HELP! Missing link. Does it matter?

[BlackPanther]

I'm a bit of a numpty novice. I ride a Dawes Tanami 24-speed and I've just fitted a new Wippermann 808 chain. I took off the old chain and hung it up, with the new chain next to it to check the length (at least I did a bit of research 1st!) Anyway, the new chain is a lot shorter, and not just because of the old one stretching. The new one is 115 links (114 + the connex link) the old one is 116. I counted both chains several times, and the new one is definitely a link short. I was just going to pop to Halfords for a link, but for 2 things.


Firstly, does it matter if I fit any link to this chain?
Secondly, can riding with a link short do any damage?

As the chain has a connex link and is easy to fit, I thought I'd try it. It looks fine and after a (very) brief test ride, it seems fine. The packaging on the Wippermann chain say it's compatible with all 8-speed systems, so could it do any damage if I rode it? Here's a couple of pics, the 1st pic is '1st' gear the, the 2nd pic is '24th' gear. When it's in 1st gear there's still quite a bit of play in the derailleur so it doesn't seen to be stretching, but I'll just reiterate that I'm a complete novice! Thanks in advance for your help.

Additional:ARGHHHHH! Now I'm even more confused. I've watched.... http://bicycletutor....e-chain-length/
Where he says to size the chain is actually 1 link LESS than where my chain is!!!!! So my old chain says I'm a link short, the bicycle tutor says I'm a link too long, and looking at my bike it seems about right...but then why did the bike come with 115 links?

 

[gaz]

If you got a 24 speed i'm going to presume you have a triple at the front.<br>In which case. Why would you ever need to use the big ring at the front with the big ring at the back?

 

[BlackPanther]

If you got a 24 speed i'm going to presume you have a triple at the front.<br>In which case. Why would you ever need to use the big ring at the front with the big ring at the back?

I tend to just use the big ring at the front, rarely use the middle, and never use the small. I know I should use them all to share the wear, but I've got used to just using it as an 8-speed and my commute is quite flattish. My next bike won't have so many gears, lesson learned.

 

[DrSquirrel]

You should only use all gears at the rear, when you are in the middle at the front.

When you are in the big ring at the front, you should only use the smaller cogs at the rear (like bottom 4), opposite goes for the granny ring etc.

So you don't actually get 24 usable gears, and ratios overlap anyway.


Review - http://bicycletutor.com/gear-shifting/

 

[Beardie]

If you can still get bottom gear, it doesn't matter about the link. I once took out two links after it wrapped itself round the axle and got all twisted. Made no difference at all, and I rode like that for as long as I had the bike.

 

[henshaw11]

See sheldon brown or some shimano fitting instructions - the recommended method (which avoids general distruction if you mistakenly wind up changing to big-big) is to run the chain around largest chainring to largest cassette gear *not* via the mech to see how many links that is. Add two (mebbe rounding up), and that's the size of chain you need. The two links added allow for feeding through the mech (and if you tried to do it that way it'd be a bit fiddly to put the whole lot taut).

The first pic - if it's set to big-big - looks like it's probably about right, and certainly is if you couldn't take a pair of links out and still get the chain to reach.

You *can* a shorter chain of course - as DrSquirrel mention, you don't use all combinations - but you need to know which gears you really mustn't change to when you're in the big ring, otherwise you'll probably bust your chain or rear mech.