redstar said:
i snapped my sram 7.0 chain last night, not at the powerlink. looked like side ways stress is how it broke.
i have removed my powerlink and chain probably 20 times since i bought the chain 4 months ago, absolutely no problems getting it back on. i did find that until i figured out how to remove the power link i had a lot of trouble getting it off. the best way to remove it i have found is to use one hand and hold the link by the sides between the thumb and forefinger and slide the links.
I've had three Sram chains on my Jamis now and have never got more than three reconnects before they had a huge decrease in the "snap factor".
I do ride in the desert and its imposible to keep sand from contaminating the chains within a few miles of XC riding. What has been happening to me is this, the Power Link will snap together after the third time, but its way easier to undo the link after that, so I don't trust them anymore.
I like both Shimano and Sram, I think when properly installed they are both good, even at the lower price ranges.
As far as cleaning goes, I've allways cleaned them on the bike (with one years exception), with a hose connected to a hot water heater in my garage and a little degreaser. I just don't blast the wheel bearings ect with the hot water. I tried taking the chains off and cleaning them for about a year, but found that I wasn't getting anymore life out of the chains for all the extra trouble.
Plus lets face it; the drivline of a mountain bike actually used off road gets filthy in a matter of a few miles of real sandy dirty riding, so getting "most" of the filth off is as good as its gona get. After five miles here in the desert, I can't hardly tell my chain was cleaned anyhow regardless of the brands of lubes I've tried. That includes dry and wet lubes from Finish Line, White Lightning and others that were so bad I didn't even bother to remember the names. I've settled on 30wt. motor oil these days, because its cheap, lubes just as good or better than the expensive "chain lubes" and it cleans off really good with hot water and 409 or similar cleaners.
3 in 1 is also good here in the Desert Southwest. In CA I had settled on White lightning, but it just doesn't work here in this climate.
I also forgot to add in my previous post, that Shimano chains with all brand new drive components are more prone to chain-suck until they break in. I haven't had that kind of problem with sram chains on used or new chain rings ect.
I also agree with the previous poster that said 8 speeds are way more durable.
I've had to tinker with my drivlines way more, since the introduction of 9 speeds to mountain biking. I imediately noticed more chain skipping, deraileour adjustment problems, sensitivity to dirt and tooth bending on rings and cassettes after nine speeds came around. A lot of people aren't aware, that the teeth on the gears used to be wider at the chain and tooth interface on the 8 speed stuff. They had to make the teeth narrower on the nine speed gearing, because the chain itself is narrower, which is why nine speed gearing bends easier and wears quicker.
If someone doesn't believe that last statement, try putting a nine speed chain on an older bike that still has pre 95 cranks and cassett and prepare for major chain-suck and improper shifting. The narrower chain might even get stuck between the rings on some of the older cranksets. This is assuming the gearing isn't worn excessively. The front deraileours back then even had a different cage width.
"Note" this experament won't work on any crankset or drivline parts after about 1996, because that was the crossover year. ( if I remember correctly ). After about 96 the chain-ring width and spacing was changed slightly.
