FBinNY 

I don't know why you opted to quote me, except maybe to set up a strawman to argue against. Nobody, and certainly not me, said that modern chains are weak or otherwise not up to the task. Doubly so here, since in the last post before yours I mentioned that breakage is a freak event, and the OP needs or focus his worries on wear rather than breakage.

That said, chains are in fact getting weaker (thought still up to the task). When I started in the bike industry 1400kgf was the accepted standard for chain strength. Later that was 1200kgf, and most recently I see references to 800kgf. That's still much higher than what's needed, but if I may offer an analogy. It's like visiting the grand canyon and walking to some of the lookout vantage points. No problem for the sure footed, but as you get closer to the edge, the risk of falling off if you should slip or trip increases. Doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't venture close, just that you need to be more careful.