Chain Question!

djor88

Hi All

Just looking for a ball park figure of how much a new chain costs for a mens hybrid bike, a Raleigh town & country TC100. Not the best bike in the world but not the worst. I use it to commute to work (18 miles total a day) but yesterday the chain snapped on it, the gears have been slipping for the last while a bit and yesterday it happened, I tried to fiddle with the gears to get it back on but it snapped in half. I’m not sure if the gears need fixing too, but it looks like it would just need a new chain put on. How much, roughly, would this cost me at a bike shop, for them to take the old one off and put on a new one? Just wondering if I should get rid of this bike as I’ve been thinking for a while of getting a racer and just depends on how big a job this is to fix.

Any advice/information is appreciated. Thanks!

quozl

I don't know exactly how much it is in a bike shop as I'd change that myself but I'd imagine a chain and installation would be something like 25 quid. The chain itself is only about 15 euro.

If the chain is that old and wrecked then it's likely that you'll also need a new rear cassette or it'll wreck your new chain very quickly too.

You're probably talking about 50 euro or so to get them both replaced.

You should get it fixed AND get the racer

infor74

You can get a chain on Ebay for about €10, very easy to change yourself, your new chain will come with a link which you will just need to clip on.

ford2600

€30 for a sram 850 chain and cassette on chainreaction.

You need 3 specialist tools and a little knowledge to measure, cut and fit chain along with fitting cassette.

Pinch Flat

The link Ford2600 above has put in for the cassette and chain is super value. Would recommend swapping out the cassette as well as the chain, particularly is it's slipping. 18 miles a day is a fair bit of usage - a chain doing this mileage will last about 6 months IMHO.

You will need the following tools for a DIY job - it's worthwhile investing IMHO, as they're probably the only specialist bike tools you will need:

Chain whip, cassette lock nut removal tool & a chain breaking tool - all available from Halfords, cost about €12 each. I use their own bike hut ones which are fine. A chainbreaker and spare masterlink is also useful to carry in a saddle bag for emergency road side repairs.

Sheldonbrown.com gives fool proof guide for chain length - I use this all the time without issues.

djor88

Thanks alot everyone for the replies! I'll give my local bike shop a bell and see what they quote for it, i'll check out Halfords and chainreaction.com too! Thanks again!