On the market for a new chain - Suggestions?
 

As title say, I am on the market for a new chain. My current one - KMC X11SL - that came factory equipped on my TCR finally reached the end of its life (0.5% wear) after 9000kms (5600mi) of usage. No complaints about it except that I always found it to be noisier than the other ones I've used in the past.

I've narrowed down my choices to these two. Any thoughts on them or any other ones I should be looking at?

1) Shimano DA (CN-HG901) - Good option & on sale right now
1) Wippermann Connex 11SX - Seems to be better than DA, but also more expensive

I don't mind getting less lifespan if I can have a quieter drivetrain.

Thanks!

Campy record or chorus

I had been using KMC 10 speed chains for several years. Last year I installed a Wipperman chain on one of my road bikes. It is significantly quieter than the KMC chain was, and I didn't find the KMC chain to be any noisier than the Campagnolo chain I had been using previously. My vote is for the Wipperman chain even though it is more expensive

Thanks, I am aiming towards that. Seems to be one of the best chains in the market in about every aspect (lifespan, noise, efficiency). Not that I want to complain about the lifespan I got out of my KMC, but if I can squeeze even more out of the Connex, it would be even better.

Well, even if you "only" get another 9000 km out of the new chain you will be doing well. My last KMC chain didn't have anywhere near that sort of mileage. I changed it because one of the links was coming apart and causing chain skipping and slipping at probably half the mileage you have. Yes, the Wipperman chain is 75% more expensive than the fairly high end KMC chain I had been using, but I don't do really high mileage on this bike since I bought a gravel bike this year so I expect that my Wipperman chain will last several years

Shimano DA generally tests as the lowest friction chain with excellent durability by third party labs. You can't go wrong with it.

Used to ride Wipperman, but recently switched to Ultegra CN-HG701. Mainly because they are much quieter compared to Wipperman. Still use the Wipperman link and KMC reusable links.

I always found SHimano chains run quieter on Shimano cassettes.

Beware, though - 9000 km is a goddamn long life for a chain, and if the chain was more worn than you thought, it might not mesh well with the cogs and chainrings that have worn to match the old chain. Specifically, the chain is liable to skip on the cassette under load, or be very noisy on the chainrings.

Whatever you get, make sure you get it from a reputable bike dealer that doesn't get you a counterfeit.

I can attest to this. I finally got around to replacing my 60.1’s chain over the summer. About half the mileage yours had and it was skip central on the old cassette, so I ended up changing that too.

Watch out for counterfeit chains from Amazon and ScamBay.

The Wipperman chains are remarkably durable and come with the best quick link available. If you periodically take off your chain for cleaning or waxing, it's ideal.

Since I buy bike parts from Amazon regularly., Is there a tell in terms of identifying a counterfeit chain?

May be a huge challenge to tell from the listing. See my recent thread, scroll to see pics of real vs counterfeit.

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...s-rampant.html

I've always over maintained my chains (lube every 100kms and deep clean every 1000kms) because I hate them when they're noisy. It certainly extends their lifespan!

Buying directly from the manufacturer's amazon page.

Thank you, I am well aware of that and I check chain wear often to make sure it doesn't ruin my cassette or chainrings. Unless my measuring tool isn't accurate, it should be fine.

KMC make chains at different price levels. I've owned some lower priced versions that wore out quickly. Trying to get maximum mileage from a chain is a good way to shorten the life of cassettes and chain rings. To maximize life, alternate the use of several chains. You'll never get new-chain skip. I've had 12 speed drivetrains for over 3 years. I've got 10 chains in rotation for three bikes. I ride about 9000km per year, so it will take a long time before they are all worn. I alternate chains about every 1000km. The SRAM force axs chain is the most quiet I've found and wears well.

We're going off topic here, but I don't see why/how a 11sp chain that has not reached 0.5% wear mark would prematurely wear drivetrain components, regardless of the mileage on it.

In my experience, 'chain checker' tools are terribly inaccurate, although usually they indicate much more wear than is reality, not less wear. There are many reports of chain-checker tools that indicate a new-in-box chain is worn to the point of needing replacement. I use a ruler or tape measure to measure the distance between 12 links. It just seems like 9000 km is a unusually long life for a chain.

I agree 100%.

The issue is some of these chain checker tools are NOT accurate and/or mis-used by cyclists. If you are confident in your measurements (I use a vernier calipers tool which is both precise AND accurate), you should be fine.

Just curious, browsed Amazon on Connex chains -- what's the difference between the different letter indicators -- I can see that there is an 11Sp, 11Se, 11s0, 11sX

I have a somewhat different take on chains. My experience has been that fine tuning the chainline has a lot to do with a quiet chain. Once that's done, then using the right lube makes all the difference in the world. I am pretty persnickety about measuring chain wear and I keep records on my components and bike maintenance and have for years. About two years ago, I had started fiddling with my chain line and after adding a crank spacer noted that the chain was typically quieter than it had been before. Simultaneously with that, I had been looking at some of the lubrication data that Friction Facts and some of the other testing guys had been putting out on lube effectivity. At about the time I decided to make the switch from oil based to wax based, Silca came out with their wax based lube.

While the chainline didn't seem to affect the longevity of the chain much, it did make it quieter. I would hypothesize that the chainline caused more wear on the side plates from being out of alignment while chain wear as measured by chain length measurements is wear on the rollers. Adding the Silca wax based lube on to the configuration made for the quietest running chain I had had. But what was really interesting to me was that my chain wear went down (chain life went up) dramatically. Where I had been getting around 1500-2000 miles from a chain, I now was routinely getting well over 5000 miles out of a chain with the same wear measurements. The chains just wore dramatically less. It's an easy fix and the Silca lube is pretty good.

So what I got out of this and what I would recommend are two things: Play around with 0.5-1mm crank spacers to see if that quiets the chain to some degree (if it does, shifting will likely improve too). Secondly, shift to one of the wax based lubes after a proper chain cleaning in line with the lube manufacturer's recommendation. I think it's pretty easy for the tight chainline specs of the day to be slightly out of whack on a bike. It doesn't take much for it to get somewhat noisier.

Quality and type of riding/bike! The SX is the top of the line with stainless steel inner links and nickel coating I believe.

The SE is for electric bikes per their website.