I was all of two days into my journey as an electric bike owner when I broke my first chain. I was riding on the road near my house with our dogs, Roxy and Nelli. As I was returning home, I saw a group of quail cross the road and run up the hill near my house. Thinking this would be a fun diversion for the dogs, I turned up the hill and started climbing. POP.
Roxy and Nelli Dreaming of Quail on our Road
I had not downshifted so I was in one of my middle gears. I had to come to a complete stop to thread my bike through my electric fence on the side of the road. So I was starting in a mid gear, from a dead stop, going uphill, and probably had the motor assist turned up pretty high. That Bafang motor delivers 160Nm of torque, probably around 5x what I can deliver to the pedals. That is a sure enough recipe for wrecking a chain.
My Chain Disaster Survival Kit
If this had happened to me back in the woods somewhere, I would have been totally unprepared. I would have had a long walk out of who-knows-where. Since that experience, I have put together a little chain survival kit that will always be with me. Here are the components of my kit:
An Extra Master Link
I fixed my chain using a master link. I had to hunt a little bit to find the right one for my chain. The local Trek shop had one. I popped out the bad link and replaced it with a master link. The master links were 2 to a package, so now I have an extra. These master links are not universal, so you’ll have to figure out which one is correct for your chain. For my chain on a Bakcou Storm, I used this master link for an SRAM 9-speed chain. How did I pop out the bad link, you ask?
Park Chain Tool
I bought this at the bike store also. You can buy one online for < $30. It is small and easy to carry. This is the only tool that you need to pop a link out of a chain.
Chain Hook
Once you thread your chain back through the derailleur and gear cassette to re-assemble with your master link, it is handy to have something to hold the chain together while you install the master link. I just used a piece of steel wire with hooks bent into each end. Come over to my house and I’ll make one for you, for free.
A Spare Chain
With all of the pieces listed above, I can repair my chain. If I’m going several miles into the woods, I’m going to carry an extra chain just in case things have really gone bad and I can’t repair my broken chain with a master link.
For reference, check out this great video from Bakcou on how to avoid breaking your chain, or damaging other components of your drivetrain by shifting incorrectly.
You’ve probably never broken your chain. If you are careful to use the lowest gear, and be careful not to go overboard on the motor assist when starting a hill climb, your chain is probably safe. I can (still) hear you saying, you would never break the chain. I don’t plan to do it again, but I’ll be prepared just in case.
