I've always just gone for decent SRAM chains, get on with them OK and like the powerlink. It worth having a look at KMC? the X9SL is a good bit lighter than a SRAM 990 (according to Weightweenies) and is only a few quid more.
Am taking the plunge into a XTR cassette, feel free to talk me out of that too, I've used XT in the past but have convinced myself XTR will last 3 times as long and saves 50g on the back wheel......
Nothing wrong with KMC and their link works the same way as SRAM pretty much.
Don't know about the cassettes but in general stuff like Dura Ace and XTR doesn't last as long as Ultegra or XT.
You get longevity from a certain price point but when you start paying extra for super light weight you start to see a decrease in durability.
If you're racing or you can afford it then blow the cash on XTR - otherwise I wouldn't bother.
I first used a KMC chain a couple of yrs ago at the 24/12 when my chain went on a mission of annihilation and the shop only had KMC chains available.
I am now sold on KMC chains. They seem to last well, I haven't heard of anyone breaking one & the powerlink works well.
I checked the chain length on both my bikes yesterday. One has a SRAM chain that's the original chain when I bought the bike. Not sure how many miles it's done, but it's not that many. It was just about at 0.75 stretch on the chain checker, so I've ordered a KMC replacement.
The other bike has a KMC chain that was fitted to my previous Stumpjumper and was then transferred over to the Inbred when i swapped all the bits over. It's done way more miles than the SRAM chain, but wasn't close to the 0.75 stretch indicator.
but have convinced myself XTR will last 3 times as long
Really hate to do this but, IIRC, Ti will wear quicker than steel. It will be lighter though!
P.S KMC-X9L user here, like 'em lots.
Been using Kmc X9sl for a couple of years, both gold and silver versions and they definetly last longer than Sram chains. (for me anyway!)
Xt cassette always lasted longer than Xtr as well!
Ti will wear quicker than steel.
I thought Ti was much harder than steel. I guess other factors affect the wear rate?
Is the XTR cassette all ti or just some sprockets?
really like KMC chains. used them for the last 2 years after sram wore V quickly in the Peak.
If you're racing or you can afford it then blow the cash on XTR - otherwise I wouldn't bother.
I dont really race but we zip around at a good lick and at this time of year it's nice to be light. Also I'm gradually retiring the full-suss, just going to ride the hardtail year round so kind of makes it easier to blow some money on it and get it just how I want it......
Admittedly it's something I 'heard from someone', but I think Ti is weaker in terms of surface wear/fracture. I think this may be evidenced by the fact that only the larger sprockets on the XTR cassette are Ti.
Larger sprockets = less force per tooth
Of course it could be because it costs more money to machine Ti, so the smaller weight saving on the smaller sprockets might introduce too much expense with no weight gain.
Having snapped endless amounts of SRAM 990s (yep it's all aligned correctly!) riding 4X I moved over to KMC a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. I'm quite lazy when it comes to maintenance and the KMCs are hard as ****! Not snapped one to date. Do it!
I like KMC too, their powerlink is almost identical to SRAM- ever so slightly looser I find but it works identically- and their cheaper chains last forever. The more expensive ones can be a wee bit more fragile- they don't wear out too fast but if you chainsuck them they bend a little easily due to the lack of metal in the plates. But then I guess that's true of other weightweenie chains.
Last SRAM chain I fitted self destructed within 200 miles, twisted a link 90 degrees and took a rear mech with it too. Since fitted a KMC, will comment on durability at some point in the future.
KMC chains are great and shift much better than SRAM, IMHO.
I've only ever used one KMC chain, so not a massive sample, it was not really massively worse or better than the SRAM it replaced. For a while it was hard to get them, so I went back to SRAM 951, they seem to work for me.
Used KMC for ages on all 5 bikes from MTB's, road bikes and TT bikes, all worked fantastic. Will not buy anything else.