rashbre central: in which I use a paperclip to change the bike chain

Sunday 3 May 2015

in which I use a paperclip to change the bike chain

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I swapped the chain on the mountain bike, doing that thing where you count the number of links before putting on the replacement.

As I counted out 106 links (twice) I noticed that some of the ones on the old chain were slightly twisted. They say that chains don't stretch, instead its the little rollers that lose their roundness. I'm not sure about this twisting though.
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Then I had to lop 8 links off of the new chain with one of those special little gadgets, making it 105 links in length (It has a 'golden powerlink' to join it all back together).
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Thread the new chain through the gears, rig up a paperclip to hold the ends in place whilst connecting the powerlink, pull the chain tight and then spin the pedals to test it.
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No skips and a much smoother gear change. Try out all 3x9=27 combinations, even the ones that are not recommended. Yes, it all works.

Now to put the front wheel back so that the bike is functional again.
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2 comments:

Pat said...

If I were sexist I would say that's what men are for.
Of course I am not.

rashbre said...

Pat - What? riding bicycles ;-)