Originally Posted by Maxg

I have a new shimano chain (6-7-8 speed) and I purchased a master link (SRAM brand 8 speed). I tried fitting it to my chain (and to another chain that I had on a different bike, also shimano) and it didn't fit either; the shimano links seemed to be just a smidgen too wide and didn't allow the link to close. I read on another thread here that it'd be possible to attach an SRAM link on each side of the chain and just apply the master link to those; is that viable, worth it? Could I just slightly file down the links that don't fit (it seems like it's just a hair's breadth that's not allowing me to close it)? Will that significantly detract from the chain's longetivity? Any other solutions?