Originally Posted by
Jiggle
I hate how the KMC quicklink requires a tool to open and close. I take a jewelry file and carefully reduce the metal that pinches the pin until I can just pop it in and out by hand.
If you do any regular chain maintenance on the chain they don't need a tool to open. And I've never needed a tool to close them. I don't even own one as my Park MLP-1 is the older style that doesn't even work to also close them. If the "missing link" master is clean and not full of grit and grime it doesn't need a tool to assemble. If you are assembling a chain without cleaning it first you are doing something wrong. The only time I ever have a problem getting the link to separate is on customer's bikes. Bike that saw no or minimal cleaning and oiling and are really stuck. The problem is the grit doesn't allow the link to pop apart easily and needs the tool to put more force on the snap.
Using a file to open up the keyhole on these links sounds like a REALLY bad idea. They pop in and out by hand when new, with only a slight bit of snap to keep them together and it's only the grit that makes them get tough to open. Making them even looser by filing out the snap keyhole might cause them to be much more likely to open up if the chain lost tension for a second like hitting a really big bump, big enough to cause major chain-slap and then a return snap before the derailleur spring could take it up. Having a chain fall off like this while riding could be a very dangerous condition. I would never do this to my own chains as I take care of them and never have a problem or need to use my tool to open them. I remove and clean (Duncan Swish method) the chain every 100-200 miles max. It never gets a chance to get so gritty that it binds up.
I'd never file on the link on a customer's bike either. Should the chain ever come off and they crash I would be opening myself up to a huge liability for modifying the master link. I own the chain tool because it is needed on customer's bikes from time to time. I have it right there in my tool box. With the tool no KMC chain is ever hard to snap apart. Just buy the tool. Use it. Modifying the master link is ill-advised if you ask me. You are just opening yourself up to liability and potential disaster.