How to change the chain on a mountain bike
No matter if your bike is expensive or cheap, sooner or later the day will come when you will need to change the chain. Both mountain bikes and road bikes have the same chain change process everywhere. If you understand how a bike chain works and have tools, you can easily learn to change it yourself.
- Get a chain
squeeze. The links in the bicycle chain are held together by the
rollers, and to unclutter the chain you need a squeeze that will
squeeze out the rollers. Some squeezers are universal and can open
chains of different sizes, but the simplest ones often only fit a
chain of a certain size. Most mountain bikes have a chain of a
single format, but before you buy a squeezer, make sure it fits
your needs.
If you don’t have access to a squeezer and need to rivet and rivet the chain, you can use home tools. But be extremely careful, as you can damage the chain badly. - Before you take off the chain, clean it up. The bicycle chain is coated with grease to ensure a smooth ride. During riding, dust that comes from under the wheels sticks to the grease and the chain is covered with a layer of dirt. This is especially true for mountain bikes. Wipe the chain with a cloth soaked in solvent. Use one hand to hold the rag pressed against the chain, and the other hand to turn the pedals to clean the chain.
- Squeeze out
the roller. Position the squeeze so that the pusher pin is
positioned opposite the roller. Screw in the handle until the pin
pushes the roller to the other side of the chain.
Some chains have a detachable chain link, which is protected and visually different from the other links. Do not slacken the links next to the detachable link, or the chain will lose its strength. - Remember, the chain was installed before you took it off. You will need to install a new chain in the same way.
- Start a new chain by the pen, place it on the stars and glug. Usually, a new bike chain comes with a detachable chain, so all you have to do is connect the chain and assemble the chain. But still, despite the simplicity of this operation, you should see the chain instructions before assembling it.
- Try a new chain. Scroll the pedals to make sure the chain rotates smoothly and without “breakage”. Make sure there are no jammed links on the chain, if any, you can squeeze them out.