I dont think it was old. I've had the bike 2 years.the guy before me didn't use it a lot. Just cleaned it last year I was looking after my wife full time and this year I injured my knee 1st feb so it's not been ridden / looked after.
That's the only bit I've never had any experience in so I tend to remove old chain, replace sprockets and then trailor the bike down to the local bike shop to fit the link, £20 charge