Reconciliation

It's time for a new chain on the Long Haul Trucker, and because I remember encountering some challenges with a previous chain replacement, I consulted my friends at Surly Bikes to make sure I had my facts right.  Here's what my friends in Bloomington said I needed:

I visited my local bike shop and grabbed the SRAM PC-971 (which I prefer to Shimano chains because the removable master link because it's easier to clean).  No problem, right?

After I got home with the goods, I did a double check to make sure I had grabbed the right one, here's what I found:

Don't get me wrong, as a lusophile (and someone with an interest in the health of the global economic system of which we are a part), I'm ecstatic that products are still being manufactured somewhere in southern Europe, but I'm not so thrilled about the link count.

They may as well have made the chain out of braided unicorn hair because I can't buy that anywhere in the right quantity either.