Actual Tech: Quick Links

Op 12-5-2013 6:55, Joe Riel schreef:
Andre Jute writes:

On Saturday, May 11, 2013 4:15:10 PM UTC+1, Jay Beattie wrote:
For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. What a pain in the

ass with the single-use pin. I assume there is an after-market "quick

link" for these things? I suppose I could Google it, but if there is

a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.



-- Jay Beattie.

First you need to measure very carefully to discover the width across links because even with a single "speed" there may be differences. Once you have the width of the chain, I recommend the KMC quick links. The Connex ones also work well enough. My experience with the SRAM quick links is that they don't last as long as a quality chain, which can be a nuisance (I use KMC X8 chains). I have reused a KMC quick link without any problem.

Unless you have experience opening quick links, I suggest you practice before you have to do it on the road. My hands are soft -- I don't leave the house without gloves -- so I use a purpose made tool to break and refit quick links.

Christ, 11-speed quick-links are pricey: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=57321

Here are some more, including the wrong one for my version of the KMC X8,
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=25439

Here are some more on the pages where I found the right one for my chain
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?s=chain+link

Here are the official KMC quick link tool, a pair for opening and closing:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-chain-link-pliers/
But I use this one instead, a single tool rather than a pair:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=47439

Thanks for providing the links. Occasionally I've found the
quicklinks to be a bit of a pain to open, so a tool would
be useful. Didn't know they existed.



With a Connex link you never ever need a tool to open them. Use them for
10 years now on my 10 speed road bikes. Never had any problems with them.

Lou

Andre Jute wrote:
On Saturday, May 11, 2013 4:49:54 PM UTC+1, Sepp Ruf wrote:
Jay Beattie wrote:

For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. What a pain in the
ass with the single-use pin. I assume there is an after-market "quick
link" for these things? I suppose I could Google it, but if there is
a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.

Get a Revolver, or name the exact type of chain you bought.

Nice, if you can afford it, but I thought I saw where Rohloff stopped making the Revolver.

stopped making chains, yes.

http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/revolver_3/index.html
in stock at semi-randomly selected supplier; and yes, EUR 123 shipped
buys a number of decent chains including quick links:
http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1000,185,191;pro duct=20245

On Saturday, May 11, 2013 11:15:10 AM UTC-4, Jay Beattie wrote:
For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. What a pain in the

ass with the single-use pin. I assume there is an after-market "quick

link" for these things? I suppose I could Google it, but if there is

a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.



-- Jay Beattie.

rrrrrrrrrrrrr


http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...hp?category=59


they take Visa


are you in for the long haul ?

find jumbo plastic coated paperclips or a roll of reinforcing rod WIRE.

lead chain thru deray with wire. tie tp spoke,

lead chain thru front deray with wire, tie to spoke

finnnnnnagle links to chain

one may also place paper on ground beneath potential chain location. optional.

when removing for chain cleaning, spray/drip links with thinner/electric contact cleaner/silicone freeing link sides.

thread links with wire
tie together
throw onto lawn

IHS

On Sunday, May 12, 2013 12:29:36 PM UTC+1, Sepp Ruf wrote:
Andre Jute wrote:

On Saturday, May 11, 2013 4:49:54 PM UTC+1, Sepp Ruf wrote:

Jay Beattie wrote:



For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. What a pain in the

ass with the single-use pin. I assume there is an after-market "quick

link" for these things? I suppose I could Google it, but if there is

a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.



Get a Revolver, or name the exact type of chain you bought.



Nice, if you can afford it, but I thought I saw where Rohloff stopped making the Revolver.



stopped making chains, yes.



http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/revolver_3/index.html

in stock at semi-randomly selected supplier; and yes, EUR 123 shipped

buys a number of decent chains including quick links:

http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1000,185,191;pro duct=20245

A tool to keep in a display cabinet and admire. Thanks for that, Sepp. But the necessity passed me by when I discovered quick links, and now that all my chains run inside chain cases or chaingliders or whatever, and I ride only on puncture-proof tyres, and I bought a bunch of KMC chains wholesale, I need to split the chain so infrequently, I have to read the instructions for my quick links when I fit a new chain...

I should probably explain that from new to worn out, I don't clean my chains at all, because they don't need it. In fact, I'm currently running an experiment with factory lube only, no added lube, inside a Hebie Chainglider, and its getting on for 2000km, and the factory lube is doing fine. The setup is Surly Stainless 38T chainring, KMC X8-99 chain with KMC quick link, Rohloff 16T sprocket, Hebie Chainglider all-round cover (extra-long version to suit my long wheelbase Utopia Kranich, special Rohloff rear section).

Of course, you can't do away with the traditional chainbreaker tool. You still need to shorten new chains when you fit them.

Andre Jute

On Sunday, May 12, 2013 5:55:14 AM UTC+1, JoeRiel wrote:
Andre Jute writes:



On Saturday, May 11, 2013 4:15:10 PM UTC+1, Jay Beattie wrote:

For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. What a pain in the



ass with the single-use pin. I assume there is an after-market "quick



link" for these things? I suppose I could Google it, but if there is



a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.







-- Jay Beattie.



First you need to measure very carefully to discover the width across links because even with a single "speed" there may be differences. Once you have the width of the chain, I recommend the KMC quick links. The Connex ones also work well enough. My experience with the SRAM quick links is that they don't last as long as a quality chain, which can be a nuisance (I use KMC X8 chains). I have reused a KMC quick link without any problem.



Unless you have experience opening quick links, I suggest you practice before you have to do it on the road. My hands are soft -- I don't leave the house without gloves -- so I use a purpose made tool to break and refit quick links.



Christ, 11-speed quick-links are pricey: http://www.chainreactioncycles..com/...?ModelID=57321



Here are some more, including the wrong one for my version of the KMC X8,

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=25439



Here are some more on the pages where I found the right one for my chain

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?s=chain+link



Here are the official KMC quick link tool, a pair for opening and closing:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-chain-link-pliers/

But I use this one instead, a single tool rather than a pair:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=47439



Thanks for providing the links. Occasionally I've found the

quicklinks to be a bit of a pain to open, so a tool would

be useful. Didn't know they existed.



--

Joe Riel

It's ironic that for a "finger fit" component, specifically designed to do away with a tool, you now require to carry a bigger tool, or even two bigger tools, depending on which splitter/refitter you buy...

Andre Jute

Per Andre Jute:
It's ironic that for a "finger fit" component, specifically designed to do away with a tool, you now require to carry a bigger tool, or even two bigger tools, depending on which splitter/refitter you buy...

I struggled with quick links for quite awhile until it finally dawned on
me that they just had to be twisted in such a way as to relieve the
stress on the pins before trying to slide them to the "open" position.

Pure stubbornness on my part since I use PC-1 (the widest) chains and a
chain tool works just fine.

Which way?.... can't say because it's become something like tying my
shoelace. My lower brain stem has it wired, but my frontal cortex
can't recount the details.
--
Pete Cresswell

On Sunday, May 12, 2013 4:05:33 PM UTC+1, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Andre Jute:

It's ironic that for a "finger fit" component, specifically designed to do away with a tool, you now require to carry a bigger tool, or even two bigger tools, depending on which splitter/refitter you buy...



I struggled with quick links for quite awhile until it finally dawned on

me that they just had to be twisted in such a way as to relieve the

stress on the pins before trying to slide them to the "open" position.



Pure stubbornness on my part since I use PC-1 (the widest) chains and a

chain tool works just fine.



Which way?.... can't say because it's become something like tying my

shoelace. My lower brain stem has it wired, but my frontal cortex

can't recount the details.

--

Pete Cresswell

That's good, Pete, if you have strong fingers and you have the hang of getting the bloody things undone. But the one time that I, stubbornly, wouldn't give up, my fingers were bleeding by the time I got the ''quick"link undone, slippery on blood... A writer is a sort of manual laborer (he operates a keyboard), so I really cannot afford to have my fingers cut up. A tool to open the quicklinks is a cheap investment in whole fingers...

Ironically, my fingers are lethal -- you don't want to try proving your manhood by grasping my hand too firmly, because I will crush your fingers, smiling and talking metaphysics all the time ("Oh, my dear fellow, how'd you bruise your fingers like that?") -- but I just never get enough usage with these diabolical quicklings to get enough practice. Looks like I'm getting value for buying puncture-proof tires!

There's another problem, to do with being old and having a dickie heart, which is that I can't bend over too long before my eyes start clouding over from dizziness. I have to do the job right the first time, and quickly. For that reason, a dedicated tool, even if I use it once every second year, is a cheap investment.

Andre Jute

On May 11, 7:44*pm, Gregory Sutter wrote:
On 2013-05-11, Jay Beattie wrote:

For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. *What a pain in the
ass with the single-use pin. *I assume there is an after-market "quick
link" for these things? *I suppose I could Google it, but if there is
a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.

High-end Shimano chains are really strong, good chains. *I'm sure
glad that others have made compatible quick-links, though.

What speed Shimano chain did you buy? *For 9sp, use the SRAM
quick-link. *For 10sp, use the KMC quick-link. *The Connex link works
for 10sp as well, but seems to wear quickly.

10sp -- Shimano sale conversion, and my son gets the rattling (even
with caulk) first generation 9sp because it shifts triple. Like Gene
mentioned, I'm close to Universal Cycles, and they sell everything.
I'll go pick up a KMC or Connex.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 12/05/13 09:34, datakoll wrote:
On Saturday, May 11, 2013 11:15:10 AM UTC-4, Jay Beattie wrote:
For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. What a pain in the

ass with the single-use pin. I assume there is an after-market "quick

link" for these things? I suppose I could Google it, but if there is

a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.



-- Jay Beattie.

aaaaaaaaaaa


what other chain is there ?

http://www.cantitoeroad.com/chains


--
JS

On May 11, 11:15*am, Jay Beattie wrote:
For some unknown reason, I bought a Shimano chain. *What a pain in the
ass with the single-use pin. *I assume there is an after-market "quick
link" for these things? *I suppose I could Google it, but if there is
a preferred product, I would appreciate knowing that.

-- Jay Beattie.

sorry, its a few bucks for a good quaility reliable shimano chain that
lasts about 6k of use before getting to the replacement stage- when it
gets to that I break it and install a new one- done. my time is far
more important than wasting it on saving a few bucks for an inferior
chain. cycling is about a state of mind and you will never be free if
you live connected to your wallet