HELP! Bought Schwinn bike by mail and came with rear wheel off and derailleur twisted

[Jeff Baker]

I bought a Schwinn Signature Sport Hybrid 21 Speed by mail (first mistake) and it came with the rear wheel off and derailleur off with the chain twisted with 2 loops. The derailleur is inside out and I have tried everything to untwist this thing with no luck. I can't find a "master link" in the chain anywhere. Any ideas or help would be appreciated. Supposed to be a Christmas present.

   

   

[Henry_G]

Oh damnn, I feel sorry for you when looking at such a mess. I would take it to a professional but you must not have time now ...

Did you figure something out meanwhile?
Take the chain off any gears and chainrings. I believe that you should be able to untwist the chain without finding the master link.

[Nicholas]

Hello @Jeff Baker!
Did you find a solution for your issue and had your bike fixed for Christmas? I am hereby reposting some comments we received on our Facebook page:

Frank: "You won’t find a master link. They make a special tool to remove one link. Most bike shops will have the tool and may even do it for you."

Robert: "That is just the start of your problems. Bicycles like that will need a 100% inspection and adjustments from Wheel dishing/truing/axle bearing adjustments/derailluer hanger alignment/proper tuning to name a few if you are going to be happy with bicycle for some time."

Paul: "Break the chain if you have a chain tool, or know someone who has one, even cheap eBay ones will do the job. Remove the chain, fix the derailleur in the correct place, refit the chain with a master link. It would be worth giving the bike a full once over, checking all of the mounting bolts for tightness ( which shouldn’t be beyond a home mechanic with a set of Allan keys)."