Chain link removal and repair

[Desmond]

Hi. I am new to this forum and not a biker. I am 60 years old. Somebody gave me a mountain bike although it looks big for a mountain bike it has 9*3 gears. The chain snapped and in desperation I went to a you tube forum to see how to repair it. I bought a chain link extractor.



The extractor was difficult to turn and the chain didn't sit comfortably in the device. The result is a knacked tool that appears to be cross threaded. and having removed 2 links and made the join it broke again.

Can't afford bike shop repair charges and would like to attempt this myself.

[Painkiller]

This is the tool I use.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Park-Tool-CT-3-2-Pro-Bike-Chain-Breaker-1-3-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-ALL-Speed-/231409586277?hash=item35e1161065:g:Zg4AAOxyOlhSvfJh

I would also recommend a chain that uses a quik link design. such as this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KMC-Z51RB-Rust-Buster-5-6-7-8-Speed-3-32-Winter-Bicycle-Chain-fits-SRAM-Shimano-/331521761674?hash=item4d303ca18a:g:plEAAOSwR0JUNs8B

Make sure you understand how to size the chain correctly. Never assume the one you removed was correct. Bad practice to line chains side by side and make the split.

[Desmond]

I live in the UK and the bike is a mountain bike. Pretty common here. How many sizes of chains are there?

[Painkiller]

size and length are two different things. The length is determined by wrapping the chain around the largest cog in the rear and largest chainring in front, pulling together and adding two links. This is done without threading thru the rear derailleur. after the break then thread thru the rear derailleur and make the connection. it is easier to make the connection with the chain on the smallest cog in back and lifted off the chainrings in front.

[condor]

(08-06-2017, 04:55 AM)Desmond Wrote:  I live in the UK and the bike is a mountain bike. Pretty common here. How many sizes of chains are there?

Single speed chain is one size. different link length
5 thru 8 basically same size
9 speed chain is narrower
10 speed chain is narrower still
11 speed repeat

11 is generally backwards compatible to 9.
Quik links are made for each size, not cross compatible. make things much easier.
sorry you broke your tool. Old chains can be hard to break, a good tool is essential.

[Desmond]

My bike has 9 cogs on back wheel and 3 in centre of bike so that would be 27 speeds.

I also realised that the chain does not fit comfortably in the link extracting tool. This could be because the chain is old and has stretched or is it the wrong one for my chain. Have a look at the picture.

[Desmond]

I have seen this on ebay but would it work.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHIMANO-HG53-9-Speed-Deore-Tiagra-MTB-MTN-Road-Bike-Chain-CNHG53-/291998258989?var=&hash=item43fc73d72d:m:mfQjLywDA1izij-_5G42ApQ