9 speed chain - unlinking, relinking

[Rooster1]

Hi there

Is it OK to unlink and relink a chain.

Basically, I bought a new chain and offered it up, and linked it together.

Then I realised it was too long still so I took a few links out and installed a quick link.

The quick link proved to be a disaster as it was just a tad wider than the rest of the chain so it made the chain jump.

Basically, I have swapped about three links over and I am worried that it will not be strong enough (having pushed out the pins and pushed them back in again)

What do we reckon, start with a new chain again (and get it right) or go with it.

I do alot of hills.

 

[Tim Hall]

Hills don't come into it, it's whether or not you make a Horlicks of your shifting. My understanding (and @Yellow Saddle will be along with the real gen in a moment) is that 9 speed chains can successfully be re-riveted so you should be OK. If they can't be (due to the rivets being "peened" on the end), it will be fine until the re-riveted section concides with a messed up change and the side plates pop off, with hilarious results.

 

[Rooster1]

eeek

 

[mjr]

The quick link proved to be a disaster as it was just a tad wider than the rest of the chain so it made the chain jump.

Was it the right quick link for 9-speeds?

Was it installed the right way up, if it was a directional link? (I've seen one but I forget which make.)

I think the 9-speed here has a SRAM quick link on it without troubles.

 

[mjr]

Hills don't come into it, it's whether or not you make a Horlicks of your shifting.

...which means hills do come into because more people seem to screw up their shifts on hills than anywhere else, possibly because they refuse to ease off at all and then if they panic-click too far... Hey Dude, Where's My Chain?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Hills don't come into it, it's whether or not you make a Horlicks of your shifting. My understanding (and @Yellow Saddle will be along with the real gen in a moment) is that 9 speed chains can successfully be re-riveted so you should be OK. If they can't be (due to the rivets being "peened" on the end), it will be fine until the re-riveted section concides with a messed up change and the side plates pop off, with hilarious results.

Someone rang my phone?

Yeah, hills don't come into it. The type of rivet is important thought. Some rivets cannot be removed without destroying the peen. Others can.

Here are the two types.

On this type of chain the pin can be pushed out and back again. Notice how the pin is only peened in two sections or cords of the circle formed by the pin's front-on view.

If your chain looks like this, the pins cannot be pushed out and re-used because the peen breaks off the pin.

Notice how the pins are peened right around. AFIK all 9-speed chains look like this, but I stand corrected.

10-speed and 11-speed chains are also peened like this but the side-plate is chamfered at the hole and the peen is hammered flush with the plate to make the chain narrower. On such chains you can't even re-use the plate from which a pin has been pushed since the strong, counter-sunk pin would have damaged the plate.

Here's a photo showing how the broken peen settles on the chainbreaker's pin. The little metal "wire" is actually a 9-speed chain's peen. 8-speed chains which have been half-peened like the first photo don't do this.