Sprocket teeth provide power to the chain, and their size determines the final drive ratio. The size of the chain is determined by the pitch of the sprocket teeth. Sprockets should be replaced when teeth are hook-shaped to avoid premature wear on chains. It’s best to replace sprockets in pairs to avoid uneven chain wear. As roller chains wear, they become egg-shaped, causing links to stretch and change the pitch of the chain.
Sprocket teeth are the pointed tips on the outer edge of a sprocket. The chain rides on the teeth of the sprocket, which provides power as the teeth pull against the chain links. The size of a sprocket can be found by counting the number of teeth on the sprocket. When choosing a final drive ratio for a chain driven machine, the number of teeth on the large sprocket is divided by the number of teeth on the small sprocket to arrive at the correct final ratio of the two sprockets.
A roller chain is sized based on the size of the sprocket teeth it fits properly on, which is known as a chain’s pitch. The teeth are made with the width and height used to determine the size of chain that will work properly on the sprocket. The size of the chain will determine the number of teeth that need to be on the sprocket. This is because the chain links cannot be bent as the chain runs over the teeth of the sprocket. Therefore, a sprocket cannot be smaller in diameter than the minimum number of chain links that fit properly on the sprocket.
A sprocket should be replaced when the sprocket teeth are noticeably hook-shaped. When the drive sprocket pulls against the rollers of a chain, the drive surface of the teeth begins to wear. As the wear becomes more noticeable, the teeth wear down and appear to have a C-shaped face on the teeth. This is caused by wear of the chain in the driving surface of the sprocket. When this has occurred, the chain and sprockets should be replaced.
Simply replacing the chain or sprockets alone will cause the other to wear out prematurely. It’s also best to replace the sprockets in pairs to avoid uneven chain wear. As the teeth of a driven sprocket wear, such as the rear sprocket on a bicycle, they will continue to wear until the teeth are simply impacts on the sprocket when unchanged. This will result in a loud screeching or clanging noise and cause the chain to skip over the teeth and slip on the sprocket teeth. As a roller chain begins to wear, the link bushings begin to become egg-shaped. This causes the links to stretch and be longer than the sprocket teeth, effectively changing the pitch of the chain.
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