I was surprised to have to change a chain after just over 3 months, but, thanks to replies on this forum, I understand this is not so unusual with 10 speed. 😯
A question before I purchase, is there a difference between Road & MTB chains?
In 9 speed no, in 10 speed yes.
No, none at all.
EDIT: MrP, there is no difference in 10sp chains.
Ok, now I'm confused ...
When I see a chain with a "Dura Ace" or "Tiagra" lable, is it the same as an XTR or XT in mtb terms?
Taking this in a slightly different direction, when I was in my teens & big into road riding, Campag was the mutts nuts ... I never really understood why they don't do mtb gear ... For nostalgia purposes, would a Campag chain work on an X0 setup?
If that is the case Kingtut why do Shimano produce 9 speed chains that are classed as Dura Ace / XTR (CN7701), Ultegra / XT (CN-HG93), 105 / SLX (CN-HG73) and Tiagra / Deore (CN-HG53) but produce chains in 10 speed that are specifically denoted road or MTB and say they are not interchangable? From a cost point of view that would make no sense.
Oh and why would they make 10 speed chains such as Dura Ace 7900 which they say should not be used on Dura Ace 7800 systems? Why not just re-label the old chain with the new part number and bump the price up? Why continue to offer both?
Well they must have changed things, I always used to use 10sp XTR/Dura Ace chains (the same chain) on both my road and mountain bike, I currently use KMC X10 10 speed again on both road and MTB.
I've no idea what Shimano have done to their standard and how they can possibly differentiate between road and MTB.
The new dura-ace has a directional chain with different shaped inner and outer plates for shifting lower at the back and shifting higher at the front, it 'would' work on an old dura-ace system but wouldn't give you the best shifting possible
Some slight differences, 10spd road cassettes are narrower than 10spd MTB cassettes, and are designed to use a slightly narrower chain iirc.
In practice, I've heard of people running 9spd chains ok on 10spd systems, so I don't think it's quite so cut and dry as the manufacturers might have you believe.
Though obviously for best performance, use the correct chain for the system you are using.
And FYI Kingtut, you might be arguing with the wrong bloke in Mister P, check his posts... He works for Madison! 😉
I use a DA 7900 chain on a 7800 groupset, and it's perfect! Mister P's right though, [i]Shimano[/i] 10 speed road and MTB chains are different.
For my information, In what way are the 10 speed different?
I'm not arguing, I'm just out of touch having used KMC X10 for the last two years.
My advice, use KMC X10.
I've just fitted 2011 XTR and the instruction sheets are very explicit about only using XTR 10sp and not DA 10sp and they are shown as having different profiles to the plates.
For my information, In what way are the 10 speed different?
It's about the profiling of the side plates, I think MTB ones are designed to shift up the block better under load, and for front shifts, while road ones are designed to drop down the block more quickly.
My advice, use KMC X10.
Agree 100%
Shimano road and MTB 10spd chains are slightly different, but you can interchange them if necessary, despite what Shimano say. And yes, you can use a 7900 chain on 7800 drivetrain (done it myself when I was given a 7900 chain). If I'm spending my own money then it's KMC X10 every time, road or mtb.