Swoofty Posted June 2, 2020 Report Share Posted June 2, 2020 Over the years I've come to the conclusion that I must change my chain once a year as insurance against catastrophic failure at only the worst possible times. I use KMC 610HX chains on my pure and street bikes and I've never broken one. I've broken quick links and half links and each of those incidences set me back mostly due to injuries incurred from those breaks. It took months to get back on one spot where I broke a chain just from the fear memory that the spot invoked. Yesterday I broke my first KMC 610HX and miraculously it was during the setup hop before the BIG hop. I was about 4 feet up on a skinny ledge with a gnarly cactus-like plant on one side. Luckily I was able to just put a foot down and jump off the wall. I proceeded to thank numerous deities for my good fortune and then began the long walk home on my new 26" scooter with no seat. In all honesty, this particular chain was coming up on it's anniversary so maybe I should adopt a 10 month chain policy. How often do you guys change chains or is it always kind of a crap shoot? I haven't lost faith in KMC, but it can be a life changing failure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikee Posted June 2, 2020 Report Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) I used to change my chain annually. But now it's every 2 or 3 years, since my trials bike gets ridden all of 5-10 times a year. Chains aren't expensive. I would rather buy 2 chains a year, then snap one. Edited June 2, 2020 by Mikee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadytree Posted June 3, 2020 Report Share Posted June 3, 2020 No more KMC for me after having broken a couple of them. It's SRAM on everything now after reading this: https://cyclingtips.com/2019/12/the-best-bicycle-chain-durability-and-efficiency-tested/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoofty Posted June 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2020 13 minutes ago, Shadytree said: No more KMC for me after having broken a couple of them. It's SRAM on everything now after reading this: https://cyclingtips.com/2019/12/the-best-bicycle-chain-durability-and-efficiency-tested/ That article doesn't test a single chain that anyone uses for trials and in the last paragraph before the results, he states that the one thing trials riders would care about wasn't tested in any way: " And lastly, tensile and rivet strength is a factor that’s important but is currently unknown. Kerin is in the process of working on this very area, so stay tuned. In the meantime know that all chains tested fall under regulated strength standards and are considered quality items from reputable companies." KMCs 610HX is a very respectable chain and they make 100s of different models of their own and for other companies. Your blanket statement isn't very helpful. I'd be interested to try out some of the new ebike specific chains. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted June 3, 2020 Report Share Posted June 3, 2020 Physically snapping a link on a 610, bravo! It's early days, but the Z1eHX looks to be a good replacement for the 610HX. If riding regularly, I'll throw a new chain on at 1% stretch, which is usually every 3-6 months - figure it cheap 'insurance', for both my teeth and sprockets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoofty Posted June 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2020 I guess maybe it's finally time to invest in a chain stretch gauge. Illuminating if nothing else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canardweb Posted June 3, 2020 Report Share Posted June 3, 2020 I change mine every 6 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted June 4, 2020 Report Share Posted June 4, 2020 Used to change mine every 6 months, usually when it had stretched just enough to necessitate bringing the wheel back to re-tension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoofty Posted June 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2020 Has anyone tried the new ebike chains for trials yet besides James Barton? You're more than welcome to chime in too, James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted June 5, 2020 Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 The Z1eHX is effectively the 'e-bike' version of the Z610HX. They discontinued the Z610 HX in lieu of that chain as they wanted a chain with a higher maximum load capacity/rating for e-bikes, so just adapted it to be the Z1eHX (which is also in line with their new naming system for chains). The max load for the Z610 HX was 1200kg whereas the new version is 1370kg, so it's a reasonable step up. That line of chains has generally been reliable for me so I'm hoping they won't have totally ballsed them up. The only KMC chains I've ever had repeated issues with were Kools - the Z510HX and Z610HX chains I've used have been all good. I've been in the process of breaking one or two in the past, but spotted the links splaying/having a bad time before they shit the bed fully. Hopefully manufacturers developing more e-bike chains will work out well for us in the trials world too though, it's a step in the right direction at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadytree Posted June 5, 2020 Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 On 6/2/2020 at 8:25 PM, Swoofty said: That article doesn't test a single chain that anyone uses for trials and in the last paragraph before the results, he states that the one thing trials riders would care about wasn't tested in any way: " And lastly, tensile and rivet strength is a factor that’s important but is currently unknown. Kerin is in the process of working on this very area, so stay tuned. In the meantime know that all chains tested fall under regulated strength standards and are considered quality items from reputable companies." KMCs 610HX is a very respectable chain and they make 100s of different models of their own and for other companies. Your blanket statement isn't very helpful. I'd be interested to try out some of the new ebike specific chains. Sorry man, I guess I'm an idiot with nothing to contribute. Thanks for setting me straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoofty Posted June 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2020 On 6/5/2020 at 4:51 PM, Shadytree said: Sorry man, I guess I'm an idiot with nothing to contribute. Thanks for setting me straight. Not at all. Just be more specific, please; that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shub Posted June 10, 2020 Report Share Posted June 10, 2020 I use KMC 610 since years. I need to trust them chains. I wouldn't keep them for too long in any cases. They are cheap, so it's fine. 15€ every 3 months is nothing (while riding 10/+15 hours a week). Tubes cost well more than chains actually. I recently been told that E-Kmc are actually strong(er) I might give them a try. But I won't change something that works fine since years if I still find them z610 on stock. Will see once they'll be discontinued. I already snapped CULT (are they made by kmc ? ), shadow and Gusset half link (the worst). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted June 10, 2020 Report Share Posted June 10, 2020 The Cult chains are Z510s, but I think they're 'just' 510s, not the HX version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.KYDD Posted June 11, 2020 Report Share Posted June 11, 2020 Always used the Z610HX. Back when I was riding regularly (3-4 times a week) I would change my chain every 3-4 months. Even when my riding dropped off a bit to weekends only I would still change it every 6-months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted June 12, 2020 Report Share Posted June 12, 2020 I am ordering new chains after reading this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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