Which 11 Speed Chain?

[Doomanic]

Having done over 400 miles on my Trek, primarily in sloppy conditions, I’m gearing up for the inevitable chain replacement. The hard part is choosing which one...



it came with a Shimano SLX chain, is it worth spending more on an XT chain or a KMC chain?

 

[Japuserid]

Hey Doomanic

You should be able to get XTR M9000 for about £30.00 and XT M8000 for £28.00 both are good chains, the XTR comes with two connector pins, can't remember about the XT chain. You will have to look around to get these prices and it may be worth getting a couple, that way you always got one in stock for emergencies.

 

[Doomanic]

Thanks. Is there any tangible benefit to buying a more expensive chain? Apart from a lighter wallet?

CRC have the XT chain with splitlink for £26, the SLX is £23.

 

[eFat]

I have a KMC EPT chain. The rust protection is useful for me in salty winter environment.

 

[Kernow]

Kmc make a heavy duty 11 speed chain the outer links are silver and the inside plates black ,x1193 we’re finding kmc lightweight chains x11el are outlasting shimano Xt by quite a bit and as e fat says the shiny silver look not only looks better but is more corrosion resistant plus they come with the quick link often cheaper than equivalent shimano chains too .

 

[Tamas]

SRAM PC1110 for me. They are dirt cheap - 10€ - no fancy coating but I keep it clean and lube it anyways. @1000km still not stretched to the replacement limit.

 

[salko]

Which 11spd chain would you guys recommend with best price/durability ratio? My last few chains were SRAM PC-X1 and I'm getting only about 300-400km before they are stretched to ,75%. Thanks!

 

[Stretch]

Which 11spd chain would you guys recommend with best price/durability ratio? My last few chains were SRAM PC-X1 and I'm getting only about 300-400km before they are stretched to ,75%. Thanks!

KMC Chain e11 for me, current cheapest price I've found is £26.31

 

[Gary]

Which 11spd chain would you guys recommend with best price/durability ratio?

SRAM PC1110 or PC1130 (if on offer) The difference between the two is outer link finish/colour. The 1130's finish should make it slightly more corrosion resistant but just lubing and looking after the chain properly makes that a fairly null point.
Both are less than half the price of what most folk recommend but both are just as durable/reliable with good if not better wear rate.

Don't fall for "E-bike specific" branding found on a chain. There's nothing new or special about them If there were huge technical advances in chain manufacture resulting in higher strength, durability and longevity we'd have seen them introduced long before E bikes became popular.

 

[salko]

SRAM PC1110 looks interesing pricewise (~10€), but they only come in 114 links, my stock chain lenght is 116 links ...

 

[Gary]

They also come in a 120 link version

 

[salko]

Seems to be very hard to find PC1110 with 120 links (PC1130 is more common with 120 links) and the price is quite higher than 114 link version ... Maybe 114 links will work also ok on my drivetrain, must check one day ...

 

[salko]

What is the most reliable method to measure a chain wear? The ruler method? I have just measured my currentelly installed PC-X1 chain (ridden 330km) and with 6" digital vernier caliper I measured exactly 6" pin-to-pin so like there was no wear at all ... on the other hand with BBB ChainChecker BTL-125 I get almost 0,75% wear indication

 

[Gary]

The ruler method?

Yes

 

[salko]

Yes

Nice. My stock of still good chains dramatically increased

 

[Gary]

chain checkers can pe pretty flawed. I only use them as a quick guide to determine whether a chain is very worn (ie. off the scale) so as not to waste time fitting a new chain to an old cassette rather than to try and measure anything with real accuracy.

 

[salko]

Now I have about 850km with last PC-X1 chain and stretch is less than 1mm over 12" pin-to-pin measurement with a ruler, so meaning I still have way less than 0,5% stretch (and at 0,5% chain is still considered as new). Chain was lubed every ~50km with Muc-off drylube. I think it must withhold at least another couple of 100kms without any problems, maybe even reaching twice as much before having 0,75% stretch. I think this is pretty good actually.