Pack a chain tool!

[ColinJ]

[Chains I repaired for other people without chain tools ...]

As far as I can remember, I've never actually broken one of my own chains but I'm going to continue to carry my multi-tool which includes a chain splitter.

Well, it took a few years but today I finally had a chain snap when out on a ride! I had my multi-tool with me and used its chain splitter to remove the broken link. I replaced it with an SRAM powerlink. Total time taken to get moving again = 9 minutes, including taking a drink, and enjoying the scenery in the winter sunshine!

I was 6 miles from home at the time and nowhere near a railway station so without the tool and spare link I would have had a long walk or had to get a taxi back.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The reason to carry a splitter is not to fix broken chains, but to prevent then. Sods Law says that they will happen to the unprepared more than the prepared.

My only chain failure was in the 80s on a 5 speed, and entirely my own fault (bodged installation). I ended up getting a memorable lift on a trailer towed behind a tractor through the lovely Pembrokeshire countryside to a garage where I borrowed a hammer and nail punch to re-bodge it.

Since then I've carried a chain splitter always, and had not one incident.

 

[ColinJ]

I either jinxed myself, or the bike was sending me subliminal messages of impending failure ...

I was climbing a hill at the time and was out of the saddle because my back was feeling sore and needed a change of position. I was musing about how much fitness I have lost on my winter layoff when a different thought suddenly came into my head: "It wouldn't be nice to fall off if my chain snapped", so I sat back down on the saddle.

5 seconds later I tried to change gear and lost all drive. I thought that my chain had slipped off but when I looked down I saw that it was broken and dangling onto the road!

 

[User16625]

Only tools I carry are the ones necessary to change a tube and fix a puncture. I also carry the odd hex wrench to ensure any adjustments I made can be fine tuned if necessary. Any other mechanicals and thats where my mobile phone comes in.

 

[GuyBoden]

Thanks for the advice, my Chain Splitter Tool is now in the Wedge Saddle bag along with the Quick Link.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Talking of chain splitters, does anybody have one of these?

The reason I ask is that I recently experimented with my multitools' chain splitters at home and completely failed. I had to use my bigger hefty one which lives at home in my bike pantry. This one, which I just spotted, appears to have detachable tyre levers, one of which appears to have a hex wrench built in which I assume fits the head of the chain tool. As the reason I couldn't get my multitools appears to be a simple lack of leverage to drive the pin out, the tyre lever might give a bit more leverage and work while out on the road.

 

[Nomadski]

Talking of chain splitters, does anybody have one of these?

The reason I ask is that I recently experimented with my multitools' chain splitters at home and completely failed. I had to use my bigger hefty one which lives at home in my bike pantry. This one, which I just spotted, appears to have detachable tyre levers, one of which appears to have a hex wrench built in which I assume fits the head of the chain tool. As the reason I couldn't get my multitools appears to be a simple lack of leverage to drive the pin out, the tyre lever might give a bit more leverage and work while out on the road.

Ive got one and it has served me fairly well. Have even used the chain tool when I purchased a new chain and it worked fine.

My only two caveats with it are its weight (which given it does everything is to be expected i guess) and one of the tyre levers snapped while dealing with a P*.

Perhaps keep an eye out for another series of Topeak products - ninja series.

Multi tool that slots into a water bottle holder.

Chain tool that replaces your bar ends.

A pump which slots into your seat post.

Also, they have ninja in the name, sooo...

http://www.topeak.com/products/Ninja-Series

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Ive got one and it has served me fairly well. Have even used the chain tool when I purchased a new chain and it worked fine.

My only two caveats with it are its weight (which given it does everything is to be expected i guess) and one of the tyre levers snapped while dealing with a P*.

Perhaps keep an eye out for another series of Topeak products - ninja series.

Multi tool that slots into a water bottle holder.

Chain tool that replaces your bar ends.

A pump which slots into your seat post.

Also, they have ninja in the name, sooo...

http://www.topeak.com/products/Ninja-Series

Ta, @Nomadski , I'll skip the bar end chain tool as I'm often on a bike with bar end shifters. And it's actually lighter than the one I tend to rely on the most. I may give it a try...I feel a Wiggle sale coming along....

 

[Hacienda71]

I have had two chains fail. One going up Swiss Hill in Alderley Edge. Fixed it with a chain splitter and a quick link. The other sprinting out of the saddle close to home. I had a chain splitter and quick link, but having face planted and being covered in blood, I decided a lift home would be acceptable.

 

[Nomadski]

Ta, @Nomadski , I'll skip the bar end chain tool as I'm often on a bike with bar end shifters. And it's actually lighter than the one I tend to rely on the most. I may give it a try...I feel a Wiggle sale coming along....

Aye well the Hexus 2 is a damn fine multi tool. Just carry a spare set of tyre levers, just in case.

 

[ColinJ]

I have had two chains fail. One going up Swiss Hill in Alderley Edge. Fixed it with a chain splitter and a quick link. The other sprinting out of the saddle close to home. I had a chain splitter and quick link, but having face planted and being covered in blood, I decided a lift home would be acceptable.

Ouch!

I crashed like that once as a teenager, though due to the chain slipping out of gear rather than snapping.

 

[HLaB]

Talking of chain splitters, does anybody have one of these?

The reason I ask is that I recently experimented with my multitools' chain splitters at home and completely failed. I had to use my bigger hefty one which lives at home in my bike pantry. This one, which I just spotted, appears to have detachable tyre levers, one of which appears to have a hex wrench built in which I assume fits the head of the chain tool. As the reason I couldn't get my multitools appears to be a simple lack of leverage to drive the pin out, the tyre lever might give a bit more leverage and work while out on the road.

I'm on my 3rd.
The first version suffered from rust but it got me out of a maintenance jam a few times and mates (removed their tyres when their levers snapped an fixed their chains). Unfortunately it jumped out of my saddle bag on the FRB and whilst I retrieved it, one of the tyre levers pinged off and ended up in the estuary 45m below.
The replacement was great (in same get out of a jam way) and Topeak solved the rust thing but eventually the small allen key attached to the tyre lever for adjusting the compression and chain tool snapped. I still used it for a while just using a separate hex key when necessary.
Given the usefulness of the first two, when I had the spare cash I went out and bought another and its similarly been great for getting me/others out of a jam

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm on my 3rd.
The first version suffered from rust but it got me out of a maintenance jam a few times and mates (removed their tyres when their levers snapped an fixed their chains). Unfortunately it jumped out of my saddle bag on the FRB and whilst I retrieved it, one of the tyre levers pinged off and ended up in the estuary 45m below.
The replacement was great (in same get out of a jam way) and Topeak solved the rust thing but eventually the small allen key attached to the tyre lever for adjusting the compression and chain tool snapped. I still used it for a while just using a separate hex key when necessary.
Given the usefulness of the first two, when I had the spare cash I went out and bought another and its similarly been great for getting me/others out of a jam

Cheers for that. I've ordered one, and it sounds like I might be wise to carry a spare hex key with my spare links. I've got an old chain for experimenting with when it arrives. That said, I've never ever broken a chain and the power I produce means it's ever more unlikely but, as a poster said earlier, a chain splitter is something you carry to prevent you ever needing one....

 

[HLaB]

Cheers for that. I've ordered one, and it sounds like I might be wise to carry a spare hex key with my spare links. I've got an old chain for experimenting with when it arrives. That said, I've never ever broken a chain and the power I produce means it's ever more unlikely but, as a poster said earlier, a chain splitter is something you carry to prevent you ever needing one....

Good choice. I wouldn't bother carrying a hex though, it was a one off failure for me and never actually happened on the road but in the warmth of my flat adjusting a new chain to length.

 

[steveindenmark]

Im with Jim on this. Look after your chain and it will look after you.

In over 50 years of riding on all terrain, I have never broken a chain.

I take my chain off twice a year. Once in the middle of Winter and once in the middle of summer. I put it in a small, clean bucket with some petrol and swill it round. I take a small screwdriver inbetween the links to clear all the crud and swill it again and brush it all with a toothbrush. I keep swilling until the petrol is clean. I then liberally Oil it and manipulate every single link. I wipe chain and most importantly, put the chain on the same way you took it off.

It takes about 20 minutes and I dont have chain problems.

Inferior or damages chains could lead to breakages and so if øyou manage to throw your chain and jam it, make sure you have a good look at it when you get home. Dont just forget about it.