Road Bike Chain Too Short
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If your replacement bike chain is too long for your bike you ll need to adjust it first for safe riding.
Road bike chain too short. The photo above taken when the the bike is fully bottomed out shows the derailleur cage pulled fully forward and. To quote sheldon brown. I think the shorter chain helps more with cage tension on the small front chainring. Chain too short your bike s rear derailleur will tell you the entire story.
Chains will also stretch over time but do not shorten the chain to address this issue. As long as the mechs are set up right a long chain shouldn t be to much of a problem though it s worth checking. Never push a connector pin out always break the chain on an original chain pin. What i would suggest is splicing the left over links into the chain first.
Yes you can add some extra links in. Like i said it isn t a problem on my bike because i am used to it and know not to go big big or bad things will happen. We show you how to be a better cyclist with our bike maintenance videos tips for improving your cycling cycling top tens and not forgetting the weekly gcn show. Stretching is a sign of wear and once your chain exceeds the recommended maximum on a chain stretch gauge it needs a full replacement.
I would use a shimano connector pin to add the extra length you need and a quick link to fit the chain to your bike. The chain is new so you wont have links with different amounts of wear. The chain cassette and or chainrings are the most likely items to wear out and will typically give visible or measureable cues such as hooked teeth or a lengthened chain. Yep chain too short.
Then you will have a chain a few links shorter then original unshortened chain. It s better to have a chain slightly too long than too short. Ime bike shops tend to err on the safe side. My understanding was there is no loss of strength using a shimano pin.
I have done this to a chain with no problems.