Basic question: chain tool

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RichardB

Slightly retro
Location
West Wales
I'm refurbing an old MTB and needed to split the chain. Over the years, I have lost any cycle tools I had, so I bought a Halfords basic bike tool kit. The chain tool in the kit split the chain fine, but when I rejoined it the link was very stiff afterwards. My old splitter had two sets of plates for the chain to butt against, one to split and the other (in the middle) to spread a tight link. The Halfords tool doesn't have this second feature. I sorted it in the end by easing the link apart with a screwdriver, so all's good for the time being. But I wondered if this was a case of cheap-tool-plus-screwdriver-bodge, or there was a way of using the tool to ease a tight link that I didn't know about. Or is everyone using quick links these days?
 

Hugh Manatee

Veteran
I don't use quick links but the most gears on the cassettes on my bikes is nine. I once bought an expensive chain splitter from a 'boutique' brand which now languishes at the bottom of the tool box.

I always use a very old Rivoli (I think) splitter now. I think it cost £3.49 or something. True, the short handle is harder to turn and the pin keeps wanting to fall out but as you pointed out, it has the two sets of plates making sorting out a tight link very easy.
 
One of mine is as you describe (cheap like the Halfords one) and another is a better quality one and the other type. Using a screwdriver to ease them apart has never obviously hurt any of my chains that don't have a split link which are my touring bikes. The chains that have expired on those bikes did 9,000km and 14,000km. I have yet to cover enough distance on the next chain to know when it will expire, but a screw driver was used to unstiffen the link after reassembly. 3 of my 8 bikes have chains without quick links and there has been no obvious issues.
 

midlife

Guru
Or you could always spread a tight link by pressing you thumbs against the chain and pulling backwards, not as clkever as the Rivoli but works :smile:

Shaun
 
.....done many 1/8" single speed chains, and always when the pin is driven back home it feels stiff afterwards. As Shaun says, sideways thumb pressure on both sides of the link helps to loosen it up, never fails for me in any case. Did a 3/32 chain a couple of years back, and pretty sure it was the same thing.......
 

Smurfy

Naturist Smurf
Things have moved on since the days of joining chains with one of the original pins. Yes, it can be done, but using a quick link is much easier, and allows quick removal and re installation for cleaning.
 

Mobytek

Well-Known Member
V true esp with the Shimano chains - pin out and replace. A pair of QL will take away the stiff link effect (does ease over time but not without problems in the interim) but can be a bugger to undo without a tool for them.

Or Gold help if you have a Camap set ........ different chain tool for 10 and 11 speeds, worth m investment for business, but for the home mech ££££
 

midlife

Guru
By "old MTB" I thought the OP was thinking about 70-80's :smile:

Shaun
 
OP
OP
RichardB

RichardB

Slightly retro
Location
West Wales
It's a Raleigh Amazon from 1992. Shimano 100GS mech, 7 speed with triple Biopace chainset. Not sure if it's a Shimano chain, but it's the original. Amazingly, the chain is in quite good nick, and there is enough wear on the sprockets for me to keep it for the time being - a new chain would mean new cogs, and I'll see how much I can get out of the old ones first. I tried spreading the link with thumb pressure, but to no avail. Perhaps I didn't try hard enough. A tiny tweak with a narrow screwdriver was enough, though. The chain runs sweetly and changes correctly after I did the usual adjustments.

I used to be quite knowledgeable about bikes, but that knowledge was current in the 80s. I still think of indexed gears as some strange innovation that will never catch on. It was a rule back then that you never used spring links (the ones with the spring clip on the outside of one plate) with derailleur gears, for the obvious reason that it wouldn't stand the loading involved in climbing from one cog to another, and might unclip itself. Are the new quick links prone to this, or have they overcome that now? In other words, can I fit quick clips to my chains and not have to worry? For regular maintenance, it certainly looks a lot easier than breaking the chain with a splitter every time. I believe some can be unclipped without tools, which would be great on the road and saves having to carry a chain tool on long trips. Otherwise, I will open my wallet for a better chain tool.

Thanks for the help and advice.
 

DaveReading

Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
Location
Reading, obvs
It was a rule back then that you never used spring links (the ones with the spring clip on the outside of one plate) with derailleur gears, for the obvious reason that it wouldn't stand the loading involved in climbing from one cog to another, and might unclip itself. Are the new quick links prone to this, or have they overcome that now? In other words, can I fit quick clips to my chains and not have to worry? For regular maintenance, it certainly looks a lot easier than breaking the chain with a splitter every time. I believe some can be unclipped without tools, which would be great on the road and saves having to carry a chain tool on long trips.

Correct.

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