Chain thoughts?

Equipment
1

Afternoon all!

So doing some much-needed ride maintenance this summer, prepping for fall CX season. Various tire swaps, rings and chains mainly.

Got to thinking about my chains as I was cleaning racey bike after GPS sent me through a swamp this morning (@#$%!), and realized I’m out of master links for that chain, and my other spares aren’t compatible (Shimano v SRAM, etc).

Since I’m replacing all my chains this summer anyways, was thinking it’d be nice to standardize across all my rides:

  • Cannondale SuperSix road (11spd Ultegra)
  • Cannondale SuperSix CX (11spd SRAM Force)
  • S-Works CX (11spd Ultegra)

Would welcome thoughts and recommends on a standardized chain brand across the board!

2

But you still plan to have one chain dedicated to a specific bike? I heard that the wear is subjective and one shouldn‘t switch chains around.

Happy to stand corrected though.

3

You are going to want to use Shimano 11 speed chains across all. Generally considered better than Sram chains and should have no problem operating on a 11 speed Sram Force drivetrain.

4

Yeah sorry if I was unclear. Dedicated chain for each bike. And I do generally lean toward Shimano chains, but any solid 3rd party options?

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5

We use KMC on everything - gravel, road, 1x, 2x. Chains are arranged by length not bike, so we just grab one that fits from the relevant peg.

If a chain doesn’t get past 0.5%, it will do minimal damage and be perfectly fine swapping between bikes. People talk about chains and gears ‘wearing in’ like they’re a pair of leather shoes, the phrase should more correctly be ‘wearing out’. If you’re running a chain long enough that it’s worn out, yes keep it on the same bike (and be destroying that bike every time you ride) rather than damaging every bike you own :slight_smile:

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6

I did similar a while back but I was standardising shimano and Campagnolo on 10 and 11spd bikes, I put 11spd KMC chains on everything.

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7

I standardized on SRAM chains years ago because the LBS I was using was not ordering Shimano chains. I never had issues shifting, but the chain running through the cage was a bit noisier as I rode through a tunnel that echoed that sound as I was in it. It was kind of a buzzing sound. After I finally got a new Ultegra grade chain, it was a lot quieter, not as ‘sharp’ of a buzzing. Almost like a hum?

Shifting was the same. I paid more for the Shimano chain, but was the cost increase worth the attenuation of the sound? Maybe…

8

I used all 12 speed Shimano chains on my 11 speed drivetrains. It was much quieter than anything I’ve used prior.