Shortening Shimano 8spd chain

[Punctured Pete]

Just bought this chain(Deore LX HG70) for an 8spd cassette, pushed the sticking out pin in to join the ends & found the chain was too long. I need to take 1 or 2 links out.  I am completely confused by the instructions.  In the past I have simply pushed the rivets out & then pushed them back in to re-join. It would seem this is not possible with this chain, or is forbidden by Shimano (why?).  Can anyone help please?

[woollypigs]

Forbidden by Shimano yes but possible for sure. I'm very sure that the SRAM power link or what ever it is called will do the job for you. Faffing around with trying to push in a link again etc is just too much hassle.

[Veloman]

Forbidden by Shimano yes but possible for sure. I'm very sure that the SRAM power link or what ever it is called will do the job for you. Faffing around with trying to push in a link again etc is just too much hassle.

^^ +1

[mattc]

I'm 80% sure that you can make it work just using old-fashioned chain tool - if you want to use the bike before you can obtain a quick-link. Especially as you evidently know how to do this!

(I've never used official Shimano chains myself, but I HAVE got a 10sp user back on the road using my old chain-tool.)

[Adam]

I've usually joined all my 8, 9 & 10 speed chains by breaking and joining them using a chain tool.  The only time I've ever had a chain snap in over 10 years was due to a KMC quick link.  Go figure.

[Biggsy]

Just bought this chain(Deore LX HG70) for an 8spd cassette, pushed the sticking out pin in to join the ends & found the chain was too long. I need to take 1 or 2 links out.  I am completely confused by the instructions.  In the past I have simply pushed the rivets out & then pushed them back in to re-join. It would seem this is not possible with this chain, or is forbidden by Shimano (why?).  Can anyone help please?

It's possible, but not advisable.  The pins are peened, leaving the ends of the pins larger than the holes, so the plates are damaged when a pin is pushed through.  Either follow Shimano's instructions, or get yourself some SRAM Powerlinks.  I've used them with Shimano 8-speed chain.

Note.  This thread should be in The Knowledge section of the forum.  It's not a review.

[Punctured Pete]

Thank you all for your suggestions.  I tried the SRAM connector, the rivets went through but it would not close the side plates ie the rivets must be marginally too short.  A Connex Wipperman 808 connector went through OK and the side plates closed OK but too tight so the link would not bend.  In the end I just pushed out Shimano's joining link plus another to shorten it & put the original pushed out rivets back again, but not the joining link. So it will interesting to see if the chain sheds these side plates.  I think this is an object lesson on how to make a simple thing ie a chain unnecessarily complicated.

[Biggsy]

I bet your SRAM Powerlink is a 9-speed version.

The upside of the complication is greater strength.  Actually, I find connecting links easier to use than the old-fashioned method.

[Chris N]

The upside of the complication is greater strength.

This.  Shimano pins have peened over ends, and should be replaced with the extended pin that you break off or the chain is more likely to break.  The Park Tool site has some images that show why: http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/chain-installation-derailleur-bikes

Pin that has been removed from a chain:


Longer pin with lead-in chamfer:


7/8, 9 and two 10 speed pins: