Spare Chainlink

[Andy84]

I have signed up for the FNRTTC, and the guide says to carry a spare chain link.

I have a Shimano HG73 9-speed chain, however I cannot see that anywhere sells Shimano spare links. - Can KMC / SRAM ones be used? or do i just need spare Shimano Spare chain pins?

Sorry if its a bit of a daft question, on my old mountain bike I only ever had chains snap twice (once completely and the other one was just one side of the link) in five years, Each time I just used my chain tool to 'pop' it back together to get me home, and then bought a new chain.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Andy

 

[Steve Austin]

Yep, you could use either Sram or KMC. I would suggest KMC missing links, they are easier and better to use than the sram ones.
Just make sure you get the right type for your chain, ie 8/9/10 speed

 

[Andy84]

Thank you for the quick response.

 

[Steve Austin]

No worries. hth

 

[andrew_s]

You need a link because you can't just push the pins back in with a chain tool on 9 or 10 speed chains. Well, you can, but they don't hold properly so you'll only end up stopping again.
Chain tools are still handy to get the remains of the broken link off so you can use the link.

 

[Crankarm]

Well I would use the SRAM 9 spd link for your chain. I do for my HG73 and HG93 9 spd chains. I got the links £4.50 for 3 at CRC so bought 6 in total (gold). I initially bought the 9spd KMC links from Parkers which did not fit the Shimano my HG chains - terrible fit, and to top it all Parkers were really sh1tty and slow with giving me a refund, eventually 2 months later I got refunded less postage. Have not used them since. Clowns. There are plenty of other good online places you can get them anyway such as CRC or Merlin.

I got the gold links from CRC so can easily tell where they are in the chain. A pair of link pliers are also handy although you can get the link apart without them you might struggle a bit if it hasn't been apart for some time and may get your hands quite oily black in the process. It only takes 1 second to open the link with link pliers (Park ones are about £12!!!! Pricey, but well worth the hassle they save).

Having a quick link in the chain means you can easily remove and refit it for cleaning and re-lubing.

 

[Steve Austin]

The KMC links work fine with Shimano Chains. I've been using them for the last five years. KMC links are easier to fit and require no tools to split them.

You may have had a bad experience with KMC Crankarm, but its the first i've ever heard, i can only guess you had the wrong size, or it was user error..