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Submitted by
Ryan
a Racer
from Niagara Falls
Date Reviewed: 6/1/2007 6:41:49 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Strengths: | durable power link |
| Weaknesses: | occasional stiff links |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano HG 5x |
| Bike Setup: | Giant NRS, XT Cassette, deore steel chainrings, Deore shifters, LX mechs. |
| Bottom Line: | I have been using these chains for a pretty long time, and they have been pretty reliable overall. The wear is good and they shift fine. My only complaint is that i have gotten several stiff links over the last few years. |
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Submitted by
Matt Bay
a Cross Country Rider
from Omaha, NE, US
Date Reviewed: 8/19/2006 3:38:20 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Tranquility Park |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | Scheels All Sports |
| Strengths: | Low cost, easy to put on |
| Weaknesses: | Isn't working too well with older shimano parts. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano LX chain, what ever the nuumber is. SRAM chain from LBS, SRAM chain that came w/ bike |
| Bike Setup: | 04 Raliegh M60 w Deore rear der and LX front, alivio crankset (:( it sucks but new ones are expensive) |
| Bottom Line: | From what I've read this chain has mixed reviews. I can tell you right now mine fails me all the time. I ride hard and any time I pop a wheelie in one gear too high, it skips on the chainring. I really liked my shimano chain, and this one seems to be less effective, however my parts are two very rough years old and on a newer drive train it might work great. And who knows maybe mine just doesn't like me, Its a great value but doesn't work all that well. |
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Submitted by
Ryan
a Racer
from Niagara Falls
Date Reviewed: 6/28/2006 11:57:45 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Strengths: | Powerlink for easy removal, affordable, strong. |
| Weaknesses: | None. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano HG-51. |
| Bike Setup: | Giant NRS, Sugar 4+ |
| Bottom Line: | It works. Easy to remove and clean. Strong enough to hold up to XC racing under my 150lb body, durability is good, and it shifts fine on either shimano or sram parts. |
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Submitted by
Raiyn
a Weekend Warrior
from St. Petersburg, FL
Date Reviewed: 3/16/2006 11:27:40 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | That one over there |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $15 |
| Purchased At: | Ye Olde LBS |
| Strengths: | Strong, long lasting, Powerlink makes cleaning easier than Shi*No's "Replace a pin" garbage. Contrary to the last review, when they're properly maintained, and lubed they DON'T RUST |
| Weaknesses: | Doesn't grow on trees |
| Similar Products Tried: | SRAM PC48, PC49, (Those do rust maybe someone did a switcharoo on the guy below?) Various Shi*No chains (garbage) |
| Bike Setup: | Both bikes are 9 speed setups. The commuter is LX shifted and derailed (pre Rapid Rise) with this chain and a SRAM R9 road cassette. The trailbike is an XT job (again pre RR) spinning a XT cassette. |
| Bottom Line: | This chain lasts. I've broken and mangled several Shi*No chains (even 7&8 speed) and the one's that survive all wore prematurely (like a couple hundred miles fast) The PC59 has lasted me for years where the Shi*No's barely made it a couple months. Properly cleaned and lubed (use some Prolink or Boeshield T-9) this chain WILL last, it will not rust, and if my Clydesdale butt can't snap it the guys who can are doing something wrong (like downshifting under high load). Bottom line learn to shift, learn to clean a chain (geeky clip-on chain cleaners are useless) and use a GOOD chain lube and a SRAM chain will never do you wrong. I wouldn't suggest this for the (as Carlos Mencia would say) the "deet de Dee" crowd they should stay on their adult trikes anyway |
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Submitted by
cliff z
a Downhiller
from calgary
Date Reviewed: 3/1/2005 6:32:06 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | none |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $28 |
| Purchased At: | eurotech cycle |
| Strengths: | ONE WORD AWESOME |
| Weaknesses: | rusts easily, and after 4-5 months becomes fatigued and needs to be replaced |
| Similar Products Tried: | shimano garbage |
| Bike Setup: | px jackflash, hardcore trials style |
| Bottom Line: | awesome, never slips or snaps. Never used a chain so strong (except bmx chains which are a million times stronger) If you want to make your bike bomb proof use this. |
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Prague, Czech republic
Date Reviewed: 10/11/2004 2:22:37 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | stock bike |
| Strengths: | nothing |
| Weaknesses: | breaks easily - torn it after 100km |
| Similar Products Tried: | stuff on department store bikes |
| Bike Setup: | Kellys Mobster, Manitou Black Elite 120, Deore LX/XT |
| Bottom Line: | Snaps easily and Shifts Crappy, it broke twice during a ride uphills. I would not recommend this SRAM Chain. Biggest crap ever |
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Submitted by
Ray
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: 10/3/2004 7:58:20 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | 50 Year Trail |
| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Price Paid: | $14 |
| Purchased At: | Jenson USA |
| Strengths: | Cost & it works |
| Weaknesses: | None Yet |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano |
| Bike Setup: | Sugar |
| Bottom Line: | In the past I bought three bikes. All came with Shimano chains. All had problems with breaking. Since switching to Sram, I have not had an issue. My latest PC-59 has almost 400 miles on it. I maintain it with Triflow Teflon. So far so good. There is nothing worse than fixing your chain while your buddies are riding away! I give Sram a solid thumbs up. |
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Woodberry Forest, VA
Date Reviewed: 9/18/2004 6:39:01 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $15 |
| Purchased At: | Pricepoint |
| Strengths: | works and inexpensive |
| Weaknesses: | never had a problem |
| Similar Products Tried: | lots of chains over many years |
| Bike Setup: | Blur |
| Bottom Line: | This chain is fine. Don't shift with a lot of tension on the chain and it won't break! Keep it clean! Ridden this chain in races, mud, over gnarly trails and for two full seasons of abuse! |
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Submitted by
Trialsrider
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: 7/11/2004 7:45:31 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | Somewhere I forgot |
| Strengths: | Nothing |
| Weaknesses: | Breaks easily |
| Similar Products Tried: | SRAM PC-99 |
| Bike Setup: | modified Specialized P3 |
| Bottom Line: | Get this chain only if you're going to be cruising on your bike. I didn't know the quality difference between a PC-99 and this POS PC-59. Don't get it if you do a lot of torque riding especially trials. Less then a month the gold link snapped off & the second time it snapped at normal link. I never had a problem with my PC-99 til I bought this. PC-99 lasted me over eight months, only had to change it due to correct length. It's garbage IMO, spend the extra $20 or so and get the PC-99. |
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Submitted by
Speedüb Nate
a Cross Country Rider
from SF Bay Area, CA
Date Reviewed: 7/4/2004 3:24:39 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Price Paid: | $14 |
| Strengths: | Cheap, er... "Inexpensive" Lasts a good long while. Shifts well, even on 8 speed cassettes. |
| Weaknesses: | Will rust if you leave it out wet. |
| Similar Products Tried: | PC-69, Various Shimano Chains |
| Bike Setup: | Used on traditional 27 speed drivetrains; 1x9 drivetrains; 24 speed (8 speed cassette) drivetrains; internally geared setups - Rohloff Speedhub; - Shimano Nexus & SRAM Spectro internal hubs |
| Bottom Line: | Over the course of thousands of miles on all the different drivetrains listed above, I've yet to experience chain failure with a PC59. That's not a slight against the slightly more expensive and beter protected PC69, or the slightly stronger riveting of the PC99, but I don't see the need to spend the extra bucks if the lowly PC59 does the trick. I began using this chain after a handful of Shimano IG & HG failures, at a point when I installed a 9 speed crank on an otherwise 8 speed drivetrain. It shifted flawlessly on 8 speed cassettes, and eventually proved itself on 9 speed stuff and later singlespeed-like internally geared drivetrains. The PC69's I used were similarly dependable, but to me didn't necessarily warrant the extra few bucks. |
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Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from niagara falls
Date Reviewed: 7/4/2004 2:06:14 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Squeezer 2003 |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Strengths: | Shifts are smooth Has not broken (what more do you want out of a chain) Powerlink is a nice idea, i don't use it too much though |
| Weaknesses: | None really that i have noticed |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano HG, stuff on department store bikes |
| Bike Setup: | 2002 Rainier. XT front der. LX rear dr. Deore crank. 9spd cassette Sram PC-59 chain |
| Bottom Line: | I have had no problems with this chain at all. I have a whack of miles on it, and well, it keeps my wheels turning. That's all I ask for in a chain. My next one will probably be another PC-59. |
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Submitted by
Brian W
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, GA
Date Reviewed: 5/29/2004 8:06:00 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Thunder |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | decent price, works great IF you take care of it. |
| Weaknesses: | link gets hard to remove after a season or so |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano chains, KMC chains |
| Bike Setup: | Enduro FSR, shimano xt and lx drivetrain, sram chain |
| Bottom Line: | I'm on my second PC-59 now, the first one lasted about a year and a half, and it was thoroughly abused, rarely cleaned or lubed for the first year. I think many of the negative reviews are a result of people who have no idea how to maintain a mountain bike drivetrain. I started using white lightning about 2 years ago, before every ride or every other ride, and have yet to break a chain since. If you wipe down the chain and lube it regularly it will last for quite a while. I ride aggressively on N GA trails and the chain has not let me down. This was a great upgrade from the shimano chain that came on my bike, shifts better and is easier to remove. |
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Submitted by
Paul Sieb
a Cross Country Rider
from Antelope
Date Reviewed: 5/18/2004 9:53:13 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Rough Go |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Purchased At: | Local Shop |
| Strengths: | Power link is a handy device if you need to take out a link suddenly for some bizzare reason. |
| Weaknesses: | The power link creates a definite weak spot that will break eventually. |
| Similar Products Tried: | shimano |
| Bike Setup: | Epic xc |
| Bottom Line: | Do not use for gnarly downhill use or on any bike that gets chain suck. Always bring a chain tool along!! |
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Submitted by
Kevin Griffin
a Weekend Warrior
from Tempe, AZ
Date Reviewed: 4/2/2004 12:33:20 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $12 |
| Purchased At: | Supergo |
| Strengths: | Works as good as any other 9 speed product I've used (stuff realatively un-redesigned from previous standards excluded) |
| Weaknesses: | Same as the 9 speed cassettes, and Aluminum chainrings / cranks (who the ^%$* thought Aluminum would be a good material for a high wear application??, Yes I did buy one, but only one) The point I'm making is the stuff doesn't last anywhere near as long as the old slightly heavier 8, 7 speed stuff the failures I've had with the PC-59 are wear based at between 700 and 1000 miles and took the cassette with them, I've had none break on me. |
| Similar Products Tried: | PC-69, Shimano 9s POS, 8 Speed LX, 7 speed department store (the 7 speed chain lasted longer than all the 9 speed chains I've used combined, 2700 miles on a 9 speed setup) |
| Bike Setup: | '01 GT i-Drive 5.0 with many upgrades due to 'it's lightwieght so it must be better' type mentality at the corporate HQ's, but I'm wise to them now (yes it did take a while) |
| Bottom Line: | I've had two PC-59's, and since I'm in a new terran with many more hills and corser gravel I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting 8 speed stuff off ebay, at least after reading these reviews. But I think I'll give the 9 speed one more chance until the shifters go. Added to the fact that I don't know the height of the 'drops' or related abuse the other reviewers have been taking. I do the occational unintensional 6 inch drop, and may have done one unintensional foot quite a while back. The best 9 speed product I own is a suntour all steel square taper riveted chainring crankset, its lasted through 4 chains, 3 cassettes, and still has most of the paint, granted it is heavy enough to use as a mace. This product did last for me on two occations, with no breaks other than wear failures that are inherent in almost all 9 speed products I've used. The first PC-59 I had went 1000 miles even, the second suffered some more aggressive 'leave it in high gear up hills' type riding and lasted 700ish miles. Both failure took the cassette with them. If you use 9 speed, for whatever reason, and are using it for getting there and back, true XC type trail stuff, without 45 degree uphills or excessive drops, I would expect anyone to get roughly the same performance I did out of the two I used. This review is for 'good performance from a bad design (9 speed in general so far I'm trying an SRAM cassette next go around)' not outstanding and not that bad either. |
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Submitted by
Maria
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: 3/29/2004 3:35:59 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | none |
| Weaknesses: | broke on 2 separate occasions while climbing hills |
| Similar Products Tried: | shimano xtr chain |
| Bike Setup: | giant nrs 2 |
| Bottom Line: | this chain is horrible! it fell apart while i was riding, while climbing uphill. i fixed it, and then again it fell apart on my next bike ride. |
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Submitted by
chris
a Racer
from Pennsylvania, glenmoore
Date Reviewed: 3/19/2004 7:41:09 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | french creek park |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $18 |
| Purchased At: | performance |
| Strengths: | did what it was supposed to...didn;t break |
| Weaknesses: | the power link came undone and thrashed me in the leg on a DH but that prob was because i messed with it and i needed a new one due to stretch after 700 mi |
| Similar Products Tried: | shimano...or sh*tmano there chains are terrible |
| Bike Setup: | jamis eureka, xt derailers, mavic 317, race face turbine, avid dics with ti levers, shimano XT cassetter |
| Bottom Line: | good chain for what it costs...don't mess with the link too much.....unless you like chain cuts up the back of your calf |
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Submitted by
Evan
a Cross Country Rider
from Flagstaff AZ
Date Reviewed: 2/15/2004 11:50:28 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | elden trials |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $22 |
| Purchased At: | Loose Spoke |
| Strengths: | Belongs on a huffy. |
| Weaknesses: | Weakest chain i have ever ridden. Broke 2 of them 4 times in the last 2 months. |
| Similar Products Tried: | 8 speed shimano and sram. |
| Bike Setup: | KHS team hardtail, White Bros fork, X.9, XT, Avid breaks, cane creek chronos, nanoraptors. |
| Bottom Line: | I switched to 9 speed about 2 months ago when a lot of my old 8 speed parts started to give out. Im a big guy at about 200lbs or so, but i olny broke 2 8 speed chains in the 6 years that i rode them, and those were well overdue to be replaced anyway. I broke this chain after about the first 100 miles or so (and not at the powerlink). I fixed it trialside and forgot about it till maybe 50 miles or so later it broke again (at the powerlink.) later on that same ride it broke again and this time managed to wrap itself around my old XT's derailur cage, destroying it and putting me out of a mountian bike for a few weeks. Put another PC59 on with a new deriallur (stupid... but its all my lbs had)... took all of about 50 miles to break (at the powerlink). Im now in the market for somthing stronger. |
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Submitted by
Randall
a Cross Country Rider
from Alpine,UT,US
Date Reviewed: 8/10/2003 1:15:50 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | local |
| Strengths: | None |
| Weaknesses: | Too Many |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano HG |
| Bike Setup: | GF Sugar, Custom Built |
| Bottom Line: | Shifts Crappy, and Snaps easily, it broke twice during a race. I would not recommend this or anything SRAM. |
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Submitted by
Richard
from Vogelweh, Kaiserslautern, GE
Date Reviewed: 8/3/2003 12:12:04 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $19 |
| Purchased At: | Ramstein Outdoor Rec |
| Strengths: | Is strong with the torque it has taken on its latest ride of 48 miles |
| Weaknesses: | Compatibility with Shimano Cogs after numerous adjustments |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano (Still use) |
| Bike Setup: | 93 Rockhopper, Judy XC, LX Crank, XT rear, SRAM shifters, Sun Rhyno Lite and Mammoth Wheels mixture |
| Bottom Line: | Reading other reviews regarding the powerlink feature, I did not connect the link. Has not broken, even under some seriouse abuse. I am giving 3 chilis for initial review! |
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Submitted by
Jordan
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver
Date Reviewed: 7/27/2003 10:14:55 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | Cheyenne Sports |
| Strengths: | Shiny? |
| Weaknesses: | IT snapped the first time i rode it. i wasn't even on a trail i was just riding up the street then i started to pedal harder .then before i knew it . it was on the floor |
| Bike Setup: | 02 Launch,Sram 9.0 casstte, xt derailer,xt shifter,boxxer, |
| Bottom Line: | it just pisses me off that i just got the bike and a few hours latter the chain snaps... i never snapped a chain before even on my old school canadian tire bike |
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Submitted by
Deadhead Archer
a Cross Country Rider
from Iowa, USA
Date Reviewed: 7/16/2003 3:39:47 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Nothing paved |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | Performance, Nashbar, wherever |
| Strengths: | easy to take apart for maintenance/cleaning thanks to the power link. Have gone through 5 chains on the bike, haven't broke one yet. |
| Weaknesses: | wears out under 1000 miles |
| Bike Setup: | 2001 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo |
| Bottom Line: | Good overall value as far as not breaking, binding up. A longer chain life would be nice! |
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Submitted by
Brown Teeth
a Cross Country Rider
from Morro Bay, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: 6/14/2003 9:18:32 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $14 |
| Purchased At: | cambriabike.com |
| Strengths: | Very tough out of the box since it was in a plastic bag and a mess to begin with, one frozen link and a few rough ones, WASH this chain first before installing and save yourself some time! |
| Weaknesses: | No QC out of the factory, oh well it was cheap, not like the 24$ wipperman that was so sweet out of the box I could't figure out if I should put it on my bike or wife. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimanos, whippermans, and now srams |
| Bike Setup: | Marin trail pro xt/xtr... |
| Bottom Line: | You get what you pay for this chain measured dead on but the chain was full of grit out of the bag, that is sad but after doing the in/out pin move on the bad link and cleaning the chain and re-lubing with 90w gear lube it seems to work well. Only 3 turds unles it goes 1,000 miles |
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Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from Highland Village
Date Reviewed: 6/9/2003 10:55:32 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Grapevine |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $26 |
| Strengths: | Nice and smooth, rarely had problems with it. Powerlink is very very nice. |
| Weaknesses: | Powerlink eventually snapped but I believe it was my fault. I bent it a little trying to get it off about a week earlier. It had 600 miles on it. |
| Bike Setup: | 01 Raleigh M80, Thudbuster, Michelin Wildgripper tires (you can tell what kind of crappy budget im working with here) |
| Bottom Line: | Really great chain. Keep it clean and lubed and it will give you a long wonderful life. Dont screw around with the powerlink too much like I did. The chain snapped. Coincidentally, it snapped right across the road from where the first one snapped forcing me to get the pc59. Haha, yeah. |
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Submitted by
Toby Wilks
from Adelaide sa australia
Date Reviewed: 5/19/2003 4:05:48 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | fox creek |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $26 |
| Purchased At: | life cycle bicycles |
| Strengths: | only ever snaped 1, had 3 |
| Weaknesses: | looses strength and becomes loose |
| Bike Setup: | 9 speed lx |
| Bottom Line: | good, for price if u can afford better get it |
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Submitted by
Bruce
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, TX
Date Reviewed: 5/6/2003 9:19:11 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | Bike World |
| Strengths: | Power Link |
| Weaknesses: | Chain breakage, durability |
| Similar Products Tried: | Shimano |
| Bike Setup: | Schwinn Moab hardtail, Avid discs Marzhocci x-fly, XT... |
| Bottom Line: | I have gone through 2 chains faster than is acceptable. The first chain broke during a race in sandy conditions, so I didn't blame it on the chain per se. The second chain lasted only about 200 miles, despite good upkeep (regular cleaning, l |