Ok, this may seem like common sense, but if you are anything like me, you may be the type of cyclist/triathlete who likes to take apart/fix/service your bike - and if you are, then you may already know that taking apart/fixing/servicing sometimes ends up being creating-new-problems-that-would-not-have-wasted-4-hours-of-my-time-if-I-had-just-let-it-be. Admitting the following is a bit embarrassing if any fellow cyclists are reading this, because the chain is not known as being one of the more difficult parts to service (at least I was under that impression) - but, I had bought a new chain a month or so ago, and since I have already serviced most other parts of the bike in the last few weeks, I figured it would be beneficial to replace the chain before leaving (my reasonings for servicing the bike before leaving is - I would rather make mistakes in a country where I know I can at least somewhat explain what went wrong, rather than going into a foreign bike shop, pointing, attempting to speak the language but probably mistakingly offending someone or something, and ending up crying out of frustration and hunger...if you don't know me then disregard that last comment...) (and don't worry I know this is a run-on sentence - I don't plan on teaching my methods of blog-syntax in English class) (where was I?)... Chain. Right - so apparently, there is about 4 different ways to thread the chain into the derailleur pulleys - and I succeeded in putting the chain through each of those 4 ways at least twice...honestly, it should not be that hard! But once I looked at my other bikes that were not massacred for a long time, I discovered how the chain is supposed to run through the derailleur. But alas - when I had tried the first time to replace the chain and did it incorrectly, I used the only pin that I had (I thought Shimano gave you an extra pin with each chain but it must have fallen out...). So I tried for about an hour to re-use the clipped pin (which I knew was a no-no but I tried anyway) and failed.
Next step was taking the bike to the shop to get another pin - you might think that I would just have them fix the chain due to my time shortage (bike shop visit was yesterday, 2 days before departure) - but they couldn't find a pin for a 9-speed, so they gave me a power link. I asked them if I should expect any problems with putting it on, and they said no - so I'm figuring - I'll have a few but will definitely figure it out. But I failed to respect Murphy's Law...
So - I found out at the shop that I had also neglected to cut the chain to fit my bike (I nievely thought all 9-speed chains were the same length...thinking about it twice...shame, shame, shame on me...), so once i got home I lined up my old chain with this new chain and cut the extra links off. HOWEVER, with a power link, you have to accomodate for the extra link that is being inserted (the power link itself) - WHICH I did, BUT...I think there is something specific about the inner and outer plate positioning when inserting the power link (because when I took it back to the shop the mechanic mentioned that - but I don't really understand this part - I think I was putting it on such that both ends of the power link were the outer plates - that was probably my problem...) But anyway - I couldn't snap one of the sides of the power link together. So I had to go BACK to the shop (I went to a different one though - partly because it was closer than the first but also to save a bit of embarrassment...but embarrassment is how you learn too so I generally embrace that...) - and I found out that because of my failure to understand the plate positioning (it may have included roller issues too) that I cut the chain too short!!! So I had to buy a NEW chain - decided to just have a mechanic install the chain, now with a master link.
There are many lessons learned from this experience.
1) I love pins. Call me conservative, call me old-fashioned (or call me slightly slow - it applies here) - but if worse comes to worse, at least I know I can replace a chain with a pin, because now I know how the chain is supposed to run through the derailleur pulleys...oh man...
2) I now know what a power link is, and I now know that I have to research a master link and know the crap out of how that functions...
3) Don't underestimate the power of a simple looking contraption - chains can be more intense than derailleurs and hubs (in my case probably only because I didn't have as many problems with the latter two)
4) I hate to say it, because I love adventures, but taking apart something on your bike that you have not much experience with two days before packing up your bike for a year is not entirely the best idea if you are short on time. However, now if I encounter a problem with my chain, odds are I will know what is wrong, and will probably know at least how to go about fixing it.
Now I have successfully not only wasted 4 hours dealing with chain problems, but I also spent a good amount of time writing this entry (especially since I tried to research chain anatomy to figure out how to explain exactly what went wrong when I tried to put on the master link, but I could not do this in a period of 10 minutes...oh dear...) when I still have packing to do! SO! Off to go pack up my bike! :)
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