Mending A Chain

Mending a Chain is one of those great jobs, you'll never need to do it on the trail, but if you don't learn how to do it the chances are that your chain will be breaking all the time

1. In order to reduce chain tension and make it easier for yourself you will need to shift gears so that the chain is on the smallest rings. Remember that the chain is broken so to if the chain needs to moved down, do it by hand rather than winding the pedals or you may find yourself feeding the chain through the rear mech by hand.

2. Inspect the broken chain to see if you need to replace a link, Most likely, you'll need to remove a link, then insert a replacement link or simply ride with one less link. The best option is to mend the existing link if it hasn't been damaged.

3. Take the chain tool, and line up the link rivet that you need to remove. Twist away until the rivet is almost all the way out. Don't go too far or the rivet will drop out. You want to keep it attached to use as the rivet for the new link. You'll now have a female, open link and a male, narrow link.

4. To put the chain back together again, place the male end within the female end. Turn the handle until the pin makes contact with the rivet used to connect the two. Twist away until the pin is flush on both sides.

5. If you need to replace the rivet, line up the replacement rivet with the old rivet hold, twist until the old rivet falls out and the new rivet is flush on both sides.