I'm so confused..what spare chain link?

[Banjo]

I reuse the SRAM connector links several times and touchwood never had a failure yet. When I get a new chain its allways a SRAM and the new link gets used.

PS @Dogtrousers trousers Glad to hear the parkchain pliers are good as I ordered some a few days ago .may drop on the doormat tomorrow with luck.Struggled to get one off recently. Putting one on I line up the links with the connector at the top then just click it on by holding the wheel and pushing down on the crank.

 

[Alan O]

Slightly OT but I replaced my chain at the weekend. I also treated myself to a pair of Park Tools quick link pliers. "Sucker!" I hear you cry, "Why waste money on such frippery? I just use <insert household object or piece of building material here>"

Anyway, my new Park Tool quick link pliers are flippin fantastic. They made removing the old one and installing the new one a joyous experience.

I have a pair of those too - they're great.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I have a pair of those too - they're great.

Yes they are very helpful, but its worth practising what you do without them, unless you are going to to carry them with you on every ride.

 

[youngoldbloke]

[QUOTE 5134770, member: 45"]How often do they fail?[/QUOTE]
The links or chains?

 

[Ajax Bay]

[QUOTE 5134770, member: 45"]How often do they fail?[/QUOTE]
If a rider has a chain tool and a 'quick link' and carries it, the mean time between failures of either chain or connecting link is very, very high.
Because possessing and carrying those is an indicator of a rider who cares about and for their chain, cleans and lubricates it regularly, changes it when needed, and minimises poor changes (the main initiating cause of chain failure (I suggest)). Edit: "bodging a repair of the chain" is also a common cause of subsequent failure.

 

[mjr]

IIRC every quicklink up to and including 9 speed is reusable. I think it is only come newer ones that claim to be one time use only.

No, KMC are now engaging in the gouging process of single-use quicklinks with both 3 and 8 speed chains Check before you buy.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I've only had one chain failure in recent years - and I didn't discover it until I'd got home. The noises I heard made me think it was an indexing issue but actually one of the chain link side plates had become detached from it's pin and bent outwards. Fortunately the chain had stayed together. It was a brand new (OEM) KMC chain - less than 200 miles use - and I put it down to being a manufacturing fault. I have met others on the road with broken chains however.

 

[Milkfloat]

I have only known a quick link to fail once - it snapped in two without the plates twisting. The rider was a 'big guy' honking up a steep hill, no gear change involved. Personally I have only snapped one chain - it was about 10 miles old, a 9 speed and again not mid-gear change.

 

[confusedcyclist]

Never had a 10 speed KMC quicklink fail yet, removed and reinstalled many times. There was however one time my chain snapped and rolled off the chainring as I dismounted and down a storm drain, so I'll never know what was the cause of that. Luckily it was mostly downhill to a nearby halfords for a new chain.

 

[fatjel]

Only times I have had chain failure is when I’ve bodged a chain join.