Tuesday, February 14, 2012

How To Use A Chain Tool




Once your mountain bike chain becomes damaged, you



should immediately replace it with a new one. It



is possible however, to repair a broken chain using



a chain tool. For this very reason, most mountain



bikers travel with a chain tool.





Your chain has three basic components - the metal



side plates, the rollers between the side plates,



and the rivets, or pins which go through the rollers



and help to hold the plates together. These pins



allow the rollers to freely turn as the chain



moves around the cogs.





If your chain happens to break, you'll need to remove



the broken link and replace it with a spare link.



To do this, simply reattach the two ends of the



broken chain and ride on a shorter chain until you



can get it replaced.





To remove a broken link of chain, place it in the



chain tool. Now, turn the tool counter clockwise



until the rivet pin of the chain tool touches



the chain rivet. Continue to turn the tool until



the pin pushes out of the roller. Be very careful,



as you want to stop turning when the pin is right



at the edge of the roller, before it moves through



the outer side plate.





Now, turn the tool in the other direction, and back



it out of the roller. Set the tool to the side,



then work the chain very gently from side to side



and extract the inner side plates and roller.





Now is the time to re-route the chain through the



bike. You may want to have a chain retaining tool



or some to help you hold the chain in the right



spot as you route and repair it.





Now that the broken link has been removed and



you've re-routed the chain, you're ready to insert



a new link or simply connect the links that were



beside the broken one. The process here is the



same - align the two ends so that the link with



the inner side plates will fit inside the link



with the pin and outer side plates. Now, use the



chain tool to push the pin inward until it's



positioned evenly between the side plates.





The easiest way to learn how to do this or feel



comfortable doing it is to have someone show you,



then actually practice with a chain and a chain



tool. You'll have no trouble at all making a



temporary repair in a mountain bike chain once



you've seen it done by a professional and practiced



it yourself a few times.


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