Loud cracking noise after installing new chain I did some work on my Rohloff bike today, installing a new chain &amp; chainring and reversing the sprocket.  When trying out the bike afterwards, something in the drive train was making a loud cracking noise under load.  First I thought it was the hub, but after a while, I tracked it down to the new chain I had put on.  Putting on the old chain was the only thing that made the noise go away.

What would cause this kind of noise on a new chain?  Did I break it or did it came broken out of the factory?  Should I try to get a refund?

You can hear the cracking here:
My guess is you have some tight links that are making noise as they go over the sprocket. Those can probably be fixed easily.

See this Park Tool video. Tight links are addressed at about 10:35. 

It might be that you did not join the chain links properly. What method was used to join the chain? A master link or rivet?

You can also see the chain tensioning advice in the Park video to check if that is the cause.