what does the STW think is the best, hardest wearing and strong chain out there at the mo?
cheers

Don’t know about best but CRC have SLX’s for £14 and XT’s for £16 atm Tony.

If you believe the hype:

KMC DLC Coating

X10-73 best for me- it’s cheap, durable, and disposable and I won’t try and make it last too long.

Posh chains with cutouts etc like the X10SL can be pretty flimsy- I twisted the bejeezus out of an X9SL, every time it chainsucked or came off it’d twist, it went in the bin after a couple of rides and one wet race.

Is KMC’s DLC the same as Rockshox’s DLC? I thought RS wouldn’t release it to the general public because it wore down too quickly.

Cheap KMC has also been the way to go for me.

Whichever shimano chain is on the best special offer, IME.

Oreet Doug, do you rate the XT chains over the Xtr (all ive used for 5yrs) so don’t know any difference, I just want something that’s going to last a little longer but still be strong enough not to snap every other ride! (too much of an ask???) Lol

I moved away from Shimano after having one break after only 3 or 4 rides.

Stick to Connex or KMC now and have no issues.

I prefer the Connex as the split link is easier to take apart. Als think the gold finish is better than the KMC.

Tend to buy them from Germany.

Prefer KMC myself. Havnt had one snap and you know how much weight I can put on a pedal. Just linking to the XT’s as they were cheap even by CRC standards. Normally ~£20

Shimano snap a lot from experience of riding with people with them, and they have stupid fiddly pins to join them.

SRAM snap a lot, from personal experience and riding with others who have had them.

KMC… never break. Well, almost never. I carry spare links just in case but never use them. They get donated to people who snap SRAM chains 😉

whats the KMC chain to have then? there’s soooo many to chose from.

KMC every time!

Blingy X10 for much cheapness on Merlin at the moment

are them blingy ones worth the Extra money tho Binners? or are you just paying for the finish on um?

Perhaps I’m weird, but I’ve always had good life and no breakages from SRAM chains. Clearly I have the legs of a weak and feeble woman

id have to dissagree with above,

snapped way too many shimano and kmc 10 speed chains both solid and fancy hollow ones…

bloke in bike shope recommended sram, they wouldnt ever order a shimano one as said they were that bad. im a shimano fan boy but the cheapest sram chain think £13ish of crc has already outlasted all the others at x2 or 3 times the price

I’m afraid they’re compulsory when you’re as pimpy as me brother

Seriously though, I always think if you’re going to spend a bit extra on something then the drive chain is where you get your moneys worth in extra wear, and longevity. The more expensive stuff does last longer, and you don’t have issues. And for £30, i’d go for that.

o btw i was having atleast x1 chain snap on very ride before

Lmfao @ Binners 😆

I’d stick with the Xtr chains if they didn’t wear out in 5 minutes, ive never snapped one in 5yrs but I was getting the 9spd ones waaay cheaper than I can get the 10spd ones for …. heads battered with it all, its times like this I wished I was a Alcoholic like most of you lot 😆 😉

beamends – Member

o btw i was having atleast x1 chain snap on very ride before

If you’re snapping a chain on every ride, there’s something more fundamentally wrong somewhere.

I worked in a bike shop for 2 years (2009-11). A busy one as well so loads of customers would bring broken stuff in. Only one snapped Sram chain and that was due to a freak accident in a national 4x race. Plenty of Shimano chains failed at the hardened pin. I used to take a 9s and a 10s Sram magic link out on group rides in cold weather just so that when someone’s chain snapped I could fix it quick and not get cold. Used 2 of them in 6 months, neither were Sram chains.

good info Deveron Cheers, what Sram chain would you recommend then?
all info is good info (hopefully) 😆

Lawmanmx – Member
whats the KMC chain to have then? there’s soooo many to chose from.

X10.73 or X10.93

The 93 is nickel plated but people seem to do as well with 73. I’ve ended up with the 93 due to offers on at the time.

Last 4 KMC chains I’ve had have snapped within a couple of months of normal off-road riding (about 200km a month), two of them just riding along the flat.

Gone back to SRAM now, but only had a couple of rides on it, so not sure how that is going to go.

Get a bargain XT and use a KMC powerlink instead of the flawed joining pin? Or use a KMC… Ribble are doing KMC x10 93 for just over £22 then knock off 10% at checkout using code SELL10.

do you think the XT’s last better than the Xtr chains then?

Pro Tip: Decathlon own brand powerlinks are KMC, and are something daft like 2 sets for £3.

Don’t know. With 9 speed I broke several shimano XT and SLX chains, all at the pin. I bought a few SRAM 971 chains for a tenner each, and in three years have broken one through mangling a gear change. 10 speed chains seem all to be a bit expensive, but I’ve got two X10 73s and just ordered a X10 93. My lad has broken one of the 73’s, and whaddaya know, it was the powerlink that failed. …. So. With the right level of mechanical sympathy you might not break them, but personal choice for me is to carry a splitter and powerlinks every ride and prepare for any chain to break under any circumstances. From that viewpoint the choice is down to wallet and appearance. I certainly wouldn’t rely on the shimano pin under any circumstances.

KMC make chains for Shimano. Their own are better quality though 😉 (in my opinion)

Aside from the fiddly pins the other annoyance with Shimano chains is they’re directional. More faff especially trail side if you get it wrong first time when in a rush.

yea I carry a chain splitter and power link too, its just the thought of my chain snapping under load that puts the F-O-G up me, ive tooo many injuries to get any more due to chain failure, i’ll take my chances with everything else, Lol

I just get the cheapest 10 speed Sram chain from CRC (PC1031 at £14). The cheaper the chain, the thicker the side plates etc. I once used a 1091R, one of the roadie’s super expensive hollow pin versions with holes in the side plates. I twisted a link in a dodgy shift. The 1091 has solid side plates to prevent that.

deadkenny – Member

Aside from the fiddly pins the other annoyance with Shimano chains is they’re directional

I wouldn’t mind that if it achieved a damn thing but can anyone actually tell a difference?

+1 for KMC DLC

SRAM for me, I change them when they are worn out not because they snap.

KMC X10 it is then, I just need the mech/shifter and cassette to turn up from crc and its choks away 🙂