The chain has been skipping and slipping cogs when I’m shifting under pressure (climbing hills).
The chain tool 0.75 mark doesn’t completely go in but does partially.
by depthpolice
The chain has been skipping and slipping cogs when I’m shifting under pressure (climbing hills).
The chain tool 0.75 mark doesn’t completely go in but does partially.
by depthpolice
14 Comments
How many gears? You might need a .5 chain checker. You might just need a turn on the barrel adjuster.
I think Sora is max 9 speed? If so wait til .75
Just change it if you’ve adjusted and it skips. Change the cassette if the chain doesn’t immediately fix it.
I got a cheap chain tool like that. Similar result but that’s how it’s supposed to work. It doesn’t need to go all the way in but indicates wear by where the little prong touches on the chain. If you’re hitting the rivet you’re still okay, if you’re inside the chain link as I believe you are then it’s probably new chain time. Very likely a cassette as well.
if its skipping under load it’s time to change chain and cassette.
Isn’t shifting expected to be bad while climbing? It is fine on flats?
Change the chain and the cassette as well
When you say shifting while climbing, what do you mean? You shouldn’t be shifting while applying a ton of effort in a climb, and if that’s what you’re doing, it’s not surprising that your drive train misbehaves. Try to get in the right gear prior to a big climb. If you have to shift, adjust your cadence to minimize the torque on the drive train.
If the .75 jig is close to dropping in, you’re close to needing a new chain, but your bike shouldn’t immediately stop shifting well as soon as you hit .75.
For 9 speed, wait until it gets to 0.75, or it starts skipping (whatever comes first). However, I would get a proven chain wear metering tool. I had a rather cheap one showing less than 0.5 wear on a 9 speed chain (Sora for me too) while it was skipping. With the KMC digital chain checker I found that the wear was already 0.7.
I’ve had completely miscalibrated chain tools before. So with that in mind:
If the tool is correct, then the problem isn’t the chain.
Could be cogs, could be how your shifting, but a new chain won’t buy you anything.
Get a new chain at .5 then when the new chain gets to that point swap out to the old to .75 then repeat then replace the drivetrain.
Get a new chain at .5 then when the new chain gets to that point swap out to the old to .75 then repeat then replace the drivetrain or keep going till chain starts skipping.
Skipping while shifting under load is not indicative of a problem. As others have said, back off on the pressure while shifting.
A worn chain will typically not manifest as poor shifting or skipping. When I was a junior and didn’t know any better, I put 20000 miles on a bike without ever changing anything. Cassette, chain and chainrings all wear out together and work more or less fine until the chain breaks or, as in my case, you get some helpful advice. You change the chain out because it’s relatively cheap and easy, and if you do it early enough, the expensive chainrings and cassette last a lot longer.
ETA: I would replace that chain.
You can try Shimano linkglide if you want smooth shifting while climbing, and you would get a smooth (and somewhat slower) shifting in all circumstances. Or do friction shifting. Or do internal gear. Or be more aware of your pedalling when you shift in this situation. Either case the chain is not the issue.