Removing Excess Links From New KMC Chain With Tool

[Big John]

I initially had a problem with ten speed too until I discovered the pin in my chain splitter was too big to push a ten speed rivet out. Had to buy a new splitter appropriate for a ten speed chain. Fortunately it also works for other chains too as I have seven speeds on the winter bike and ten on the summer one so I just put the one splitter in my saddle bag in case the chain snaps while I'm out.

 

[Sharky]

Just out of interest, what do you mean by the old fashioned way?

Does it involve bashing the pin with a hammer to mushroom it at the end after fitting, which is what I used to do on 5 so chains. Not sure who taught me that. Probably Richard Ballantyne.

Have done it that way, but I meant just using the tool to push the pin back in, without using a quick link.

 

[C R]

The way the pins are peened in those kmc chains, I am not sure I would be happy to reuse one to rejoin the chain, not sure it would last very long.

 

[midlife]

I thought lots of modern chains weren’t meant to be rejoined the old fashioned way after shortening and you had to use a quick link ?

 

[Sharky]

I thought lots of modern chains weren’t meant to be rejoined the old fashioned way after shortening and you had to use a quick link ?

They are not meant to be, but you can still do it. If you have a mechanical 20 miles from home, if you know how to rejoin without a quick link, then it will get you home. And avoid changing gears.
Hope nobody needs to though.

 

[ColinJ]

The way the pins are peened in those kmc chains, I am not sure I would be happy to reuse one to rejoin the chain, not sure it would last very long.

I thought lots of modern chains weren’t meant to be rejoined the old fashioned way after shortening and you had to use a quick link ?

They are not meant to be, but you can still do it. If you have a mechanical 20 miles from home, if you know how to rejoin without a quick link, then it will get you home. And avoid changing gears.

Ah, that makes sense...

I always carry spare quick links anyway.

I have been using cheap 8-speed chains on my singlespeed bike and carry spare lengths of 8-speed chain. There is no option to shorten the chain on a singlespeed bike so it is vital that it can be restored to its original length, either using a quick link, or a length of replacement chain.

 

[Pale Rider]

Just out of interest, what do you mean by the old fashioned way?

Does it involve bashing the pin with a hammer to mushroom it at the end after fitting, which is what I used to do on 5 so chains. Not sure who taught me that. Probably Richard Ballantyne.

As @Sharky says, using the tool to push the pin back in, hopefully to the same depth it came out.

I used a Park Tools Mini-Brute.

The technique worked the two or three times I've tried it, but I don't know if it works on 11-speed and above chains.

I reckon it should work on most older chains because it was the way I was taught about 45 years ago.

I'm not familiar with the mushrooming technique you describe.

 

[Sharky]

When did quick links come in? I'm sure in the 60's when 5 speeds were the norm and 3/32nd chains were used, the chains came with one of the pins already pushed out, ready to be pushed in again by the tool.

Never had a problem in those days.

 

[midlife]

BITD 1/8th chains came with a removable link

 

[midlife]

As Sharky says, 3/32" chains simply came with an opened up link, there was no removable link as it would get in the way of the pulleys and close together cogs of the block. I sort of "left" cycling about 1982 and there were no quick links then as we would think of them today.

 

[Gixxerman]

I don't have / use a tool for mine. I can get them to split just using my fingers. This is on 7/8/9/10 speed chains.

 

[andrew_s]

Up to 7 speed, quick links didn't exist, and you joined a chain by pushing the un-peened pin back in so that it stood out equally from the outer side plate on each side.
Initially, 8 speed chains were the same, but the pin was a little shorter so it didn't stand out so far, and you had to be quite careful to get the pin centrally positioned.
At 9 speed, the pin was short enough that is was more or less flush with the outer side plate, and just pushing a pin in didn't make a reliable join. Consequently, they started peening the pins - i.e. punching the pin ends so that the end of the pin expands, and you've got a pin with ends slightly larger than the unstretched state of the sideplate hole it's in. You can't drive such a pin out and back in without damaging the sideplate (sometimes you can find a small ring of removed sideplate round your chain tool driving pin), so joining links were also introduced. They were also more or less immediately introduced for 8 speed as well.

Move on to the current day, and virtually all multi-speed chains have peened pin ends, with the result that even on 7 speed, just driving the pins back in results in joins that aren't as reliable as they used to be.