Review on Upgrade your Ride with Shimano Bike Chain CN-HG40: 116L 8-Speed Powerhouse! by Kyle Fritz

As the title says, I bought this chain for my Cannondale H400 which has a 24 speed Shimano HyperGlide drivetrain with Deore rear derailleur and Alivio front derailleur. This is most likely the same chain that came with the bike 20 years ago and I have no reason to believe it will not perform or hold up as I expected. I ride my bike almost every day and it usually takes me a year or less to get 1500-2000 miles on the chain, after which I swap out my chains to extend the life of my sprockets. I marked this circuit. Two stars deducted for poor installation instructions and a quick link that is almost impossible to use. Quick-Link consists of a chain link with two pins and a slotted locking plate that is slightly rounded at one end. The instructions state that to install you must insert a pin into this slightly rounded part and then slide the bezel so that the slightly rounded end is over the other pin. You then have to "unchain" - a physical impossibility accompanied by almost incomprehensible circuitry - and insert a second pin into the slightly rounded spot in the slot. Grr. I quickly got frustrated trying to follow the printed instructions, so I turned to good old YouTube for help. I quickly found several videos showing how to install Quick-Link, some of which had comments I could understand. Unfortunately, they still haven't helped much. By "loosening the chain" Shimano seems to mean that you have to flex the chain toward you while holding the quick-link faceplate until you can thread the second pin through the slightly rounded spot in the slot. I found that completely impossible. When I tried to bend the chain towards me with my thumbs on the bezel, the second pin came out of the hole and I had to start over. If I adjusted my grip to prevent this, the faceplate would slip and I would have to start over. Also, be aware that this requires considerable arm and hand strength; Bicycle chains are designed to flex sideways. At the same time, I was afraid that I would damage the chain if I tried to improve my leverage, such as B. bending the chain over the toe of the shoe instead of over my thumbs. GRRR. After an hour or so of utter frustration, not to mention two aching fingers, I gave up completely, replaced the pathetic Shimano Quick link with a missing KMC link I salvaged from a previous chain, and used it to connect my new one to install Shimano. Chain. I certainly understand that reusing an old missing link isn't the ideal way to install a new chain, but either that or pay the bike shop to install that @#&$@ new chain. I'll do that next time. Buy a SRAM chain. They have never disappointed me in terms of performance or wear and are relatively easy to install even if you're not superman.