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The old man next door painted his bike today. He took the deraileur off the bike to do so but did not remove his chain. The chain does not have a master link and neither one of us can financially afford a chain tool or spare master link. Really I don't know what he has done to this thing. The chain is all knotted up way excessively. WAY!!LOL. I know the derailler is a sensitive piece but like I said with the financial situation I was hoping some one could give me instructions on how to get it back on there for him with out breaking the chain. Its very important to him and his helth. He is a recovering cancer patient and I hate to see him have to go with out his bike for a week or better until I get paid. If someone could help I'd really appreciate it.

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    Kind of hard to guess how he got it "knotted up". I'd suggest you find another derailleur-style bike with similar components and set them side-by side so you can understand what's twisted how. Or some pictures would be helpful, if you have a digital camera. Jun 21, 2015 at 2:39
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    Check if there is a bicycle co-op in your city. They often have tools you can borrow for free, or a very small price. If you explain your situation to them, I'm sure they wouldn't mind letting you use the tools for free. Also, they often have people that can help you fix problems. Otherwise, look for free repair clinics put on by community groups. I know there's a few that happen in my city at various times throughout the summer.
    – Kibbee
    Jun 22, 2015 at 20:42

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I would guess, without seeing a photo (if my explain explanation below doesn't work, perhaps you could post one), that what has happened is that the chain has doubled back on itself. It will look like it is tangled, but in fact it is not.

Let me try to explain how to sort it out…

  1. Pick a spot on the chain to start, I'd suggest where it comes off of the top of the chainring going back towards the derailer.
  2. Follow the chain back until you come to a "knot." I suspect what you will see is the chain looping back on itself. If you follow the chain from the loop you will come to another loop – I think it will be going the opposite direction.
  3. Work one end of the loop to make it larger, you should start to run into the other loop and if you "work through it" one of the "knots" will come out.
  4. If there are more, repeat the above process. You should end up with a single loop of chain.

Once you have the chain untangled into a single loop remount the rear wheel. The chain should run from the top of the chainring in front over one of the cogs in the rear and hang in an arc as it returns to the chainring in the front. Now you can remount the derailer. The chain will pass over the jockey wheel nearest the rear cogs and then drop down to pass behind (around) the tension wheel before returning to the chainring - I suspect that your friend removed the tension wheel (the lower wheel on the cage) to remove the derailer, it may be still out, but if not remove it so the chain can pass around it. Good luck!

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  • My money is on this - doubled back on itself.
    – jqning
    Jun 23, 2015 at 0:57
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The point is to get the chain untangled. Once you do that, you can remount the derailleur, feed the chain through it and you are home. Tangles are hard. Even a photo won't help. The good news is that there isn't too much to play with, so just playing should get you there.

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