How To Install A Bike Chain Without A Chain Tool

Every cyclist should have different bike tools required to prepare your tires or when repairing bondage, but not e'er. Luckily there is a way you can remove and repair the bike chain without any special tool.

Bikes are incredible feats of engineering. They seem simple, and yet they are the most energy-efficient fashion of transportation we have created.

The bicycle can turn as much as 90% of the energy you use when pedaling into kinetic free energy.

The chain is integral to this process. Without information technology, y'all'd just be spinning the cranks, working up a sweat, but getting nowhere. And then, information technology's of import that you take care of your concatenation, even if it requires removing it entirely.

You've probably heard of concatenation pin pliers and concatenation breakers, tools made to service chains. But, don't think that y'all absolutely need those tools to do the chore.

There are other ways to go those links off, using common tools, household objects, or your blank easily.

Moreover, bike chain manufacturers have engineered special links to increase the ease of concatenation removal and repair. Called "master" links, these innovative components offer more than convenient service options for those of us who don't have every tool and don't desire to take a trip to the bike repair shop.

I want to make things more convenient for you likewise, and then I've gathered all this information together in one place. We'll get-go by looking at the master link in general, and how it tin easily exist removed without a special tool or only with items you probable take on hand.

Tabular array of Contents

• Removing the Master Link Without a Special Tool
• How To Detect Master Rivet on Bike Chain
• iii Mutual Types of Master Chain Link
  • Shimano Rivet Bike Link
  • SRAM Ability Principal Links
  • Clip "C" Style Master Links
• How To Remove Shimano Principal Concatenation Rivets
• How To Remove SRAM Master Link on Mountain Bikes
• How to Remove a "C" Style Chief Link
• Removing a Chain Link Without a Special Tool
• Putting the Chain Back On
• Decision
  • • • Likewise Read,

Removing the Master Link Without a Special Tool

Follow these simple steps to remove your well-nigh common manner of master link:

• Position your bike. Flip your bike upside downwards, and so it is supported past the seat and handlebars, with the drivetrain facing you.
• Put the concatenation in the everyman gear. Yous want to have slack to work with.
• Make clean your chain! If your chain is covered in mud, clay, and grime, it will be harder to locate the chief link, and more difficult to remove it.
• Notice the master link. Plow the pedal to rotate the chain until you see a link that looks different from the rest. Chief links are often a different colour than the rest of the concatenation, to make this process easier. I will get over this in detail in the adjacent section.
• Press the pins on the master link inwards towards 1 some other. There are few ways to do this without a specialized tool:
  1. Use a pair of pliers. Position the jaws of the pliers around the 2 pins in the master link, and squeeze so that the pins are pulled towards the center.
  2. Apply a cord or a shoestring. Yous can accept a sturdy cord and sideslip 1 cease through the chain on either side of the primary link. Cantankerous the ends and pull them so that they tighten around the link, and pull the pins inward. You may take to pull hard, but this method works.

How To Find Master Rivet on Cycle Chain

Finding the master link on your chain tin can be difficult. Some stand up out from the rest of the chain more than than others. The longer the link remains on the concatenation, the more information technology takes on the same qualities of wear as the other links. And, if the chain is muddied or, worse, rusted, the distinguishing features may be obscured.

That'southward why the outset step in finding the master link is to make clean your chain. Have a microfiber cloth and wipe away all the accumulated dirt. If that's not enough, utilise a degreaser and really strip everything away. Just make sure to employ chain lube again afterwards.

Once the concatenation is clean, you can inspect the links. Master links have a few telltale signs that give them away:

Different color shade. Many chief links are manufactured to exist a lighter shade than the other links, or a different color altogether.

Tapered slots around the pin. Every other link has pins secured in place with no space around them. Almost main links take tapered slots, with pins secured in the narrow cease while under tension.

"C" Clip. This clip secures the two pins in the style of the master link that lacks the tapered holes. You lot won't exist able to miss this particular.

iii Mutual Types of Main Chain Link

Shimano Rivet Cycle Link

Equally the name suggests, the Shimano rivet link arrangement doesn't actually use a master link. Instead, information technology uses special replacement pins, called joining or connecting pins, to allow you to safely reconnect a link in one of their chains. And so, how does this piece of work?

Well, a concatenation without a primary link can but exist fully removed if you extract i of the pins. No matter how yous do this, the hole that the pin sits in is slightly enlarged in the process. This means that reconnecting the chain at the aforementioned betoken, with the aforementioned pivot, will result in loose connexion.

Shimano's joining pins accost this by beingness tapered at one end, and thicker in bore. They actually widen the hole a bit further when being installed, but this creates a tight fit.

Additionally, the pin is segmented so that the tapered finish can be snapped off, leaving the pivot flush with the chain on both sides. This allows riders to repair their concatenation at any spot along its length. Withal, once installed, the joining pin itself can't be reused or replaced with another joining pin.

SRAM Power Chief Links

SRAM'southward take on the master link, branded the PowerLink, is widely considered to exist the easiest to remove. Yet, information technology was primarily designed to address a safety business organisation nowadays in some pre existing varieties.

Many master links depend on chain tension to remain secure. Information technology'due south this tension that pulls the pins into the narrow end of their slot in the link plate. Equally you've read, reversing this pressure level is how you remove the link.

Yet, a master link can go compressed under certain circumstances while riding, and disengage in that way. It'southward non exactly common, and more often than not occurs on older bikes with worn downward sprockets, but it can happen.

SRAMs solution is to design the pins then that it takes more simply pressure forth one axis to move them. The pins are thicker at the top than farther down, and the holes they sit in are shaped so that they tin can't motion so long as the upper portion is slotted in.

You have to press downwardly on the plates, or the link won't budge. Once the thick upper portion is cleared, the plates motility freely, and the link can easily be removed. This process tin can exist performed without any tools. The downside is that a PowerLink can only be safely used one time.

Prune "C" Style Master Links

I've mentioned this mysterious "C" clip several times already, and I know you're wondering: "What is information technology?" This type of master link is unlike from others in a few key ways.

First, it has both pins riveted onto 1 plate. The other plate is shine, with two holes fitted for those pins to laissez passer through. The pins themselves take a groove etched effectually the top, and that is where the prune comes in.

The long clip has cutting outs inside the interior that fit into the grooves on the ii pins. Once snapped into place, it holds the principal link deeply, without any business for the tension on the chain.

This makes the clip incredibly reliable in difficult riding weather where concatenation tension can be farthermost and unpredictable. Nevertheless, the clip adds extra bulk to the link's profile, making it unsuitable for use on bikes with more than 9-x gears, which crave thinner chains.

That said, you'll often hear mountain bikers who opt for a "C" prune for demanding rides. Some single speeds and other bikes with more accomodating drivetrains as well feature this link.

How To Remove Shimano Master Chain Rivets

Removing a rivet from a Shimano style chain is essentially no different from removing the pin from any chain without a master link. There is a tool for the job called a concatenation breaker, which works just as well for both types.

To do information technology with the chain breaker tool, clean your concatenation and position your bike equally instructed in the earlier step by step listing. From in that location, follow these steps:

1. Choose the rivet you will remove. While you can pick whatsoever one yous want, it's all-time to pick 1 on the leading end of a link. This means the pin of the ii on a link that is furthest in the direction that the chain is existence pulled while pedaling.
2. Position the link in the concatenation breaker. The tool has a guide that is essentially a cake with a aqueduct carved into it for the rivet. Align the rivet with that channel.
3. Tighten the pin driver against the pin. The pin driver is controlled past a screw handle. Every bit you lot turn the handle, the commuter extends towards the link. Practise this until the link is held in place by the commuter.
4. Make sure the driver is centered on the pin, and the pin is centered on the guide channel.
5. Screw the pivot driver to button the rivet out of place. Use a slow, steady pace, turning the handle to slide the pin completely out of the link.

Doing this without the tool is fairly difficult. You lot can use a hammer and nail to drive the pin out, but this requires you to lay your bicycle on its side, and to position the link over different types of guide — a slice of woods with a correctly sized pigsty drilled into information technology works well. Eye the rivet over that guide, and tap it out carefully using the nail as the commuter.

How To Remove SRAM Chief Link on Mountain Bikes

To remove an SRAM, once again you should follow steps 1-4 from the first guide. And then, take the following easy steps:

Grip the link betwixt thumb and forefinger. Hold it so your fingers are on the plates on either side.

Squeeze the plates to depress them down the pins. Practise this until y'all see the slimmer lower portion of the stepped pins.

Slide the plates in opposite directions. While holding them downwardly, slide the plates and then that the pins are within the larger part of their groove. This will allow yous to remove the plates and the link itself.

As you can see, no tools are commonly needed to deal with an SRAM chief link. Still, dirt, rust, or other factors can make information technology harder to pop the link off. If you have trouble, use a pair of pliers to squeeze the pins as described in the kickoff guide, while too squeezing the plates down.

An culling method involves arranging the primary link in a detail orientation that applies a diagonal pressure to the pins and plates. It works like this:

Arrange the link in a "Z" shape. This involves iii links: the master link, and the link on either side of it. Hold the concatenation and so that the master link is positioned vertically, while the two links at either end of it are horizontal.

Then, movement the horizontal links towards the master link. This volition cause the SRAM link to hinge into a diagonal orientation betwixt the other 2 links, the "Z" shape.

Squeeze downwards on the "Z." Grip information technology at the tiptop and lesser and apply pressure.

Pull the chain outward. While squeezing down on the "Z" section, pull the chain ends on either side of information technology. This requires a bit of dexterity, but it's some other mode to remove this link without a tool.

How to Remove a "C" Style Master Link

Unlike the SRAM master link, the "C" fashion link can't be removed without any tools at all. Yet, all you need is a flat head screwdriver, or anything similar, to apace and hands remove this main link. Begin by following steps 1-4 from the beginning guide.

Cleaning is particularly important because enough grime buildup may obscure the clip, making the link difficult to locate. In one case yous've found information technology, take the post-obit steps:

1. Place the head of the screwdriver betwixt the prongs of the prune. The screwdriver should exist perpendicular to the surface of the link, and closer to the open end of the prune.
2. Spread the prongs by turning the screwdriver. As yous plough the head, information technology volition cause the prongs to flex outward, releasing their grip on the pins. Simply open up the clip plenty to undo it.
3. Remove the clip. While information technology'south spread, it's a simple matter to pull the prune away from the link. You tin practise information technology past tilting the screwdriver, or just use your other hand.
4. Remove the outward facing plate. This is the plate that was nether the clip, and it comes off easily once the prune is removed. At that point, you can have the link out of the chain entirely.

Removing a Concatenation Link Without a Special Tool

Not every wheel chain has a master link. Those that don't are the almost secure, as every link is equally well secured. This does hateful they aren't as user-friendly to remove and service, simply it can be done.

If you recall, Shimano chains also lack a master link, and removing a regular concatenation link follows the same bones procedure of removing a so-called master rivet, though it needs to be done twice to remove an entire link.

Once more, information technology'southward necessary to resort to a hammer and nail if you lot don't have the chain breaker tool. I say boom, but information technology would exist best to employ a slim metal piece with an end that is apartment instead of pointed.

Follow the same procedure detailed in the Shimano guide, but do it for both pins in the link to remove it entirely. This is something that yous'll practise if you need to shorten the concatenation, or want to bandy a regular link for a master link.

If you lot don't demand to remove the entire link, so only disconnect a single pin — and don't remove that pivot entirely. Recollect, removing the pin widens the opening it was in. If you lot go out information technology in one plate, it will maintain greater integrity and can be reused.

Putting the Chain Back On

Once a link is uncoupled, y'all tin remove the chain from your cycle entirely. Maybe you needed to clean it thoroughly, or maybe y'all're installing a new chain.

In any case, putting it back on requires paying careful attention to detail. The process isn't bad for unmarried speed bikes. Yous would simply set the reconnected chain onto the rear sprocket, and as much of the concatenation bike as yous tin can, so plow the pedals and the chain will be pulled into place.

The chain reconnection procedure differs a trivial for each chief link, but the basic procedure involves the following:

1. Slide the pins into the holes of the corresponding inner links. Proceed the branded side of the link facing outward for proper orientation.
2. Pull the chain taut. This sets the pins in the narrow role of the tapered groove that holds them and volition work for SRAM manner principal links.
3. "C" clips require you lot to snap the prune into place. You lot don't need to pull the chain to secure these, but make certain the open office of the clip is facing the direction in which the concatenation is existence pulled.

If there is no master link present, so y'all'll need to install a new link, reversing the Shimano rivet removal process every bit described above.

For bikes with rear derailleurs, yous will need to route the chain through the machinery first.

Take the cease of the concatenation with no pin nowadays, and bring it over the lower pulley sprocket, then upwardly effectually the top pulley sprocket, in an "Due south" shape.

Continue past fitting the chain over the smallest sprocket in the rear cassette. Route the chain through the front derailleur. Wrap it around the smallest forepart chain bike.

Connect the chain, using 1 of the previously outlined methods.

Decision

The truth is, it'south e'er going to be easier to piece of work with your concatenation if y'all apply the tools specially made for the job. Other methods tin and do work, often without issue. However, concatenation links can be more delicate than you'd look, and making a mistake with improvised methods tin can ruin them.

That said, sometimes you volition observe yourself in a position where you need to service your concatenation and the proper tools simply aren't on hand.

Existence able to install a chain and connect it can brand the deviation between riding and walking dwelling house. Hopefully, this guide has given you the confidence you need to rise to such an occasion.

Also Read,

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Are Mountain Bikes Good For Urban Riding? | Commuting On A MTB

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