Chain broke

[DebW]

I work in a bike shop, and we routinely remove and replace SRAM Power Links with fingers only. You may need to squeeze the side plates together to help the link come apart. We reuse them because they wear with the chain and you want all the links with even wear. To install a new SRAM chain, and possibly to add a new Power Link to a broken chain, you need a chain tool to shorten the chain to the proper length.

[OakLeaf]

Seriously though, what's the secret? I can't even get them apart if I squeeze the side plates with my chuffiest needlenose pliers.

[Melalvai]

Sorry, I was just watching. He made it look really easy.

[Cataboo]

I think the earlier powerlinks (8 speeds?) were made to be reusable. The 10 speeds aren't, but while I definitely haven't figured out how to do it with my fingers only, I have managed to jury rig something to get the powerlink apart and reuse it several times (it usually involves balancing one end of it on a ridge (the ridge sits on the inside part and not on the outside) and then using something else with a ridge to push down the top part of it only on the inside, squeezing it together. sometimes jeweler's screwdrivers or tiny needlenose pliers get used. )

I switched to using sram chains & powerlinks once after my chain broke at about sunset when I was 7 miles from home. It was a long walk home (I didn't think I was going to be able to jury rig something in the middle of nowhere while it was getting dark). While I had a chain tool & a spare pin on my bike tool - it was either an 8 speed or 9 speed pin and the chaintool was for bigger pins than 10 speeds - so it was useless anyways. So now I always carry a working chain tool and a spare power link.