Barnabas

Anyone got any tips for fixing a tight chain link. I don't know if thats the name for it really, but it doesnt flex/move freely like the other links. I don't want to buy a new chain, any tricks?? it is a brand new chain, i used a pin to link it together. oh yeah it is stiff where the chain pin is.

echo

Grasp the chain on either side of the stiff link and gently rock the chain back and forth lengthwise with the chain until it moves freely.

HillRider

Is it a Shimano chain? If so and you didn't seat the joining pin completely, the chain will be tight at that spot. As you push in the pin it will suddenly get a bit easier to turn the chain tool's handle as it reaches full insertion. Be sure the head of the special pin is almost flush with the side plates.

FBinNY 

Back in the day, stiff links on newly closed chains was very common. Some chain tools had a step made expressly for increasing the gap between the outer and inner link. Without the special chain tool, you can usually free the link by putting your thumbs on the suspect pin and flexing the chain sideways (the way chains don't flex). This makes the inner link wedge the outer plates apart, so do it slowly and by degrees only until the chain is free.


BUT-- and this could be very important and spare you some grief. so read below before riding

Modern chains, anything marked 8s or more on the package, cannot be properly closed by pushing a pin back in. The pins on these chains are peened over the outside of the plate (like the rivets in bridge construction) so the plate cannot be pushed over the end of the pin. This is necessary because the chains were made narrower by using shorter pins that don't stick out as far as they used to.

So, while you might free the link, if this is a flush pin chain, you broke the head off the pin when you pushed it out, and it won't grow back. That means that the plate isn't secure and may (probably will) end up spreading beyond the end of the pin causing the chain to snap under load.

Barnabas

i used a shimano Pin...and maybe you will think im stupid, but the chain is a campy one...i thought it'd be okay?

FBinNY 

Creative, it had to happen eventually.

I don't know about interchangeability of the closure pins but wouldn't be surprised that they're not. Shimano makes a number of pins for their chains with different distances between the flares on the pins, so it's likely that the pin is too narrow (short) for your chain.

Don't take this personally, but on my wall is a sign that reads "Nothing is foolproof, because fools are too ingenious". I think you might have proved this.

Jed19

I love this quote

Bill Kapaun

OTOH, it's a minor feat to get a loose pin IN the chain.

Barnabas

glad i proved something

Barnabas

Oh yeah, forgot to update...I totally got it to work from Hillrider's tip. Kudos! ...definitely going to get a masterlink next time...

HillRider

Good but be careful. My recommendation was based on a Shimano joining pin in a matching width Shimano chain. I have no idea how sound that joint will be if you used a Shimano pin in a Campy chain. Campy chains are fussy enough if you use their recommended links, nevermind something that wasn't considered in their design.

ironbirdxplorer

I'm just about to put on a new SRAM PC951 on my Salsa Mukluk. The chain came very heavily greased in the package. Should I be degreasing it first before I put it on?

Thanks

Steve

Bill Kapaun

You might want to wipe the excess off with a rag.
I certainly wouldn't take "extreme" means to get off any more than that.

ironbirdxplorer

thanks muchly