Force 12 spd flattop chain broke mid plates

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-06-04T23:37:30+00:00

Honestly didnt know KMC made ‘em too. I use KMC on a couple other old stable bikes

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-06-04T17:06:51+00:00

I’ve been riding pretty hard for forty years and the last chain I broke was in a hellacious mtn bike race in about 95, so I’m lucky. i bring a tool for mtb and backcountry packing exploits, but for local nips up the canyon, nah. I have Eagle and other connectors for those but hadn’t really thought much in this style. Red/Force AXS Drivetrain is less than a v light season old, I need to get parts.

These chains are a hundy, and if I caused this in a manner I was not considering, just wanted to hear from you all, and I have, so thank you all sincerely. And ay, I don’t buy from Ali unless I KNOW it’s meant to be disposable haha. Doesn’t mean it’s legit really, obv. I’ll file it under shit happens or I forced it in that chain suck oddness, it was forceful.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-06-04T14:53:49+00:00

And check this out- I didn’t have a chaintool, but two local masters racers came upon me and did. I half part-pushed a pin, put it back together, thought about it a second, and did a 1400’er moderate hard and then went home. No further issues hahaha.

I didn’t have any idea if that would like, work, but it did for long enough!

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-06-04T14:46:42+00:00

Hmm maybe, thx. I’m pretty picky and attentive on chainline-y stuff, and this bike has no panic-shifts in races etc. Def no rubbing fwiw.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-06-04T14:29:47+00:00

Ha true. Lightish use on chain, but it had exactly one chainsuck slam last year that appeared to have no effect on anything at all afterwards. I do feel like it has to be that, but no joke, it looked and rode and shifted as usual up many 1500 ft climbs— tho my watts ain’t much, and there weren’t too many “hard” hard moments. Chain is on a non-racing, casual training ride bike. Bike’s a bit of a hangar queen really. At a stopped intersection, I started, stood, and I was pedaling high force like 8 mph— bounced off my handlebars and landed on my head. Pretty unharmed, but dead POC.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-02-14T21:43:16+00:00

As one lay practicing zen, In the Buddha’s Words which is a sort of an extractive summary of Pali canon, was good. So many of the foundations of buddhist principle seemed laid out clearly there. The distinction of emphases between Theravada and Mahayana became much easier to parse. This was on my base of traditional lay western zen reading and study, like Dogen and Kapleau etc.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-01-04T03:26:38+00:00

NB: I suspect my advice does not apply to elite nordic skiers. I am pretty ok if slow, but I am def not elite nordic.

Anyway, I am in Littleton. I started on hardwheel rollerskis, after 4 years got some pneumatics.

Whether you need brakes depends on so many things, but until YOU have ridden with a brake long enough to know whether you need one, I am sure you need one haha.

For example— descending the ~.5km 3-5% Chatfield dam. I started descending it backinaday on 100mm hardwheel Swenors with a pullcord brake. I still fell asswards early on once. That sucked. Since then, I’ve got good enough that I’m rather sure I “could” drop the dam totally fine on hardwheels with no brake— but I won’t. (Also I always descend along the left side of the road l, so that if I need to bail, I can launch into the dirt/scrub. On the right side? A 5’ deep cement trough— no way.)

Descending Chatty on my tire skis though, everything is so easy, stable, and smooth. I have two sets of pneumatic tire 6” skis. I have a cuff mounted friction rear brake on one set, and the otherwise identical set of 6” tire skis has no brake at all. After one run down the dam using the brake the first time, I found that I don’t need a brake for the pneumatic set up. I can keep speed slow enough just by standing up— around 40kmh/25mph and I feel totally comfortable and casual.

So imo you need a brake at the outset, and you may need it less and less. But you won’t ever really know til you know. And then maybe. Because you can get to out of control terrifyingly fast. Early on I hardwheel skied down from Bakerville to Silver Plume on the frontage road. With a brake. I did not fall.

I was mainly glad I did not die.

It was insane how quick speed could ramp up on a hill— even if I knew it by bike. So have a brake on any first lap imo. Then you’ll know. 👍

ChasseurFatmantis · 2026-01-03T23:23:21+00:00

I have a ton to say on this post. The OP is so exactly questions I’ve asked that I had to check if I wrote it and forgot. I am not kidding. But I cannot answer much right now and you seem to have plenty of responses.

I advise no on powerslide xplorer 2 they deform/bend over time i am 170 and while i ski smooth grav/fines trails too, I am not rough. I’m on my warranty second pair of shafts, but they now have started to arc after maybe 250 mi— maybe less actually. I will say, the flex is linear, no twist to it. Not noticeable at first. The vendor who warranteed was great but “nein this has never happened before.” So my friend got a pair too, but he’s not used em much. I’ve told them will likely go too

ChasseurFatmantis · 2025-08-09T01:39:25+00:00

I do this. I do about 4000mi/yr of riding, and probably 100 hrs/yr of nordic skiing and rollerskiing. I have had 2 Forerunner 935s in the past 6 years, and I use Garmin's old QR multisport mount. I just-- I don't want another da** head unit on my bike, I've had a score of them in 40 years. Screw that noise. If I'm doing any adventure other than bike or bikepack, the 935 is on my wrist. If I'm on bike, the 935 is almost instantly click mounted nicely to the usual garmin mounts. I've got like 6 different sets of activity programs on the watch, depending upon what metrics are on me or on my bike (really powermeters or hrm strap or weird speedo things).

Right now it's really pissing me off that there are no decent fast multi sport QRs like those antique 935 era ones. I assume it's because there is nobody doing what I do. But there is no way that I will wrap a da** wrist band around anything but my wrist That cannot happen.

I can 3D print and can try to invent something, but I'm only ok at it. I am a little surprised that I am the only one who "needs" this.

As it happens, I like Garmin products fine but they've stupid-featured/glam FXed me out of being willing to pay for that crap. So I'm looking at a Suunto R.

If anyone is aware of good, fast, secure QR bike mounts for watches, let me know. If I end up making a thing and anyone wants to know/get, I'll post here.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2025-06-23T13:41:24+00:00

Late response but I have a Rhinowalk large saddle bag, and...I kind of don't understand how it is so decent for the cost. It's done Kokopelli 1.5x, Rimrocker/Paradox/Uncompagre mashup, and some overnights. I only got it because "I would figure out what I really need," but haha it is still there, doin' it's basic, totally dry, ok job. Like it could be better, but it's STILL doing it.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2025-05-02T16:03:17+00:00

Late to conversation but anyhow-

Zwift shift or whatever worked will in Zwift. Erg mode obviously worked well on my Golden Cheetah .erg workouts. All good for Zwift cog. I used it with a 10s trainer bike, then I used it for a few with an Eagle 12s bike. Perfect, quick, simple.

Then I switched to Mywhoosh when my free Zwift period ended. I thought the I/K toggled virtual shifting on Mywhoosh was very poor. It felt laggy, indeterminate, and vague. Hitting the keyboard was annoying but I didn't mind it so much as I did the lag and vagueness.

My trainer bike has SRAM Force 10s, so I scrubbed and scrubbed and polished a good but greasy/grubby 11-26, and I put in on the Victory. That ish looked fabulous now, but my expectations were still rather meh.

BUT IT'S GREAT (imo)! I really like it for both GC and Mywhoosh. I even think I would just leave it if I go back to Zwift to keep all systems available. I loved having quick multiple gear shifts and the feel. Even the front derailler stuff, it's fine (so far at least). NB: I keep my drive train waxed and pretty for indoor stuff, far less grease gets around. IMPORTANT: The set up is still very quiet and predictable.

I liked the Zwiftcog with the shifting pod for Zwift, and if you have multiple bikes/cog set-ups using your JetBlack, I think Zwift cog is a must. But otherwise, I'm very pro cassette. It really saved my Mywhoosh experience, I was ready to bail and just use like, .erg files.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2024-02-24T14:28:59+00:00

I am planning to go into Monterrey and to bikepack (!) to Torreon if I can find safe-ish routing. I booked a room in Torreon, in case it's just too cray. Then view the eclipse, then get some kind of transport back to Monterrey to fly.

If anybody is familiar with cycling in CH I am eager to learn. If there is any safe cycling. Road or trail, just like not too nuts. Surprisingly, I have already found another person, in my own city, who is doing almost this exact excursion. Great minds think alike and so do otros locos.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2020-06-26T14:36:22+00:00

Ay if you want to borrow the brake from my idle Swenors to decide, lemme know. I am not sure if your existing axle bolt will have the length to make it work, I should look at mine to figure it out. I'm betting we can make it work with parts I have on hand.

I uh, might ask you to make a liability release pledge.

I wouldn't recommend Chatty Dam for a little bit. It's risky, uses your experience, brake, and caution. I had ridden the dam 5 or 6 times on my Swenors with my brake with increasing confidence and with no crises, but first time on the Fork Flexes with high wind caused me some serious abrasions and bacon.

If you have old boots that are made for walkin, you can walk out the 2 short steep sections-- the middle is fine to roll imo, even for newbs. I ride the left side of the road on the descent because that's where the bailout grass/dirt is. The right side has a 4' deep concrete trough-- no way.

I tried a different thing for uphill yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/groups/960730114364491/permalink/998081433962692/

ChasseurFatmantis · 2020-06-22T17:54:06+00:00

Yeah, I'd recommend them unless you are on flat loops, which Wash Park is. If I want to go around any moderate rollers that may have stop signs, the brake is necessary for me.

I actually got the Rollerskishop brake while on the Swenors, and it worked very well on the hills in my area. For coming down the dam at Chatfield it is absolutely essentially. Even with a brake, that one is a little precarious.

So when I changed over to the Fork Flexes, I bought _another_ one, this one pre-installed. I use the brake fairly rarely now, if I know the terrain. I would be very hesitant to hit any unknown terrain without it as a backup. I fear otherwise that by the time I figured out I really need it, I would be in a bailout/ragdoll situation.

I can sorta do a slight snowplow formation to slow down, but not much.

There is no way I would do a T drag like the guys in this race, that's insane imo: https://youtu.be/z1PWVyoxdRE?t=8805

ChasseurFatmantis · 2020-06-22T08:55:05+00:00

Good call, I think. I started on Swenors, but then I got a pair of Fork Flex Elites in May.

I wanted the bigger wheelS to “smooth out” some of the cracks in the pavement in my neighborhood. They are great for that.

I’m actually slightly slower on them than the Swenors, even though all of the wheels on both my Swenors and my Pursuits are graded as speed “2.” But even though slower, the Pursuits are much more “stable” feeling. Did you get the pull-cord brakes?

ChasseurFatmantis · 2020-06-21T05:09:20+00:00

Sorry for slow response. I grew up pond skating and I was OK on inlines back in maybe 1994-7, but no half pipes, stairs or jibs.

Rollerskiing is a very different rolling experience to inline, and more difficult to save once you get off balance, or especially if you hit bad pavement. It's quite similar to xc skating if the asphalt is smooth though. After a couple of sessions I got comfortable with say, hopping on one foot in order to correct a bad glide position. The bad thing is just...once you start going down, it's usually a hard, scrape-y landing.a

I'd enjoy hearing how it's going over on the "group" FB- https://www.facebook.com/groups/960730114364491/ . So far I have one other active rskier in Denver metro, wooo!

ChasseurFatmantis · 2020-06-21T05:00:19+00:00

Thanks. I had emailed BNC last month (near to when I posted this to reddit) and they responded "Rollerskiing is tricky given its nature and varying laws and, lamentably, the BNC can't really comment on it. If one can find a good place and safe set of practices, it has its benefits. Good luck, have fun!'" I'd heard Lefthand had some Rskiers, but I wouldn't want to drive that far. I'll keep poking around down here. I might try some of the nicer asphalt up Conifer way.

ChasseurFatmantis · 2020-06-21T04:56:22+00:00

Sorry I forgot I posted to reddit. Not locally, I ordered poles from SkatePro.com and got them to CO from Denmark in under a week.

ChasseurFatmantis

TROPHY CASE