are 10 speed chains weaker than 9 speed?

my most common mechanical is my regular ability to break 9 speed SRAM 991/971 chains – not on the chain connectors

good maintainance regime, don’t change gear like a spaz, don’t ride in stupid gear combinations (little little etc), more than one bike (so not heavy use), don’t SS so don’t have big pedalling guns – just snap ’em every few months

currently considering some new 10 speed turbine chainrings for my raceface deus chainset – and eventually kmc or sram 10 speed chain

but are 10 speed chains weaker? are they narrower?

I have found 10 speed to be generally better!!

good maintainance regime, don’t change gear like a spaz, don’t ride in stupid gear combinations (little little etc), more than one bike (so not heavy use), don’t SS so don’t have big pedalling guns – just snap ’em every few months

Chains are generally bloody strong – you pretty much must be doing something to them

how do they go – plates pulling off the rivet ?

10sp, possibly a tiny bit less resistant to twisting but I bet insignificant

I have found 10 speed to be generally better!!

good to hear!

how do they go – plates pulling off the rivet ?

kind of – both side plates will bow out at one end and the rivet rip out

I´ve just had one where the plates came off the rivet, only one link.
Truly JRA aswell.

The chain was about 2 months old and on a wolf tooth 30t + general lee setup. It did have some cack-handed shifts in the begining til I settled down a bit.

broke a few SRAM/Shimanos but never a KMC…. yet

10s chains seem to have as much lateral play as 9s it not more.

Wipperman Connex, best connector in the land, strong as steel!

If you’re snapping them every few months then I doubt it will make any difference what chain you use – something is awry with your pedalling.

You’re talking v small differences between chain brands, 9/10 speed etc, and this won’t begin to compensate for what is causing you to bust up your drivetrain on a regular basis.

I have sapped all brands of 9 speed chains, I have never snapped a 10 speed*, STW logic 10 speed chains are awesome

(*been 10sp for 2 months)

10spd should be stronger – shorter pins, but any chain is weak if not joined well (obv). I’ve had chains come apart when plates have popped off from joining gaffs (I assume) but now use KMC split links, no problems in many years, and I SS a lot more / stronger rider these days. I can’t push on a crank hard enough to break a chain, but a mis-timed or pressured gear shift, pedal tension and a weak join combined will do it.

If you’re snapping them every few months then I doubt it will make any difference what chain you use – something is awry with your pedalling.

^This.

I don’t think that I’ve ever broken a chain of any make, type or width.

Switch to KMC, your chain snapping days will be over, regardless of speed. But if you really do insist on snapping them or at least want to break the chain from time to time, eg to remove for maintenance, lengthen or shorten, then kmc 10 speed Missing Links are reusable, unlike SRAM 10 speed Powerlinks.

I don’t think that I’ve ever broken a chain of any make, type or width.

Ride harder then!

Snapped KMC in sub 100 miles from new.
At least the last SRAM one to snap lasted 327km.

Both 9sp though, and JRA, nothing hardcore, both on bikes still in the checking it all works nicely on easy paths phase. Both not at the join.

edit: of 4 identical KMC chains bought around the same time by friends, 3 have snapped the same way, just as quickly. The 4th iirc is fine, but is the gold coloured version.

I have never ever snapped an 8 or 9 speed chain myself (in 10 years of riding) always run SRAM with quicklinks.

Went over to 10speed last year, again SRAM with quicklink (even minding the 10speed links are single use) 3 snapping incidents !!!!!

Gone back to 9 speed for now, unless I’m on my Alfine.

I have never ever snapped an 8 or 9 speed chain myself (in 10 years of riding) always run SRAM with quicklinks.

Went over to 10speed last year, again SRAM with quicklink (even minding the 10speed links are single use) 3 snapping incidents !!!!!

Gone back to 9 speed for now, unless I’m on my Alfine.

Wipperman Connex, best connector in the land, strong as steel!

What are the connector’s like to remove and re-fit?

I’ve the weakest legs ever and I still managed to snap a SRAM chain. They changed something and suddenly became rubbish. Not sure if they’ve changed back to being a good item or not as I haven’t bought one since.

Something is not right if you are snapping chains and I doubt your pedalling style will be the cause.

10speed I’ve found to be generally better than 9 speed in many regards.

I find the new 10 speed ones are tougher (I’ve never broken one in 3 years, including one that had over 3500 miles on it) and last longer.

Those who snap chains a lot, do you run 2x or 3x?

I have a theory, probably rubbish, that 1x is putting a lot less stress on the side plates of chains as you don’t have the stone age brute force design of a front mech. A rear mech is a lot more graceful and less forceful in shifting and not based on just jamming the chain against the chainring to get the ramps to pull it up to the bigger ring. Always thought it can’t be good for chains. Not to mention it’s an unreliable system and cause of many chain suck (did I mention I hate front mechs? 😉 )

I disagree deadkenny – just my opinion though 🙂

I think a 2x or 3x system will be stronger as if you don’t use big/big, or small/small combinations the chainline is straighter.

Put a chain on a table and try and pull it apart – no chance.

Put a chain on a table and twist it sideways and you can snap it pretty easily.

No idea if this is the cause of the OP’s problem, but the straighter you run it the better.

I haven’t snapped a chain in 10 years. You must be clunky on the gears or something.

my most common mechanical is my regular ability to break 9 speed SRAM 991/971 chains – not on the chain connectors

I see your problem…

3×9 and 2×9 here. Not convinced by the arguments for 1x causing stress or clunky front changes causing the stress.

Anyway my stats for the 3×9 bike are:
#1 SRAM 971 – 327km then SNAPPED!
#2 SRAM 990 – 1500km swapped just cos I felt like it
#3 SRAM 990 – 1100km swapped cos I changed the cassette
#4 KMC X9 – 153km then SNAPPED! (on new cassette and rings too)
#5 SRAM 990 – 225km so far (hilly)

And for the 2×9 bike:
#1 SRAM 990 – 2268km so far (still all original parts)

only thing I can conclude from that is a decent Sram chain lasts much longer than a cheaper chain. and that since we’ve snapped 3 out of 4 KMC chains in very few miles, they’re not featuring in our CRC wishlists.

Still… I guess I’m in the same position as OP. Have urges to swap to 10sp but don’t know how they compare in terms of reliability.

my snapped SRAM chains are ran on 1×9, 2×9 and 3×9 bikes – what can i say, i like bikes…

so its down to SRAM or my legs of steel…..

so SRAM then 😆

just fitted a KMC X9 73 to the 1×9

GL then 😉

modern bike chains will withstand huge NM loads (much more than even a professional cyclist can generate) without failure

a snapped chain normally indicates:

-damage to the drivetrain (a mangled chainring tooth, which deforms the chain whilst its running over that tooth)

-damage to the chain tool used to fit the chain or poor technique when using the tool(causing the side plates to deform, which will cause the chain to fail when suddenly loaded):-this is very common and can often explain repeated failures of new chains when fitted by the same bike shop mechanic or home mechanic using the same tool

-a freak event like trail debris caught in the transmission which then damages the chain or transmission components

-poor fitment, for example a chain cut too short on a single pivot suspension bike with excessive chain stretch, although typically this will snap the derailleur hanger or derailleur before the chain snaps!

-damage to the bike: a bent derailleur hanger allows the rear derailleur to collide with the rotating rear wheel, bending the derailleur and chain

riders that claim their “power” causes them to snap chains on a regular basis are somewhat confused about how much power they can output 😉

I’ve snapped a few chains, 8 speed & 9 speed, Shimano ones to be fair which were shite in the 90’s as far as I can remember, then SRAM seemed to corner the market with the power link and reliability, I’ve been 10 speed for over 2 years now and not snapped 1 ?

My Shimano chain XT that I put on when everything went 2 X 10 lasted and lasted and I replaced this when I noticed that on several links there was a split at the top of the link above the joint on the figure of 8 !
It didn’t snap tho ! And there were about 6 links like this. I don’t know how many miles it had done I can’t be arsed counting, I’ve since gone KMC and this one Is holding up well too,

I’d like to think that 10 speed chains were less forgiving than their fore bears just like I’d like to believe that tubes are better than tubeless, but they aren’t !

That’s just my opinion of course, others may find they have evidence to the contrary but I can’t speak for those so I’ve just reported on what I know not what I have read on the Internet somewhere !

If you haven’t seen it this might be interesting- http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/19/bikerumor-shimano-chainwear-challenge-the-results/

For what it’s worth I haven’t noticed any difference myself.

I’ve snapped loads of 9 speed chains in the past. Until I realised you really can’t join them with a regular pin, like you could with 8 speed.

Snapped 2 Shimano 9 speed chains. Never snapped SRAM or any other make of 5,6,7,8,9 or 10 speed. Yea I’ve been riding a long time! Not got as far as 11 speed yet though.

I’ve always assumed that 10 speed chains will be a bit weaker than 9. As I understand it 10 speed chains have the same internal pitch as 9 speed ones to allow them to be used with 9 speed chain rings, but they’re narrower externally to accommodate a 10 speed cassette; presumably this must mean less thickness in the plates.

swanny853 If you haven’t seen it this might be interesting- http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/19/bikerumor-shimano-chainwear-challenge-the-results/

Thanks for the link. It gives me a lot more confidence over 10spd chains than I’ve had so far and means I have decided to stick with using KMC 10S chains on my cyclocross/tourer project bike.

I wanted to avoid a 9S drivetrain in tourer mode unless absolutely necessary as I only need it for the odd annual loaded tour. I purchased Dura Ace BS79 bar end shifter for touring, and as they cannot be used in friction mode for rear dérailleur, rugged enough to go on unpaved tracks, fully loaded, and wasn’t sure a 10S chain would stand up to it. I have 10S on my racer and on my Surly CrossCheck in CX mode and I have had only one chain failure in 3 years (at the missing link). Sticking with 10S reduces component changes when I go to tour mode so lets hope it works.

1×9, 2×9, 2×10, 3×10, SRAM, Shimano, Connex Wippermann, KMC and a dubious emergency Halfords chain in a red box – I’ve snapped them all.
2x and 1x are worst I reckon purely because of the extra twisting. I had such a dire time with 9 speed chains that I vowed never to go to 10 but then my new bike came with it and I was really really surprised how long the chains last in comparison. I still snap them, just not as often. To be fair though, we haven’t had much snow and ice since I went to 10 speed and I really think that is a huge factor in them breaking too. That and weighing twice as much as most users but not going at half the speed! 🙂