Fix stiff chain link?-Help UPDATE - [PICS]!!!

faaj

I've got a stiff link on my bike, theres only one and i noticed it as my chain kept of skipping causing me to spend an hour or so trying to tune the blimming rear derailleur to find that it was a stiff link after all!

Anyways, i dont have a chain removal tool, so i tried using my hands, after reading and watching a few tutorials e.g. http://bicycletutor.com/stiff-chain-link/ , i still find that it wont go away.

Moving the links up and down in their natural way doesnt really seem to work (is pretty hard moving it up and down as the link is pretty stiff). Also when i try to move the links side to side, it doesnt budge, looking at the video tut he seems to move the chain links in and out pretty easily while i cant.

Any other tips on how to loosen the link? Or do i have to keep on loosening it up by moving the link in diff. directions?


UPDATE BELOW SCROLL DOWN:

Slow Downcp

Stick a small screwdriver between the plates of the sticky line and twist (not too hard though in case you push the plate off)

faaj

good idea! i guess by putting a mall screwdriver in between the pates around the stiff link and using it as a lever would slightly expand it (Is that what you mean?)

Slow Downcp

Yep - always worked for me

redvee

You could try grabbing the chain approx 3" either side of the stiff link and flexing the chain.

woodywmb

Get one of these - and fix your chains in future within seconds:
http://www.unicycle.uk.com/shop/shopdis ... alogid=796

£5 including delivery. Or £2 on ebay. Serenity for the price of a pint.

faaj

UPDATE

Ok ive tried all those tricks with hands and using a screwdrive as a lever to carfully wedge it out, however theres little progress and ive only manged (with screw driver) to slightly bend open side walls a bit.

Heres pictures of the sticky link, NOTICE that the small gap above the roller was already there, yellow arrow points to bad link:

Pic 1:



Pic 2:



Pic 3:



Theres the pics i took. The gap seems to be due to the upper part of the link, which touches the roller beneath, having a bit of metal sticking below, however it is not removable so it look that the wall above has metal attached to it that is causing this.

Im getting a chain splitter tool on wednesday and will hopefully be able to see more. Im just wondering if i dont need to replace this link and could kind of 'file' the metal part sticking out of the upper wall off?

ALSO - this is a fairly new bike ( got it in Feb) however due o exams ive only ridden it 4 times each time around 15-20 miles, so this is pretty annoying..... (chain looks dirty as finish line pro lube attracts dirt like a ....)

John.T

You can not split that section of the link. It looks like a new link job to me.

redddraggon

John.T wrote:

You can not split that section of the link. It looks like a new link job to me.

Aye, a missing link should sort that out.

How old is the chain? If it's an oldish chain perhaps it might be getting a new chain, and then you might not be flogging a dead horse.

meagain

Looks like a faulty link and thus agree with John T.

Doesn't look particularly dirty to me - but then I use 15/40 engine oil!

dennisn

faaj wrote:

UPDATE

Ok ive tried all those tricks with hands and using a screwdrive as a lever to carfully wedge it out, however theres little progress and ive only manged (with screw driver) to slightly bend open side walls a bit.

Heres pictures of the sticky link, NOTICE that the small gap above the roller was already there, yellow arrow points to bad link:

Pic 1:



Pic 2:



Pic 3:



Theres the pics i took. The gap seems to be due to the upper part of the link, which touches the roller beneath, having a bit of metal sticking below, however it is not removable so it look that the wall above has metal attached to it that is causing this.

Im getting a chain splitter tool on wednesday and will hopefully be able to see more. Im just wondering if i dont need to replace this link and could kind of 'file' the metal part sticking out of the upper wall off?

ALSO - this is a fairly new bike ( got it in Feb) however due o exams ive only ridden it 4 times each time around 15-20 miles, so this is pretty annoying..... (chain looks dirty as finish line pro lube attracts dirt like a ....)

Whatever is happening at that link get rid of it and I mean the whole link and maybe the ones next to it. Use your new splitter and go buy a master link(wipperman, sram). Don't use the chain until it's fixed. Why, well just imagine what would happen to the family
jewels should the chain give way and they meet the top tube with a slam.

Dennis Noward

faaj

oh thanks, well this is a 9 speed chain Shimano HG53 for my giant scr 2 tiagra , any ideas which exact link i could use? thanks

Also all the link i found are links that go around the rollers, how do i buy/where do i buy anew rolller inner links like the one that ive broke to put into my chain?

dennisn

Use you chain breaker to push out the first pin to the left of the arrow and push out
the second pin to the right of the arrow. Join these two ends together with your
newly purchased Sram or Wipperman 9 speed master link. Your chain will be a link
or two short but it should not matter. If you're still not sure about what to do have a bike shop do it or get a friend that has done it before.

Dennis Noward

woodywmb

Parker International do Shimano HG53 chains for under £6. Tesco do chain splitters for £1.98. And loads of places do Sram Powerlinks for 50 pence a side. It's worth spending the money on a new chain, preferably a better grade like HG73 or HG93 and similar in Sram. A small investment on a chain tool might explain the intracies of chain repair though. It all becomes clear with experience. And some input from like minds on this forum.

faaj

well with the new chain tool i 'might' try loosening the outer thing very so slightly as if it was a stiff link and see what happens. Otherwise repairing it seems quite a bit of a hassle and my chain will be shortened where ive heard a shortened chain shouldnt be used in the long run only in emergencies. o i guess ill prob have to buy a new chain due to this The chain is prety new with the bike which is also new and ive ridden it only 4 times.....

BTW - with the missing link option where the chain is shorter, how bad is that?

P.S. also if say i broke a link but kept the pin still in there, so the chain would be split (enough for me to bend that protruding chain bit inwards) could i still use the pin which hasnt completely been pushed out back in? As to use a power link connector, id have to cut off two part off to make sure i get the male and female links correctly.

faaj

Sorry about double posting, just wondering, im looking for a new chain for my 9 speed tiagra. Which one should i get? The one that 'broke' was the shimano HG73. Should i stick with that and get a new one or should i get a Sram PC951 or sram PC971 with a powerlink connector(heard the powerlink connector can cause the chain to snap easily there)
I lie the fact that u can take a sram pin out and still use it unlike the shimano where u have to get a new pin out for your link every time!

THANKS

redddraggon

I'm get a KMC chain

dennisn

I wouldn't obsess too much about which brand to buy. Just get a 9 speed chain that comes with a master link and keep it lubed and clean. There is no "holy grail" of chains.
Only different brands of pretty much the same thing.

Dennis Noward

faaj

oh right, well i've sorted out that fixed link by loosening it with my chain tool. However ive found that when running the chain over the cassete, some links periodically 'hop' above the cassete almost like they dont fit in, but in the derailleur body they seem to go through smoothly , none of the links a stuck. So would this mean a new chain? or something wrong with my setup...

woodywmb

It's a stiff link. Keep edging the pin in and out with your chain tool until the link moves without friction. Spray WD 40 around the pin and work it in with an old toothbrush. Two-minute job!