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....to shifting on an SLX cassette?
I was wondering if there was any noticeable difference if a CN-M9100 was used in place of say a CN-M7100 with all the rest of the drivetrain remaining the same - in this case XT derailleur and SLX cassette?
no.
I might be wrong but Shimano chains never seem to be the chain that people want gravitate towards
No performance difference, but this review found a considerable difference in wear rate.
Wow, that’s quite a difference. I wonder if the m9100 is even better still? It appears to be about 10g lighter (not that I’m interested in weight savings) so maybe that’s the only difference, I’ve got 2 M7100s that I am alternating and I did notice that they were nearer .5 than .25 on my chain gauge when they were brand new so little room for wear....
I say “better” but perhaps I don’t mean that. Is it possible that if the chain wears out relatively easily it will prolong the life of the cassette as the chain is the sacrificial component? If the chain is tougher and lasts longer then maybe the cassettes will wear quicker...?
I wasn’t too impressed with how well my XT chain stood up to getting wet. I did buy another to replace this, and will try to keep it better oiled to see if that helps, but I’ve not had this sort of my issue with my GX chains.
I've put a freshly Putolined 9100 XT chain on today. Chain gauge said less than .25 pre Putoline so I'll see how long it lasts. The two 7100 chains lasted 1100 miles between them but TBH I think they should have been replaced about 300 miles ago.
So here's a thing - I decided to measure the new chain according to the manual, (after I had cut it to the same length as the old one, like an idiot) and as it turns out the old one was two links too short. This was how it was from new as I just assumed it would be right when I replaced the first chain.
Anyone have any pearls of wisdom about what damage may or may not have been done by having a chain slightly too short....? Or is there a valid reason for making it shorter than what is recommended in the manual?
EDIT - in order to make it the right length again I now have two Quick Links in it so I hope that's not a big no no that will kill me!
Current XT chains are snappy ime- in fact only chains I've broken without real provocation for years. Went back to basic KMC, they work just the same and they're stronk.
The chain just needs to be long enough to go into your biggest gear front and back whilst at full sag. If you're riding a full sus then you're unlikely to hit full sag in your lowest gear so you can generally get away with a slightly short chain. In terms of quick links, there's no harm in running multiples. I trust quick links more than I trust a chain put together with a chain breaker.
if the chain wears out relatively easily it will prolong the life of the cassette as the chain is the sacrificial component?
It's not exactly a sacrificial component, not like with bearings and stuff. They would last ages, in theory - because the rollers in the chain protect the teeth of the cassette, they don't experience that much friction. This works fine until the chain elongates due to the inner and outer plates wearing the pins, at which point the pitch is no longer 1/2". This means that instead of all the teeth of the sprocket bearing the load of your pedalling, only one or two are. All the pressure then seems to deform and/or wear the teeth very rapidly. Because basically all the wear happens when the chain's been elongated, the longer you can defer this rapid accelerated wear event the longer your cassette lasts. Or you can avoid it altogether by changing chain early enough.
Or you can avoid it altogether by changing chain early enough.
Well that seems like a sensible option then. I'll try that....
Only chain I ever snapped was a 100 mile old Shimano one on a new 11speed xt set up. Don’t know if that says owt but never snapped a sram or Kmc one.
So the chain I've got on currently is an XTR one I think as its the 9100 as opposed to the XT 8100. 🤷♂️ Might be better (or worse!). It's sized correctly now though, as above the 7100 SLX chain was two links too short. Again IHNI if that will make any difference at all though.
I should clarify that it's a 12 speed hardtail eBike.
I snapped a 3 month old XT 12 speed chain at the weekend.
I managed to find a SLX one to replace it but I would like to try a non Shimano chain next.
Has anyone got a 12 speed KMC to work with Shimano XT 12 speed?
