There a few big XX1 threads here on STW and most people’s thoughts seem to match Njee above and my own findings…
XX1 chain has by far worked the best for me. I previously swore by KMC and tried Shimano out of curiosity but nothing was quick as slick as the XX1 chain.
Get a chain checker, change at 0.75%
This is the only way to know when to change chains. Not everyone’s miles are equal for wear and tear but changing a chain before it is too knackered seems to keep everything running well.
If you put a new chain on and it jumps all over the place then the old one was probably too worn- best thing to do here is run the old chain until it too starts skipping IMO.
I changed chains at 0.5 stretch (if I remembered to check!) but more often than not 0.75 stretch. I’ve stopped counting the number of chains I’ve used in the past year (at a guess I’d have to say 4 or 5) but the cassette still works perfectly with the new one I put on last week. The cassettes may be expensive but I’ve had far more life out of it than any other I’ve previously ridden- great bit of kit 😀
