Forum menu
When I asked on here about whether I could use my 9 speed chainset with a 10 speed rear mech. & cassette, I was told that I could, which was just what I wanted to hear. My assumption is, perhaps wrongly, that a 10 speed chain must be the same width as a 9 speed one, if it was narrower the presumably there would be potential chainsuck/shfiting issues with 9 speed rings (I think that 7 & 8 speed chains were the same width).
However, since people are clearly selling 10 speed chains (some of which are directional) I'm interested to know what the difference is between a 9 & 10 speed chain. If I use a a 10x3 setup with my existing 9 speed chainset will I need a 10 speed chain?
10 spd chains are externally narrower than 9 speed.
internally they are the same (i believe) which is why a 9 spd ring works.
Ah, fair enough. What's with the 'directional' bit?
Phil is correct.
The 10 speed directional ones have shaped plates to aid shifting.