Are quick links REALLY single use?
08-22-22, 02:25 PM
#26
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Not any more...
I have reused Quick Links for many years without problems. My chains are SRAM 6-8 and KMC 8 speeds. But just last year I have had two disintegrate. One at removal, and the other at application. I really have no idea how many times I had reapplied them or of thier manufacture.
I bought some ChiCom knock off links and some brand name brand links and sure enough, even under close comparison with calipers and destructive pliers, I could not elicit a difference. So now I am just replacing them about every third application or sooner.
I buy them eight pair at a time. Inspect and clean them, then spray them with white paint. It's no biggy...
Note that if you have, and are proficient, with a quality chain breaker, then you don't need Quick Links.
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08-22-22, 03:01 PM
#27
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What changes have improved the individual quick link? Quality of the metal used? Closer machining tolerances? Ease of use (although that doesn’t seem to have changed)?
Or have attitudes about their use changed?
Last edited by BCDrums; 08-22-22 at 03:08 PM.
08-22-22, 03:14 PM
#28
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Sorry. Clarification — Them being substandard isn’t necessarily how I felt about them, but rather the general attitude toward their quality, and using them.
Dan
08-23-22, 06:03 AM
#29
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KMC indicates reusability in the part number of their quick links (Missing Links, to use KMC's trade name): https://www.kmcchain.com/en/teach/missinglink
Even for the reusable ones, they recommend replacing it after 3-5 "uses" (which I presume to mean couple-decouple events). I personally use them until they clearly have worn to the point where they're very easy to decouple...and even then...they go into a small baggie in my spares case that I carry with me for emergency use on the road or trail.
Even for the reusable ones, they recommend replacing it after 3-5 "uses" (which I presume to mean couple-decouple events). I personally use them until they clearly have worn to the point where they're very easy to decouple...and even then...they go into a small baggie in my spares case that I carry with me for emergency use on the road or trail.
08-23-22, 08:28 AM
#30
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I initially struggled to feel confident with the links but have come to trust them given that:
1) I use a tool that allows me to replace them without damaging them.
2) I take considerable care in replacing the links.
3) As mentioned above, I always note whether or not the links effectively click into place. So far, they always do.
4) I don't do much cross chaining.
As a structural engineer, I can't help wondering about possible failure modes with the links. I've seen none but my intuition leads me to suspect that it would be one of the following:
5) If the mechanism that clicks the links into place were worn, perhaps the links would come undone under a slack chain or during cross chaining.
6) If the replacement was done as a clumsy affair, perhaps the links would get bent in an unfavorable way. Were this to come to pass, I would expect to hear a pretty noisy chain.
It's tempting to speculate that the pins might shear off from repeated link installation but, given the stresses that those same pins deal with successfully in service, this seems unlikely to me.
1) I use a tool that allows me to replace them without damaging them.
2) I take considerable care in replacing the links.
3) As mentioned above, I always note whether or not the links effectively click into place. So far, they always do.
4) I don't do much cross chaining.
As a structural engineer, I can't help wondering about possible failure modes with the links. I've seen none but my intuition leads me to suspect that it would be one of the following:
5) If the mechanism that clicks the links into place were worn, perhaps the links would come undone under a slack chain or during cross chaining.
6) If the replacement was done as a clumsy affair, perhaps the links would get bent in an unfavorable way. Were this to come to pass, I would expect to hear a pretty noisy chain.
It's tempting to speculate that the pins might shear off from repeated link installation but, given the stresses that those same pins deal with successfully in service, this seems unlikely to me.
08-23-22, 09:15 AM
#31
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As a structural engineer, I can't help wondering about possible failure modes with the links. I've seen none but my intuition leads me to suspect that it would be one of the following:
5) If the mechanism that clicks the links into place were worn, perhaps the links would come undone under a slack chain or during cross chaining.
6) If the replacement was done as a clumsy affair, perhaps the links would get bent in an unfavorable way. Were this to come to pass, I would expect to hear a pretty noisy chain.
It's tempting to speculate that the pins might shear off from repeated link installation but, given the stresses that those same pins deal with successfully in service, this seems unlikely to me.
5) If the mechanism that clicks the links into place were worn, perhaps the links would come undone under a slack chain or during cross chaining.
6) If the replacement was done as a clumsy affair, perhaps the links would get bent in an unfavorable way. Were this to come to pass, I would expect to hear a pretty noisy chain.
It's tempting to speculate that the pins might shear off from repeated link installation but, given the stresses that those same pins deal with successfully in service, this seems unlikely to me.
08-26-22, 10:21 PM
#32
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Search is a wonderful thing. I don't mean to but am probably a jerk for pointing this out, but this quiestion has been asked several times per year since it first became a question in the era of 10 speed chains. No new information has been added since, and it's easy to explore.
Bike Forums - Search Results
Bike Forums - Search Results
08-27-22, 03:17 AM
#33
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08-27-22, 08:03 AM
#34
don't try this at home.
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Wippermann Connex links don't "click" together -- a curved slot and chain tension keep them from coming apart. It was surprising to me how they were designed! They worked great on my 10 speed Campagnolo chains.
The 11 speed Shimano Connex versions were extremely expensive back in 2014, so I switched to Sram links, and disassembled them and reinstalled with no problems.
Now chains come with quick links instead of a pin. That's way better for us amateur mechanics. No technical pin install or expensive peening chain tools needed.
The 11 speed Shimano Connex versions were extremely expensive back in 2014, so I switched to Sram links, and disassembled them and reinstalled with no problems.
Now chains come with quick links instead of a pin. That's way better for us amateur mechanics. No technical pin install or expensive peening chain tools needed.
08-29-22, 10:56 PM
#35
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Why does anyone think that the pressed in Shimano method was better than a quick link? Much, much greater chance of doing it improperly, imho.
08-30-22, 06:59 AM
#36
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Many chains have no other option and I believe that's true with all 12 speed chains. I just bought some reusable YBN 12 speed links that should work with any 12 speed chain. I'm on SRAM 12 speed and reuse their links for the life of a chain.
