Chain Link Stiffness

Mark Thompson said:

Took the chain off with one of those special chain takey
offy things, but the link was *really* stiff when I put it
back on. Bent the chain like wot it told me to do and it's
okish now. Is there any way to put the chain back together
without getting really stiff links?

First of all, what chain is it? Some are really not good to
join with a tool at all - virtually impossible to avoid
stiff links first time - eg. SRAM PC59 in my experience -
which are designed to be linked with Powerlinks* (see
www.sram.com). Some Shimano chains require special pins.

Find the instructions on the Park Tools website for joining
and also on how to use the "spreader" position that some
tools have to unstiff.

* works on other brand chain as well as long as the "speed"
is correct. Very convenient - enable chain to be broken
and joined with no tools whatsoever.

~PB

Mark Thompson said:

Took the chain off with one of those special chain takey
offy things, but the link was *really* stiff when I put it
back on. Bent the chain like wot it told me to do and it's
okish now. Is there any way to put the chain back together
without getting really stiff links?

This should be easy with any normal chain remover/joiner.

When you took the chain off and also when you put the pin
back in, you would have had the chain held over 'nobble' [1]
furthest from the screw side, and with the side plate hard
up against the far face of the tool. Having pressed the pin
in it will nearly always end up tight. That's quite normal.
So now.... Slip the chain back over the other 'nobble' - the
one on the tool closet to the screw so that the side plate
is not up against the far side. Now push the pin in perhaps
quarter a turn, and voila - you will push the plates apart a
fraction and should have a free link.

[1] technical term ;-)

John B

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Mark Thompson
Took the chain off with one of those special chain takey offy things, but the link was *really* stiff when I put it back on. Bent the chain like wot it told me to do and it's okish now. Is there any way to put the chain back together without getting really stiff links?

The chain link tool that you got should allow you to both push the link pin out as well as spread the links. The latter normally works to reduce stiffness. Practice on an old chain till you get the technique down 😉

Try the "Park Tool" web site (click [b]here[/b]) - it has a pretty good breakdown of do's and don'ts

Mark Thompson said:

Took the chain off with one of those special chain takey
offy things, but the link was *really* stiff when I put it
back on. Bent the chain like wot it told me to do and it's
okish now. Is there any way to put the chain back together
without getting really stiff links?

No. It always needs freeing afterwards, unless it's one of
the Shimano chains with a special pin which you snap in half
after fitting.

Whether you free it by beding the chain or using the link
spreader on your chain tool doesn't matter.

My chain is currently sitting in a cup full of car engine
oil. I have already scubbed the basted with an interesting
mix of washing up liquid, wd40 and an old toothbrush to get
most of the rust off. (it is a brand new chain so the rust
must be fairly superficial) A good soak should do the trick
to really lubricate it through. I think i will need to
really scrub at it with an old sock to get most of the oild
off to make it fairly dry though.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

My chain is currently sitting in a cup full of car engine
oil. I have already scubbed the basted with an interesting
mix of washing up liquid, wd40 and an old toothbrush to
get most of the rust off. (it is a brand new chain so the
rust must be fairly superficial) A good soak should do the
trick to really lubricate it through. I think i will need
to really scrub at it with an old sock to get most of the
oild off to make it fairly dry though.

Grab hold of the chain with one hand either side of the
stiff link. Bend the chain in the direction it 'doesn't
bend' (I.e. backwards and forwards) with force a number of
times. 9 out of 10 times that sorts the problem.

Not a technical answer, but the old "if in doubt, give it a
clout" actually works in this case.

--
Mark (MSA) This post is packaged by intellectual weight, not
volume. Some settling of contents may have occurred during
transmission