Newbie - broke my chain, need help

[Ramallama]

I was out riding yesterday and about 15 miles out my chain snapped. I looked at it and it looks like it's at a spot where it's silver and newer looking, not like the other darker colored spots. Also it's a "taya" chain. It pretty much just looks like it snapped and the metal piece was bent. It's a pretty old 10 speed bike (two sprockets on front, 5 on back) and I don't think I'll be able to get a new chain without it slipping a ton, and then having to get a new back sprocket (this bike isn't even worth as much as a new sprocket). So I was thinking if I got a chain link and chain tool, I could install it at the spot where it broke and be back to riding.. I don't know if it's this simple or not or what I should do.. So what chain link would/should I get? Would my LBS have chainlinks? Please help me! I really have never worked on a chain before.

[DaveM]

You can probably just remove the broken link from the chain and be fine. Test shifting into the big chainrings in the front and back to make sure it won't over stress the rear derailleur, but it may be OK. Or, your LBS probably has some extra chain links lying around. They need to be fairly similar to the chain you have so bring it with you.

That all said, you can probably get a new chain for 10-15 bucks. It's possible you'll have the slipping problem with a new chain. But I've found the old 10 speeds are much less prone to this than newer, high gear count, cassette systems. The old chain is probably more prone to breaking again than a new one. But I don't know how important the bike being reliable is to you.

check over the teeth on the chainrings for any bent broken teeth. That's not uncommon when you break a chain.