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    Add Chain links?

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    17 Comments

    2. robert_the_grey on

      I know it’s a little late now, but when I switch cassettes I always keep the chain with the cassette for this very reason. It’s a little bit more of an investment but worth it if you go back to the old cassette.

    3. Hugo99001 on

      What does the combination small-small look like?

      I would say you’re fine. Probably could have gone one longer, but looks like it will work…

    5. metdr0id on

      You should be ok.

      Will it shift into the 34t? Fitting a 34t from a 32t should only require a bit more b-tension to clear.

      The pics you should take are big-big and small-small. That shows us the full range of what the chain is doing.

    6. Bellabungo on

      Yes, another quick link is safer. But it doesn’t look excessively short to me and if you hadn’t bought it up I wouldn’t have noticed.

      I presume you don’t normally cross-chain big to big rings and what you are showing is an extreme that won’t actually happen on the road?

      Edit: check your routing around your derailleur. I can’t quite see from my phone but it doesn’t look quite right

    7. OldOrchard150 on

      Mine is quite similar on 1×12 Force Xplr. They have a chain setup guide and I was a 1/2 link short with the 114 link new chains. So its either continue to use a perfectly good 114 link chain, or break 5 links off of each new 120 link chain. It works fine.

    8. UrIsNotAWord on

      Post a photo of the drivetrain with the chain in the big-big combo, and another photo with the chain in the small-small combo.

      From your first pic showing the chain in the big-*next-to-biggest* combo, I’m thinking that your chain could use a few more links, but I would need to see the small-small pic first before deciding. Also, looking at that first pic a little closer, I think your chain might not be routed through the derailleur cage correctly.

    10. ElectronicEnuchorn on

      You need at least one more link. Put the chain in the biggest sprocket in the rear and the largest chainring up front in order to determine chain length. The chain must wrap around the top pulley wheel in the derailleur at least a little.

    11. Former-Republic5896 on

      Put your gear into the biggest cog and check the angle of your derailleur. The rule of thumb is that the angel of derailleur should hover around 45 to 55 degrees…… just a rule of thumb….

    14. pauliuk on

      OP could you please update me on how it rides after you’ve tried it? Had a similar upgrade in mind on the same bike.

    16. Powerful-Scratch-107 on

      Looks fine to me, not really supposed to cross chain from outside ring to inside sprocket but I do it all the time 😁

    17. sun_monkey on

      See [page 9 of the Shimano manual](https://si.shimano.com/en/pdfs/dm/CN0001/DM-CN0001-07-ENG.pdf) for setting chain length. (You’ll want to check with the chain on the big ring and big sprocket, i.e. your new 34t.) Also as u/Bellabungo pointed out, your chain is on the wrong side of the derailleur cage tab.

      You can’t re-use the rivet you punched out — Shimano has a special connecting pin with a guide tip that you snap off after driving it in. You won’t be able to lengthen your chain by just adding a quick-link because a quick-link connects inner plates to inner plates. You could take the length you need from the bit of chain you removed and install it using a connecting pin and a quick link. Note on page 5 of the manual Shimano “strongly recommends” using the connecting pin with an outer link pointing in the direction of chain travel.

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