Bicycle Mechanics - Is it safe to push a rivet back into a chain plate?

Is it safe to push a rivet back into a chain plate (chain link)?

I have a pc850 sram chain.

At the Park Tool website they say this:

"When using the CT-3 to press the chain rivet in or out of the chain plates"

I'm simply seeking other opinions and advise so I don't screw up and kill myself because I do it wrong by damaging the chain during re-insertion of the rivet... If it is in fact safe. Any drawbacks?

Thank you

Your chain should have no problems, just be sure you don't push the rivet all the way out when you break the chain. Shimano chains are a different story, as well as most 10 speed chains.

just be sure you don't push the rivet all the way out when you break the chain.

This is my scenario. The rivet is completely out of the chain.

If its a SRAM chain, get yourself a powerlink (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?sku=12098) , snap it on and go. I wouldn't reuse the pin; it's likely to work itself free as you ride.

Back in the days when men were men and bikes only had 5 rear cogs we used to do it all the time.

Cassettes are wider today and chains are narrower and have to flex more. Chains are more likely to break today too. SRAM and some other chain manufacturers use some form of a master link today. Shimano mandates the use of special rejoining pins. If it was my bike I'd consider reusing a pin to be an emengency measure only.

In that case, I would try to find a short section of matching chain to splice in, or check to see if removing one link won't result in a too-short chain(often new bikes come with a slightly too long chain). I've seen guys successfully reinstall a pin that got pushed all the way out, but IMO it is more trouble than it's worth.

If its a SRAM chain, get yourself a powerlink (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?sku=12098) , snap it on and go. I wouldn't reuse the pin; it's likely to work itself free as you ride.

I already have one, my chain uses a master link. I can't use one of those. I have to (re)connect an inner plate with an outer plate.

So far two people have recommended against the re-connect. Any more?

I have this sinking feeling that completely removing a rivet is a 1 time procedure.

I already have one, my chain uses a master link. I can't use one of those. I have to (re)connect an inner plate with an outer plate.

I figured you had one already so I am wondering why you broke the chain by pushing the pin out (I am assuming that's what happened because I would guess you wouldn't be thinking about reusing the pin if had come out all by itself). I still suggest a second powerlink is the best option. Just push out the pin holding the outer plates to the end of the chain (so you end up with inner plates on both ends)then stap on the powerlink. Basically you would be replacing one whole link instead of just one pin and the chain will be the samelength. The other option is to get a shimano replacement PIN; which I understand will work on a SRAM chain -- although I have also seen folks recommend against that. I wouldn't suggest that since its just as easy to get a SRAM link.

On a 7 or 8sp you could get away with it depending on riding style, on 9spd I wouldn't try it.

P.S. I've reconnected Shimano 8spd chains on my past commuters without the special pin with
no consequences.

I have this sinking feeling that completely removing a rivet is a 1 time procedure.

Pretty much. A friend of mine did this exact thing. He had no catastrophic consequences, but he had several rides ruined when his chain broke midcourse. He also wound up with a chain about 4 links too short so ultimately he gave up and bought a new chain. So, as I said before, get a 2nd powerlink

Problem is getting pin back into link and it is not very easy. If you can get pin back in good luck. If it feel tight after getting it all back together it should be alright. I have done this before with nine speed.
You can tell if link is weak ,if pin slides very easily back into link. Heck i have done this before and it worked. Just remember to not ever push pin all the way out. Always leave it in one side when removing chain. You can use power link in shimano chains and use as many as you want.

before I understood that you didn't have to push the pin all the way out I did it three times
and got it back in three times
it was the most annoying thing ever though took me about two hours per pin

used a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the pin in place while closing in with the chain tool

So far two people have recommended against the re-connect. Any more?

I have this sinking feeling that completely removing a rivet is a 1 time procedure.
+1. I'm with the don't do it group. From the 8-speed era on, as chains got narrower, reusing pins became a fools-errand. You remove a pin completely and replace it with a specific replacement pin or a master link.

It's probaly not recommmended and it is kind of difficult to get the pin started, but I have done it several times with no adverse effects. The pin did not fall out later. If that's a concern, you can always just check you chain after every ride. I will say that I once in, the link was tight and I had to insert a screwdriver blade to spread the links apart a little, but again, I have done this a few times and experienced no issues.

The amount of fud and ridiculously unsafe practices makes my head explode. It's simple, don't ****ing reuse a completley pushed out pin on ANY chain. It's not worth the labour or the risk period. Even if it was only partially pushed out, you'd still be risking chain failure on 7+ speed chains (let's assume you're smart enough not to do this on IG/HG shimano chains).

A sram masterlink retails for $4. Allows infinite amounts of reconnections/disconnections. You can't **** it up. Once it's engaged on the chain, it's engaged, there's no fuzzy logic invovled in whether or not the chain is competently reassembled. It's a mystery why on earth, shimano has taken this long to come up with a masterlink type connector for their chains as it is.

DO NOT REASSEMBLE THAT CHAIN wihtout a masterlink!.

To re-insert the pin

cut a small cube of raw potato and fit it into your chain tool, then use the spike on the tool to drill a little hole into the potato cube
you can then insert your pin into that hole so it is held aligned with the chain for reinsertion

Have fun.

Powerlink.

The amount of fud and ridiculously unsafe practices makes my head explode. It's simple, don't ****ing reuse a completley pushed out pin on ANY chain. [/B]
I agree in that your post is ridiculous. The OP is asking for opinions. What makes your opinions better than anyone elses? Do you actually have proof that pushing in a pin and reusing the chain is unsafe or is it just yor opinion again? Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean a lot of other people can't.
State your opinion and keep your lousy cheap personal attacks to yourself.

I agree in that your post is ridiculous. The OP is asking for opinions. What makes your opinions better than anyone elses? Do you actually have proof that pushing in a pin and reusing the chain is unsafe or is it just yor opinion again? Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean a lot of other people can't.
State your opinion and keep your lousy cheap personal attacks to yourself.

You don't have operator on ignore yet? It's one of the BF rites of passage.

The correct answer is NO. The only exception is if you have an old style protruding pin chain. The vast majority of 9 speed and all 10 speed chains, of all brands are now flush-pin chains. All flush-pin chains require either a special joining pin (Shimano, Campy) or a properly fitting master link. The simple way to tell if a master link fits a chain is to check the clearance between the inner and outer plates. It's normally in the .004-.008 inch range. More side clearance probably won't result in an early failure, but less then .004 inch clearance can. Put a SRAM 10 powerloc link on a Shimano or KMC chain and you might pop the end off one of the pins in a cross chain situation. It's ample side clearance that allows a chain to run at an angle.

Replace the two links without pushing the pin all the way out. The big Park chain tool has a stop that prevents this very thing from happening.

Thank you for all of the replies. I did not read one convincing reason to push the rivet back in.

I fixed the issue I was having with a $4.00 part (+ time + trip gas). I ended up using a new 3/32" half-link. I'm going to go out for a test ride in about 30 minuets. I hope I survive. Cheers.

The correct answer is NO. The only exception is if you have an old style protruding pin chain.

I noticed the half-link exibited this characteristic, so I felt it was safe to use.

Thank you for all of the replies. I did not read one convincing reason to push the rivet back in.

*shrug* if it was me
my convincing reason would be that I can do it in about 15mins with no extra parts, whereas the alternative requires a trip to a shop or waiting for a mail order and money/time spent.

*shrug* if it was me
my convincing reason would be that I can do it in about 15mins with no extra parts, whereas the alternative requires a trip to a shop or waiting for a mail order and money/time spent.

Even putting aside we were talking about a SRAM chain so breaking was unnecessary to begin with, why break any chain in the first place without proper replacement part when proper replacement part is readily available and cheap? Besides, for me, a 15 minute run to a shop for a masterlink is better than a 10 mile walk home after my chain breaks and I don't have a chain tool with me.