The No Tools, Poor Man’s Method of Bike Chain Replacement

I’ve found that when it comes time to put a new chain on a bike, most people will try to awkwardly stuff their bike into their sub-compact car, drive to the bike shop, and pay some guy wearing way-too-tight shorts to replace the chain. For those of us who prefer to skip this sort of ordeal, replacing a chain is actually a simple task.

You’ll know it’s time to change your chain by paying attention to a few minor details. The most obvious way to tell you need a new chain is when you haven’t ridden for years, and it’s rusted onto your gears. You also may notice that your chain seems to be sagging a little, or when you try to shift, you hear loud scrapes and grinding. When you have a worn out chain, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get to it right away, but if you leave it for too long, it will start to wear away your gears and lead to much more costly repairs.

Since I am not a hardcore rider, I prefer to use what I call the poor man’s method when it comes to getting a new chain on my bike. This method requires no tools to buy, only a little ingenuity and patience on your part. First, switch your bike into the lowest gears. (In other words, put the chain on the two smallest gears.) This gives the chain a lot of play and slack with which you can work. Then, grab the back gear of your bike, and tug it forward so the chain simply falls off. Take your chain, and mark a link.

Then, start counting the links in your chain. Personally, I find this a bit easier than measuring, because chains tend to stretch as they get older. Once you know how many links you have, simply pop into the bike shop and buy a length of chain that many links long. Once you get home, simply place it over the gears, pull your back gear forward, and loop the chain over it. Quick, easy and cheap, this method is hard to beat if you’re only a recreational biker like me.