Desmond56

My chain broke. I am not a biker and no nothing about this. I looked on the internet and bought a chain link remover/repairer. The chain might be old as it didn't fit comfortably in the remover. I couldn't do the repair. I was also considering buying a new chain but wasn't sure if there is a standard chain size.

My bike has 9 cocks on back wheel and 3 in the centre of the bike, so this is 27 speed.

I saw this on ebay.
SHIMANO HG53 9 Speed Deore / Tiagra MTB MTN Road Bike Chain CNHG53

manapua_man

Sounds like you have a 9spd chain.

Youtube is your friend. Seriously, there's hundreds of videos for stuff like this and most of them are easier to understand than a mountain of descriptive text on a forum.

Also, Park Tool has a lot of repair videos that will help a lot too.

doctor j

I've been using KMC chains for a few years now, and they use a "missing link" that makes the two ends easy to join together. Good service from them. Yes, check out Youtube. You can replace a chain.

Shimagnolo

All you need is to replace the broken link with this: 9 SPEED CHAIN KMC Missing Link 9 Speed missinglink

manapua_man

Forgot to mention- OP, you might want to read up on when you need to replace chains, cassettes, and chain rings. Those parts do wear out and need replacing every so often.

WNCGoater

The fact that the chain "broke" sort of makes one assume it was badly worn and in need of a replacement. Some chains use a "master" link at the end and are simple to replace, requiring no special tools. Others use a breakaway pin and need that little link tool you have posted (Or similar) I have a park tool multi-tool that has that link tool built in and it saved our bacon one day back in the woods on mtn bikes when one of our group broke his chain. A chain tool can prove handy to have, it's one of those things that is a requirement if you need to push out or reseat a chain pin. Nothing else will work.

fietsbob

No longer can the pin be pressed back in and be secure,, buy a new chain shorten it to length.

save that section, get a couple spare quick links*, if you break another chain that spare section and those 2 quick links
is how you will repair it.

there is no extra pin length , they are flush to get more 'speeds' (cogs) in that narrow space.


*Whipperman and KMC..





....

VegasTriker

Most modern bike chains have the pins mushroomed at the ends so that the plates almost never let go resulting in a broken chain. It also means that it is harder to put back together a chain once a link has been opened. That's why a lot of newer chains come with the master link that you can open easily, especially if you buy one of the $10 master link openers. New chains have either 114 or 116 links. You can use your chain tool to remove extra links to make it match your current chain. The KMC 9X.93 chain is used on a lot of new bikes. I have a 10 speed version of this chain with many thousands of miles on it. Don't buy the master link shown above because it will only connect the outer plate link. It's also way overpriced since you can buy an entire 116 link chain including the master link for $12.40 and have it in your mailbox at the latest by next Friday, Aug 18.
KMC X9.93 Road MTB Hybrid Bike 9 Speed Chain fit Shimano SRAM Campagnolo Bulk 116 links including the master link $12.40 postpaid KMC X9.93 Road MTB Hybrid Bike 9 Speed Chain fit Shimano SRAM Campagnolo Bulk | eBay


And if you want to buy some spare master links, use overseas sellers where the exact same master link costs under $1 including shipping. Be sure to specify "9 speed" when ordering 2pcs KMC Missing Link Bike Master Chain Link Connector 6/7/8/9/10 Speed | eBay

CliffordK

HG53, HG73, and HG93 Shimano chains are all similar, and will work on your bike. Some come with quick links, some come with a pin pushed halfway in, and all you have to do is splice, and push the pin the rest of the way in.

I've got dirt cheap HG73 chains on E-Bay shipped from China, and I've never been certain whether they are genuine Shimano products, or some clone product. They do wear out with between 1000 and 2000 miles riding which seems quick.

There are other brands worth considering too.

Periodically I'll push out a pin (90%) and re-use it on the 9s chains without problems. The 10s and 11s seem to rely heavier on peened pins.

smarkinson

If your chain is old enough that it broke chances are you will also need to replace the cogs at the rear. As the chain wears it stretches. A stretched chain will cause the teeth on the cogs to wear. If you put a new chain on and leave the worn cogs it is likely the chain will start skipping which is not good or safe.

Replacing the cassette is possible by a hme mechanic but it requires a few more tools, a chain whip, cassette removal tool and a big spanner.

Replacing the chain and cassette it be worth getting a quote from your local bike store.

Doctor Morbius

Take your bike to a bike shop ASAP! Any bike with 9 cocks needs immediate attention. No what I mean?

ptempel

I agree with @VegasTriker to just replace the chain with a cheap and cheerful KMC. If it skips in any of the back gears, then also replace the 9 speed cassette. If you're doing this yourself, then you'll need the chaintool you referred to above, a cassette removal tool, a chain whip (or channel lock plier) and an adjustable wrench. Check out the youtube.com vids on chain and cassette removal to see if you want to tackle it or not. Its not too hard, really. And these two jobs are right behind replacing tires and break pads in terms of wearable items. So worth the time and effort if you're so inclined.

Shimagnolo

I imagine those cocks make a hell of a lot of noise around dawn every morning!

ptempel

Am getting bad images in my head. Must... shake... them... off...

Edit: I never know what an Interocitor was. Just looked it up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interocitor I wonder if "This Island Earth" was one of the inspirations for Carl Sagan's "Contact."

BlazingPedals

These days, the tool you pictured is only used to shorten a new chain to the correct length for your bike. With Shimano chains, you replace a pin -- you can't re-use the current pin. With virtually all other brands of chain, you use a master link (various trademarked names for them. Even the Shimano chains should accept a master link, as long as you get one for the right width of chain -- 7/8, 9, 10, or 11 speed.

Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes

Desmond56

Hi. As I said I am not a biker and new to this.

I have looked at some chains in the UK. Amazon has this.
SRAM PC-951 9 Speed Mountain Bike Chain 114 Links Nickel Plated 1/2" x 11/128

This looks ok as mine is a mountain bike and has nine rear cogs.
It is £7.38

The shop I spoke to said Chain is £18 and £10 to fit. Will probably need the cassett changing @ £25 + £10 to fit.

Total cost £43. He also said if I use it just to commute then I would need to do this every year and a half.

P.S. what do these 3 figures mean. 1/2" x 11/128

Maelochs

Get a chain break tool for £5, chains for £12-£15 or less, a chain whip and lockring tool for at max £25 total, some quicklinks (shop on Ebay, get the best deal ...)

I spent another £20 and got opening and closing tools for the quicklinks but that is an extravagance.

For "fitting" the chain, make sure the chain is the same length as the one which came off the bike. Then thread it through (park Tools or YouTube video if you are unsure) ... and for the rest of the time you ride bicycles you will never need to go to the shop for any of that.

Oh ... 1/2" long links by 11/128 wide plates, i believe.

indyfabz

Know. I don't.

BlazingPedals

Ya beat me to it.

To answer the subsequent questions, you can have the shop do it or you can invest in a few tools and do it yourself. Replacing the chain is one of the easiest maintenance jobs. You need a chain whip, the cassette tool, and a 8-10" crescent wrench to get the cassette off, and one of those chain tools to correctly size the chain. Lay the old chain alongside the new one to see the proper size. The old one will be longer, but only by a fraction of an inch. If you replace the chain before it's totally worn, a single cassette will last through several chain replacements.

Chains are 1/2" pitch, which means there is a roller every 1/2 inch. You can measure chain wear with a go/no go tool, which I regard as highly inaccurate, or you can simply measure from pin to pin across 12 full links (24 rollers.) I replace my chain when it measures 12 1/16" across 12 links. The width of the chain you need depends on how many gears on the cassette. 11/128 is a 9-speed chain. Tighter spacing for 10-11 speeds requires narrower chains while old 5-speed freewheels require wider ones.

indyfabz

Sadly, thanks to increased activity of a certain nature in this forum, I am disinclined to believe the sincerity of threads started by new members when those threads contain wild stories and/or things like confusing "cogs" with "cocks" and "no" with "know."

rachel120

Those are likely to be a phone's autocorrect. When I post via phone in a forum the initial draft makes me wonder if my phone knows English.

Could also be someone as new as me, who has to Google the proper terms and hope I'm not getting them mixed up whenever I need mechanical help.

Doctor Morbius

Do you have an X-Rated autocorrect? Cogs is a fairly common word, although perhaps not as common as the other.

Retro Grouch 

That's not right.

When you buy a new chain it will be too long for your bike when it comes. It always has to be custom shortened to fit your bike. It's not hard to do but it does require a chain tool.

I do agree with WNCGoater that since one link has broken the whole chain is suspect. Bicycle chains don't last forever. If it was my bike, I'd definitely replace it.