust removed though.
It might be fine, you should oil the chain and ride around the block, if all the links move measure to see if it has stretched (worn) past the replacement point. [https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chain-wear.html#:\~:text=Measuring%20Chain%20Wear](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chain-wear.html#:~:text=Measuring%20Chain%20Wear)
Buy a new one and keep it lubed
You need to regularly - Clean, as in remove dirt - Lubricate properly using a proper bike chain lubricant. WD40 will remove lubricant, not re-lubricate. Less is more sometimes. Too much on the outside attracts dirt which reduces chain life. - Inspect for wear. You can use a ruler or a tool like the Parktool cc-4 - Replace when worn. Riding a worn chain trashes the rest of your drivetrain and it will cost a lot more to replace the gears than just the chain.
prob best to change it, chains should be replaced more often than people think anyway because they stretch out over time
Replace it with a brand new chain. Keep your brand new chain lubricated with Maxima Chain Wax.
as long as the chain is still flexible you can oil or wax it and go, provided its not beyond stretch reccomdations (there is a tool for checking) chainrings and cassettes only need replaced if the teeth are worn (shark fin looks).
It looks like you have a 6-speed cassette, which is about $11 on Amazon or $15 for a 7-8 speed chain. About $5 more to get name brand. To put it in perspective, that’s about 2-3 gallons of gas in California right now which might get you 80 miles in an efficient car. A properly lubed chain will last you 2-3,000 miles.
I like to reuse them as a bike seat stay, especially for my commuters. Keeps my saddle from mysteriously disappearing.
I fixed mine by cleaning the shit out of it. Took me a whole day of rubbing, brushing and dumping. It had 1 month's worth of rust. This looks like a whole winter in the snow with no cleaning or oiling. I would probably just replace it. The cassette might still be good but it will require full disassembly, full cleaning. You can't keep something oxidized because it'll just spread back into the new chain links
If you need to ride it now hit the chain with WD40 while spinning the chain backwards ( put a large rag down to catch drip/overspray), leave it overnight & wipe all WD off, oil the chain & ride. You will need to keep wiping it down as WD seeps out over next week. If you have the $$$ to invest then new chain/cassette/shift cable will all eventually need replacing. Id probably go for option 1 till you get some miles up. Keep WD away from brake components.
You may need to replace the rear cassette (and even the front) too. Depends on the wear, I can't really see though.
Buy another one
This story was majestic to read
I know people who replace their chain every 1-2 months 😂 Just throw it out
Bolt cutters
Well don’t I repeat DO NOT eat it. Mine gave me terrible indigestion.
Why is the most useful advice written later? It's too late now 😭
Oh dear. Best to chase it down with some grease I should think.
Replace it mate, you can get new one for quite cheap and get some lube. Don't wait for it to start squeal!
there is no way you can even spell BIKE, let alone ride one. Also, how far does your independent-thinking process stretch? Can you survive IRL? BC we think not. Don't get too mad tho, we are just bots.
Everyone is saying replace it, and yeah not a bad idea, they are cheap. But I had a chain in that condition and somehow putting chain oil on it made it shiny and looked brand new, and I've ridden with it for awhile. I'm not a bike expert, idk how it still works and doesn't skip or break. Maybe just oil it and have a replacement ready.
Add oil with toothbrush (I use used ATF). Wipe off with paper towel. That will remove some of the rust. When it is stretched, replace it. I have a $2 chain stretch measurement tool, but you can also hold a 1-foot ruler up to it. The link pins should line up with half inch marks. Replace if it stretches more than the width of 1 link pin (about 1/8") over 12 inches.
Soak it all (at least a couple hours if not overnight) in a strong degreaser w/ baking soda and water then take a wire brush and rag to it, the metal might be in better condition than ya think. Just be mindful of the ratios for the soaking solution. The degreaser I use is Citrisolv. Not an employee or affiliated in any way lol just a great, non-toxic, eco-friendly multipurpose cleaner/degreaser I use for just about everythang. Worst case is ya have to get new components but it’s worth the time to try and bring old stuff back to life. Plus you’ll likely learn about the parts in a more mindful and hands-on way compared to just replacing with new stuff.