Reusing the pin for joining the chain again

[ldthb]

Hi everyone,

I did replace my chain (proven kmc Z1EHX) again yesterday and just keep wondering if reusing the pin that I pushed out to get the correct chain length is really ok. When I break the chain, there is always a little shard/splinter that breaks off of the one end of the pin that I push through. Joining the chain works fine and luckily I never had any issues with the chains. But that shard just makes me feel a little uneasy :-).

Looking forward to your opinions on this matter!

Thanks,

Martin

 

[DYAKOV]

You might need a new chain tool.. I recently noticed that my chain tool isn’t 100% centred to the pin any more and it does a bit of damage to the metal plate of the chain link I’m taking apart. It hasn’t snapped on me yet but I’m definitely mindful of it. And no, I haven’t had any issues reusing the same pin again. Although I never really push the pin all the way out. If you’re in doubt, take a spare chain link off the offcut you must have left and replace the whole section. Better safe than sorry!

[ldthb]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Hmm, I tried to break the offcut of the chain a few times, but never managed to get the pin out without that shard getting broken off. Tried it with two different chain tools as well. So if it's not happening for you, I think I'll probably resort to using the split link instead of reusing the pin, as I'm clearly doing something wrong. Not feeling too good about the split link though, as everyone says not to use them for trails use. Thanks!

[Maintenance Justice]

On 11/13/2021 at 2:37 PM, ldthb said:

 Not feeling too good about the split link though, as everyone says not to use them for trails use. Thanks!

Yea they're not a good idea! I've had a chain fail on a split link before so best avoided. The little shard is a tiny 'shoulder' on the chain pin. In the factory for many brands of chain the pins are 'peened' over at the end creating a lip to revent the pin working loose. When you remove that pin you sheer off that lip which is the shard you end up with. Geared chains use special pins to rejoin or split links, the chains are twisted side to side by chainging gear so it's important not to remove and refit pins in this way for geared bikes as this shifting motion up and down sprockets flexes the chain and can cause the outer plates to splay open if the lip of the pin is broken.

It's not really an issue for single speed bikes, the chain runs in a straight (ish) line so there is no side to side flex. The pins dont rotate and are fixed so rejoining with the same pin you broke the chain with is fine. Like @DYAKOVsays just don't push the pin too far out when you break the chain. When you rejoin push the pin all the way home and make sure it goes cleanly through the outer plate, if that deforms it's game over for that link. Once joined give the chain a flex side to side on that link to loosen it off and it should be good to go!

[ldthb]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:39 AM, Maintenance Justice said:

When you remove that pin you sheer off that lip which is the shard you end up with. 

Yeah that's what was happening for me.

On 12/1/2021 at 10:39 AM, Maintenance Justice said:

Like @DYAKOVsays just don't push the pin too far out when you break the chain. When you rejoin push the pin all the way home and make sure it goes cleanly through the outer plate, if that deforms it's game over for that link. Once joined give the chain a flex side to side on that link to loosen it off and it should be good to go!

I'm doing it exactly like this. I fixed a new chainring the other day and switched to a new chain as well. I "trained" to break a chain without breaking that little lip a few times, by making extra sure that chain tool is exactly centered on the pin and pushing it out super slow. This way I managed to fit the new chain in a way that I'm confident it will not give up on me.

So thanks a lot for your help and comments!