Tuesday 8 October 2013

Chain splitter - don't leave home without one!


After Saturday night and the drama if a broken chain I vowed that I would not leave home without a small section of chain, a couple of power links and a chain splitter. The reality has been somewhat different.

I have all of these items sitting in a drawer but always regarded them as an unnecessary item to take with me. I mean, how often does ones chain break?well...let's no go there!

The chain splitter I have had since owning my Brompton is quite large and although brilliant at what it does, is genuinely too heavy and cumbersome to carry. 

Seeking an alternative I saw the CT-5 by Park Tools which offers great performance at a weight of only 70 grams. 











Being compact and lightweight I will be more likely to take it out with me, especially when on longer rides when I usually end up in the middle of nowhere. 

Talking of being in the middle of nowhere I have of late found myself getting hopelessly lost. This is not an uncommon occurrence with me! I feel I might one day have to get a GPS mapping unit. 

This is out of necessity. I recently ended a ride at Paddington Railway Statiion and only had to get to the Edware Road, not that far away. I won't go into too much detail but after not having a clue where I was I ended up in South Kensington! 

At least I now know that if my chain snaps or that of one of my friends, we will hopefully be in a position to sort things out!

3 comments:

  1. Mr. O:
    Those tools are a definite thing to carry on you, when you ride.
    I know you are a weight-watcher (in cycling terms), but what about a multi-tool? The Alien Tools from Topeak (there are a few versions, I believe), do have the chain-tool in them. But, they may be a tad heavy. I carry the Alien III, but it is substantially heavy than just a chain-tool.

    Happy Trails!

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  2. Neat bit of kit, i like the bit that sits in a vice. Popped into my local Halfords 'Express' after reading your GT85 post only to be told that you need to buy something else in order to take advantage of this offer. I told them that it did'nt state that on the web page and that it is always available @ 3 quid a tin at Tescos' and the same price at the bike shop about 250 yards away - do they want to sell 4 tins or what?

    There's only one winner............

    Laurie -

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  3. The alternative is to use a multi-tool incorporating a chain tool. I use a Topeak Mini 18+, which contains a removable chain tool that I have used on several occasions (although I've never had to use it at the roadside). It's easy to use and the whole multi-tool only weights 186g; the chain tool itself weighs 37g. There's a photo here: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/karlosofsyston/10165634473/

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