Knack to taking KMC link off?

Ian.B
Ian.B Posts: 732
edited April 2013 in Workshop
Having fitted a new chain with one, I can't get if off again - it was pretty stiff going on. From various posts it sounds as though lots of you just whip it on and off at the drop of a hat to clean your chains - is there a knack to it?

Comments

  • GavH
    GavH Posts: 933
    Yes, but I'm damned if I could manage it. Buying the KMC pliers specific for the task was the best £7 I'd spent in a long time. Prices have gone up in the last 12 months though:

    http://www.parker-international.co.uk/11587/KMC-Chain-Link-Pliers.html
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Give it a spray with WD40. If it's gunked up a bit it will be near impossible to open.
    I like bikes...

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  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 2,706
    Yes.

    Don't ask me to explain it though, it's just something you get with practice. Just clean the chain in situ, mine only come off to go in the bin.
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    Buy the pliers, KMC or BBB (much cheaper).
    Removing is a doddle, see this clip
    If chain is grundgy, the pliers make life easy, though :wink:
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    No problems at all unless your chain is full of gunk and crap. Push outer plates inward and then just push pins towards each other.
  • Steveorow
    Steveorow Posts: 162
    If you get a piece of brake or gear cable about 10 inches long and slip it in the gaps of the chain next to ie either side of the quicklink then cross the ends of the wire over and pull each end away from each other the quick link will release . I always carry a =piece of wire in the tool kit I take on the bke for this very reason . Works just as good in the garage when cleaning the chain .
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,533
    1 - squeeze plates together, then while squeezing...

    2 - push pins together, with fingers/tool/wire/whatever, to release link

    omitting the first step may cause damage to the link at the second step
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    Easiest and simplest way, long nose pliers, gentle squeeze the two rollers together and then separate.
  • andy162
    andy162 Posts: 634
    It should be easy according to the blurb in the instructions....but it ain't!

    My technique is to bunch up the links either side of the split link. This gives you something to get some purchase on whilst sqeezing the plates together.

    Keeping the chain clean is vital too.
  • nitesight
    nitesight Posts: 119
    BLOODY WIERD

    I had this EXACT issue today and went interwebbing to solve it. After ten minutes of stripping nuckles and exploring the more colourful areas of the english language I was desperate and ready to pop a pin.

    Once I knew what I had to do it took all of three seconds with no special tools needed.

    Pinch the links either side below the removable link so you create a triangle with the removable link at the top and the links either sides squeezed together below. It helps to take the chain of the chainrings so there is no tension in the chain.

    Pinch the removable link gently in the middle with some needle nose pliers and the link will fall apart.

    Simples! :D

    It was driving me nuts too and I felt like I'd found some mysterious KMC spell when that link just fell apart so easily.......
  • chriskempton
    chriskempton Posts: 1,245
    Wiggle it, just a little bit....
  • Underscore
    Underscore Posts: 730
    nitesight wrote:
    It helps to take the chain of the chainrings so there is no tension in the chain.

    Or you make a tool for the job. I cut out a length of wire from a wire coat-hanger and bent each end round to make a hook. Hook one end in the chain a few links to one side of the missing link, then hook the other end into the chain a couple of links beyond where it reaches - which causes the section containing the missing link to drop down with no tension. Also makes it easier to rejoin the chain afterwards too...

    _
  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    Unless you are prepared to carry a tool on your rides with you learn how to do it without pliers as you can be sure that the time you need to split the chain will be when you don't have a tool to do it
  • Ian.B
    Ian.B Posts: 732
    Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll have another go
  • jairaj
    jairaj Posts: 3,009
    Also some are just stiff. I have 2 SRAM chains which use pretty much the same link. One is OKish to get off but the new one I got for a 2nd bike is a bugger to get off, I have to use pliers. Maybe they loosen with a bit or wear?
  • chriskempton
    chriskempton Posts: 1,245
    Dont just pull the link apart, try twisting it back and forth (sideways) as you pull.
  • pete.whelan
    pete.whelan Posts: 788
    Or remember to fit a Wippermann quick link instead - you can do those one handed
    Recipe: shave legs sparingly, rub in embrocation and drizzle with freshly squeezed baby oil.
  • Ancient post revival.

    I think KMC must have changed the missing links to stronger ones? I was trying last night to get mine undone and I even tried making a tool combined with some pliers to get it off and you couldn't have paid me to get it undone. Going to have another go tonight. I don't understand some of the above "just do this" type posts, with no pictures.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    Ancient post revival.

    I think KMC must have changed the missing links to stronger ones? I was trying last night to get mine undone and I even tried making a tool combined with some pliers to get it off and you couldn't have paid me to get it undone. Going to have another go tonight. I don't understand some of the above "just do this" type posts, with no pictures.
    some are reuseable and others are not.

    for the reusable ones just wiggle together.

    done.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • mercia_man
    mercia_man Posts: 1,431
    I used to struggle with KMC quick links until I read a CTC technical article explaining the knack. I can now open quick links in a couple of seconds every time. No need to wiggle it or use special pliers or other tools - so you can do this even if you have trouble out on the road.

    The CTC website has changed so I can't find a link to that article on that site but here's my explanation. It's similar to nitesight's tip except you leave the chain on the chainring.

    1. Position quicklink at about 3 o'clock on the big chainring.
    2. Lift the chain off the chainring below the quicklink and reposition it up by one link so that the quicklink and the link immediately below form a V sticking out from the chainring.
    3. Tap the apex of the V with a hammer or similar hard object such as a handy stone.

    The quicklink will open immediately.
  • bondurant
    bondurant Posts: 858
    The above is the best tip of all time for KMC quick links. It has made splitting my chain a swear-free pleasure since I read about the technique a few weeks ago (split three chains since, in seconds).
  • onbike 1939
    onbike 1939 Posts: 708
    I have the tool but one can use an old spoke to do the job. Just bend the spoke in two then insert the nipple end at one side and thread through out the other end of the link and squeeze together.
  • Ah har. A picture speaks a thousand words. Finally a link that is not dead anymore and shows the pic. I get it now thanks. I was thinking there must be a proper tooless way of doing it otherwise what's the point when out on the trail.

    The way I got mine apart in the end the other night.... ah...I won't describe it. Will post a pic up tonight for future reference as easier to show a pic.
  • MisterMuncher
    MisterMuncher Posts: 1,302
    Take a thin ziptie, and notch off the little bit of latching plastic that prevents you opening it again. Place in your saddlebag/p* repair kit/toolbox. To remove chain, thread it around the rollers on the link. Pull it tight and squeeze the plates a bit, and it'll slip apart easily. And then pull your ziptie straight again and put it back where you had it for next time.