Help - Campag 11 speed Chain tool

studiorat

Hi,
Anybody in Cork got one of these? Or know how to adapt a regular chain tool to fix a tight link?

Cheers.

Murph100

I have one, but I'm near Killarney. I can get it to you if you've no luck locally.

Have you tried Speedy Spokes ?

DirkVoodoo

Here: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57321

Much better idea.

And for future purchases:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57318

Don't bother with the Campagnolo chain tool, having the home mechanic peening their own rivets is stupid and an excuse to sell fancy tools. Quick links for all!

Murph100

That is sooooooooo NOT EURO !!!!

... and from you of all people :eek:

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Don't bother with the Campagnolo chain tool, having the home mechanic peening their own rivets is stupid and an excuse to sell fancy tools. Quick links for all!

DirkVoodoo

Don't worry, I offset it by buying gold KMC chains...


...and brushing my teeth with espresso.

studiorat

Well here's the deal, work buddy of mine has a spanky new bike the campag chain which is less than two weeks old has developed a tight link. The shop said they'll send down new links for it but he'll need to fit them himself, apparently the shop just uses a pliers.

The KMC quick links aren't going to fit on the campy chain are they Dirk? I suggested a new chain but since the original one is less than two weeks old I think he wants to use it a bit more.

DirkVoodoo

It should work just fine.

Pliers? Yikes, surely the stiff link is a result of this? I would be asking them for a new chain to be honest. If they don't have the tools then they shouldn't be fitting the chains. I would let them know that they should be glad it is just a stiff link and not something worse due to poor workmanship, potential for disaster there.

Murph100

Hmmmm ... we'll have to put it to the jury !

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Don't worry, I offset it by buying gold KMC chains...


...and brushing my teeth with espresso.

Murph100

+ 1

In fact the shop should send him down a complete new chain for such sh1te practice, a complete fecking joke. The Campag 11s chain tool makes it a bloody doddle, surely a bike shop would invest in one, especially when they can buy it at cost :rolleyes:

Tell your mate to try gently bending the stiff link back & forwards laterally as shown in the Campag instructions, just might sort it out.

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

It should work just fine.

Pliers? Yikes, surely the stiff link is a result of this? I would be asking them for a new chain to be honest. If they don't have the tools then they shouldn't be fitting the chains. I would let them know that they should be glad it is just a stiff link and not something worse due to poor workmanship, potential for disaster there.

Chips Lovell

Pliers:eek::eek::eek::eek:

Refund + find new bike shop.

Holyboy

Im sure its possible to un stiffen the link by bending the chain back and forth but if it wasnt fitted with a campag tool in the first place theres a good chance it will snap while riding! The easiest and cheapest way to fix it would be remove said link completely and replace with a KMC quick link as said above. Im pretty sure campag say it shouldnt be done but on the plus side it would mean you could remove the chain when cleaning.

studiorat

Ta-Dah!!! IceToolz Campy chain tool.

In all fairness the bike shop, a well respected one, have bent over backwards already. It appears they only suggested using the pliers!! I dunno...

Murph100

I dont know if I'd trust that for the peening, but if it does it properly, its a steal.

TBH though the KMC quicklinks work perfectly, I only bought the Campag tool as there were no quick links in existence at the time.

studiorat wrote: »

Ta-Dah!!! IceToolz Campy chain tool.

In all fairness the bike shop, a well respected one, have bent over backwards already. It appears they only suggested using the pliers!! I dunno...

studiorat

KMC seems to be the solution alright. The problem now is how to open the chain to get one in.

Murph100

Why doesn't he take the bike back to the shop and get them to fix it ?

Or is it mile away/online ?

gerrybmw

I have bought a number of KMC 11s Missing Links and they work perfectly on a campagnolo 11 chain - you can find them very cheap on ebay.

Just bear in mind though that they say that they are NON RE-USABLE

doozerie

Another option is the Superlink X11. Not cheap at US$20 but it is reusable and if you believe some of the claims it'll last a long time - the claim is that the cost is a result of the "advanced" coating on it which acts like a lube and adds durability. I've not tried one myself but the manufacturer seems to have a track record of making reliable quick links for 9sp and 10sp Campag chains so if I were to buy a quick link I think I'd try one of these.

In terms of chain tools, another alternative is provided by Park Tool. Their CT-4.2 Master Chain Tool will insert/remove an 11sp pin but you'd then need the dedicated CT-11 to peen the new pin. Buying both tools is not far off the cost of the Campag chain tool, but if you already had the CT-4.2 then buying the CT-11 would be a cheaper means of being able to do everything with 11sp chains than having to buy Campag's own chain tool.

studiorat

The up-shot of the whole deal was the shop sourced the tool and the replacement campag links and stuck the whole lot in the post gratis.