Hi,

Just installed new freewheel, bearings and cassette (All Shimano). Added new Shimano chain with the bullet head-snapping pin connector.

After installation link was very stiff, backed of the pin a little and wiggled the chain until it seemed free and smooth rolling. After 30 trouble free miles, pin bent out with no warning.
Read Shimano instructions and they recommended only breaking the chain and rejoining on this connector pin. Have now had to shorten the chain to take away the bent link, and chain now feels a little better fitting. But had a real issue with the joint, the link was so stiff it wasn’t passing over the cassette or jockey wheels correctly.

Have loosened the link by lube and wiggling, and pin seems to in correctly both sides! But not convinced it’s going to last.

Is this me, or a Shimano chain thing? Thinking it might be easier to just replace the link with a SRAM quicklink?!

Cheers PHIL

wiggling side to side normally frees up a stiff link unless the pin isn’t in properly or it’s rusty.
what speed chain do you have? I don’t think 10-spd SRAM quicklinks work with Shimano chains, but there are others available (maybe KMC?). 9-spd is ok.
this is the reason why I use KMC/ SRAM chains even though the rest of my groupset is Shimano.

It’s a 9spd.

Think I have a SRAM link hanging around, worth a shot. First time I have run a SRAM chain with Shimano groupset. Won’t try that again!

Chain was brand new out the packaging, so wasnt rust. Must of been the pin not right in, but the new link I did on trail looks and feels very similar..!
Cheers