i'm just trying to install my new chain,but i cant fig out wether to cut exactly to size, or what? when i have to remove the wheel for some reason,do i just derail the chain from the chainring, or remove the link and reinstall it back again-tricky ****!

Cut it close to the right size, then move the wheel to tension it. To remove the wheel, undo the nuts on the axle and slide the wheel forward, releasing tension on the chain to where you can move the chain out of the way.

not quite sure what you're asking...
do you want to know if you have to cut the chain when you remove your wheel?

if that's your question, then no, you don't cut the chain, just take your wheel off, do whatever you need to do, and re-mount the wheel.

if i have to take the wheel off,should i remove the master link,or derail the chain/ i have two redline tuggnuts on there. im new to this and i dont yet know which cog/chainring combo suits me best right now.im starting out with a 47/16 is this good ?

sounds like you need to change a tire or something on a bike thats already built up, if that is the case you will want remove the tugnuts and loosen the axle bolts which should make some slack in the chain, then "derail" the chain and take your wheel off.

does that help?

what exactly are you trying to do?

Is it bad form to use a masterlink type chain on a brakeless bike? Dangerous? Does that increase the likelihood of a chain break?

no, not really... I use them in all my fixed bikes. it makes cleaning the chain a million times easier.

How deep are your dropouts? 47/16 is fine. Mine range from 42/16 to 52/16.

you said you were installing your new chain. if that's it, just lay your old chain out on the ground or hang it on a nail and then shorten your new chain to the same length.

installing it for the 1st time,brand new bike,izumi v chain. i also bought the extra link. it has a bolt/nut link,are these safe?

If you have track ends, you should have enough chain length to allow you to take the chain off by just sliding the wheel forward in the track ends (at least in theory). If for some reason you want your geometry tighter by 1cm, then move your wheel all the way forward and cut the chain to fit. I would position the axle around the center of the slot when determining length, though.

Oh, and I run a master link whilst brakeless, it's my first time using one recently, and I already love it. Especially since my chain tool bites and I like to avoid using it.

i recommend the fancy park chain tool, it's really worth it in imm, i used to HATE having to mess with chains, but that tooll makes it a snap.

Thanks dolface, I've heard good things about it. When I was in the market for a chain tool for some reason I opted for the $4 pyramid tool instead of the $14 park tool, probably because of the price. How foolish I was. Park chain tool and crank puller are the next 2 tools on my wish-list.

Links are typically weaker than the rest of the links in the chain, but you'll put less stress on them riding fixed that you would climbing a hill in a granny gear. The advantage of the link system is that you can break the chain without affecting the integrity of the regular links. Chain pins have are peened so that they have a mushroom head, rather than being straight. The peening gets sheared off when your remove the pin, so punching them with the chain tool would raise the question of how strong the link would be.

Park's got a nice chain info page: https://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQchnRe.shtml

I'm not familiar with the bolt nut thing on izumi's, just the Shimano Masterlink setup...