Unanswered Would a Shimano chain be better?

[Beekeeper]

My bike came with an 11 speed Shimano SLX 7000 cassette and a KMC chain.

would a Shimano chain shift more smoothly as presumably the chain and cassette would be both designed to use hyperglide? Or would the KMC chain be just as smooth?

 

[steve_sordy]

I have seen many riders on this and other forums recommending KMC chains, but so far I have never been motivated to try them out.

I used to believe that chains were generic items; who cares what chain, just get the cheapest! I soon discovered that the cheapest chains would rust if left overnight after a wet ride, so I stopped buying them!

When I was on 9 or 10-speed, I mostly got SLX type chains and a similar standard from SRAM, but I never bothered being matchy-matchy. I got what looked like the best deal (just not the rusty ones!). I never noticed any shifting problems.

The one and only time I tried a chain brand that was neither Shimano nor SRAM was when a Wipperman Connex was recommended by my LBS. It was crap, constantly coming off or sucking up into the granny ring (I was on a 3x9 at the time).

But then 11 and 12-speed chains came out, designed for 1x drives. SRAM claimed that their 12-speed chain was re-designed from the ground up, and it certainly looked like it. I am unaware of any claims that 11-speed chains were designed differently in the way that 12-speed chains were.
I have never worn out a SRAM 12-speed chain before I sold the bikes, so I never had a buying decision to make. Ditto my first 11-speed bike. My first emtb has Shimano 11-speed and the chain is also Shimano (type unknown). I still have that chain at 0.4% changed with the SLX cassette and I'm waiting for the Sram PC-1130 to wear to a certain point before they get swapped over. I only bought the PC-1130 because at the time it was the only chain I could find that was long enough. It seems to be running perfectly well.

So in answer to your question. I cannot recommend a KMC chain because I have no experience of running one. But the bike maker has no problem with that combination, and you have your experience as well, which should a good guide.
On an 11-speed drive, I can see no reason why you should limit yourself to Shimano either; why not try a SRAM chain if you can't get a Shimano chain?

On a 12-speed, I'd stick to the same brand as the gears.

 

[Sparky DH]

Depends on the setup I suppose...when I rode trials, KMC K710 or K810 was the only thing we used. There was so much torque than any other discipline I know other than maybe fixies but even then, we put our whole weight on the chains as we had the brakes on & hoped it never snapped.

On my 10-speed steel Shimano cassette, I'm planning to run KMC's also.

 

[flash]

My bikes also came with KMC chains. When replacing them I put on a HG chain. I do notice a small improvement in shifting but mostly less noise. I find the KMC chains make a clunky sound when shifting whereas the HG chains are quieter. And yes, they're set up properly.

Gordon

 

[Bertvp]

You should try a KMC chain.
The previous KMC e-bike specific chain (11 speed) in combination with a XT cassette and FSA chainring lasted 4300km on my Bulls E-Stream 2017.

 

[Gyre]

I haven't noticed a meaningful difference on 11-speed chains between Shimano and KMC. On 12-speed Shimano cassettes, the Shimano chain shifts better under load than the equivalent KMC chain.