[longhairmike]

chicago transplant 5 weeks ago,,i'm still authorized to ridicule everyone thru sept 15th

NJ has higher taxes and more hair gel

 

[chongoman]

Thank you for your input, this is something I would like to bring up in my next meeting and try to learn more about or find a solution to it thats all. And yes some chains are "cheap".

Is the AZ terrain anything like San Diego?

AZ terrain varies widely from the desert areas to the high country and the stuff between. In the Phoenix area we not only have dust, but also fine granite sand that clings to chains with anything other than dry lube. You can hear it crunching between the chainrings and chain if it gets on them.
Your point of the grease needing to be in the crevices around the pins got to the point I was trying to address about just how much I should try to clean off the chain for PHX conditions. My take away from the info here is to probably just use the simple green method, dry well, cut and lightly lube. this way some of the factory stuff can remain in the tight spots without attracting too much gritty stuff.
Either that or have Chollaball make sweet love to my chain.

 

[Dag Nabbit]

I'll wipe the chain a bit, cut, install, then put on some White Lightning and that is it. I've found WL keeps the dust from collecting, but I imagine it also locking in that special factory lube, deep around the pins and whatnot.

 

[Jim Beam]

( I always replace the cassette , chain and ft rings together .....may as well do it right ).....

This is not "doing it right". If you replace your chain when indicated by a chain wear measuring tool, your cassette and chain rings will last through a dozen chains.

You're doing it wrong.

 

[midget]

You are all wrong...........


DurtGurl however is not. Learn from women, especially when they are right.

 

[kelstr]

This is not "doing it right". If you replace your chain when indicated by a chain wear measuring tool, your cassette and chain rings will last through a dozen chains.

You're doing it wrong.

I do not care what a chain wear indicator may or may not say ( actually the KMC chains almost do not streatch at all , after one year I wont get 1/16" streatch at all.)

I care when my shifting is not perfect ,( or I slam a big rock or shale and ruin the cassette or ft rings) -----and no I can not just put a chain on ......the bike will not work correctly , ........sure guys do it and get by ....but if you want perfection , you will change out the whole system .

If your cheep and really do not ride hard and get into situations where it can cost you a trip to the emergency room ....or worse .....then go ahead and have second rate shifting .

My riding is importaint to me and I want the shifting as tight and correct as it can be .

So no....Im not doing it wrong ......your just a cheep a$$ and don't know any better

 

[kelstr]

Shimano XT cassette, XTR chain. I degrease before I ever put the chain on the bike. I lube with Chain-L. I never change my chain until the whole drivetrain needs replacing. I ride 4-6 times a week, and my last drivetrain lasted about 3500-4000 miles.

I am trying out a KMC chain for the first time on my new drivetrain.

Which model chain from KMC did you get ?
I gota say they do make a dam good chain , I will have to look at the exact model ( I believe I was wrong in the post where I stated the model of KMC chain I was using )

One of their chains .....I think it was the hollow pin hollow plate gold high dollar chain ....I would start to break the chain right at the center on the hollow side plates in about two months of use , -----so then I switched to the chain just under the high dollar that does not have hollow pins or plates and have had no troubble at all.

Neither chain would hardley streatch at all .....unlike most of the other chains I have used.

I actually think I was shifting alittle heavy going on the the middle ring and catching the poor little hollow plate and just killing it ......I actually looked down once when I was being a moron and shifting on the middle ring and just happened to see the dam thing break right on that link ....

 

[tiSS'er]

Which model chain from KMC did you get ?
I gota say they do make a dam good chain , I will have to look at the exact model ( I believe I was wrong in the post where I stated the model of KMC chain I was using )

One of their chains .....I think it was the hollow pin hollow plate gold high dollar chain ....I would start to break the chain right at the center on the hollow side plates in about two months of use , -----so then I switched to the chain just under the high dollar that does not have hollow pins or plates and have had no troubble at all.

Neither chain would hardley streatch at all .....unlike most of the other chains I have used.

I actually think I was shifting alittle heavy going on the the middle ring and catching the poor little hollow plate and just killing it ......I actually looked down once when I was being a moron and shifting on the middle ring and just happened to see the dam thing break right on that link ....

I picked up the X93 or whatever they call it. It is the XT/XTR level chain. I picked it up form Slippery Pig for $25. I have always run Shimano XTR chains ($50 locally). After speaking to Eric at SP, he said KMC makes the chains for Shimano, and the reason they are more reliable is that they polish the plates and pins, so there is less friction than a Shimano chain. Looking at the chain, the pins look to be the same as Shiamno, so maybe there is something to it.

Like you I, replace everything at once, so I like my chains to last.

 

[chollaball]

I picked up the X93 or whatever they call it. It is the XT/XTR level chain. I picked it up form Slippery Pig for $25. I have always run Shimano XTR chains ($50 locally). After speaking to Eric at SP, he said KMC makes the chains for Shimano, and the reason they are more reliable is that they polish the plates and pins, so there is less friction than a Shimano chain. Looking at the chain, the pins look to be the same as Shiamno, so maybe there is something to it.

Like you I, replace everything at once, so I like my chains to last.

chain stretch aside, i've got a friend who is a pro mtbr who swears by replacing his chain every 65 hrs, and that it preserves his drive train that way. Just curious why such radically different opinions on chain replacement. I know you guys both are very god mechs, but i've never heard of someone keeping a chain for so long?

 

[tiSS'er]

chain stretch aside, i've got a friend who is a pro mtbr who swears by replacing his chain every 65 hrs, and that it preserves his drive train that way. Just curious why such radically different opinions on chain replacement. I know you guys both are very god mechs, but i've never heard of someone keeping a chain for so long?

It's simple, perfection. Even if you change your chain with 1/16th stretch, the cassette and chainrings will have slight wear. This slight wear may cause strange shifting issues, increased drivetrain noise, and will prematurely wear the new chain. I run my chain, cassette, and chainrings until they no longer shift, or strange drivetrain issues arise. This is usually every 18-24 months. The cost for me to replace the entire drivetrain is not much more over 18 months than it would be to buy 3 or 4 new XTR chains at $50 each over the same period of time. This may change a bit if these KMC chains work out.

 

[chollaball]

It's simple, perfection. Even if you change your chain with 1/16th stretch, the cassette and chainrings will have slight wear. This slight wear may cause strange shifting issues, increased drivetrain noise, and will prematurely wear the new chain. I run my chain, cassette, and chainrings until they no longer shift, or strange drivetrain issues arise. This is usually every 18-24 months. The cost for me to replace the entire drivetrain is not much more over 18 months than it would be to buy 3 or 4 new XTR chains at $50 each over the same period of time. This may change a bit if these KMC chains work out.

cassette ~$75
rings ~$75
chain - ~25-50

an interesting consideration...thank you.

 

[Casual Observer]

It's simple, perfection. Even if you change your chain with 1/16th stretch, the cassette and chainrings will have slight wear. This slight wear may cause strange shifting issues, increased drivetrain noise, and will prematurely wear the new chain. I run my chain, cassette, and chainrings until they no longer shift, or strange drivetrain issues arise. This is usually every 18-24 months. The cost for me to replace the entire drivetrain is not much more over 18 months than it would be to buy 3 or 4 new XTR chains at $50 each over the same period of time. This may change a bit if these KMC chains work out.

This is why god invented singlespeeds.

 

[kelstr]

It's simple, perfection. Even if you change your chain with 1/16th stretch, the cassette and chainrings will have slight wear. This slight wear may cause strange shifting issues, increased drivetrain noise, and will prematurely wear the new chain. I run my chain, cassette, and chainrings until they no longer shift, or strange drivetrain issues arise. This is usually every 18-24 months. The cost for me to replace the entire drivetrain is not much more over 18 months than it would be to buy 3 or 4 new XTR chains at $50 each over the same period of time. This may change a bit if these KMC chains work out.

This is so true , every time I let a customer talk me into just replacing a chain ...or chain and one sprocket ( motorcycle / Bicycle ) it always turns into a headache for me , it pissed me off so bad many years ago that I will not just do a chain or sprocket, I will only do the whole system , or none at all .

I could never understand why guys can not see that the chain and sprockets all wear together and become one working unit , and if you dare replace one component and not all the others you will never get the system to work correctly again .

I see so many problems on the trail when guys try to do this and then ask if I can adjust it real quick :madman::madman:

 

[kelstr]

I picked up the X93 or whatever they call it. It is the XT/XTR level chain. I picked it up form Slippery Pig for $25. I have always run Shimano XTR chains ($50 locally). After speaking to Eric at SP, he said KMC makes the chains for Shimano, and the reason they are more reliable is that they polish the plates and pins, so there is less friction than a Shimano chain. Looking at the chain, the pins look to be the same as Shiamno, so maybe there is something to it.

Like you I, replace everything at once, so I like my chains to last.

I got my note book out and found the first KMC chain that I would break was the X9SL hollow pin hollow plate 265 gram gold XC chain, I really liked the feel of this light chain and it did not
stretch at all and it was really quiet , but I would break it right at 8 weeks ......I did this twice like clockwork.--(I think it listed for $69.00).......this is a XC chain and I should not have been using it for AM .....

Then I changed out the drive train again and now I have the same KMC chain you do , the X9.93 half nickel extra durable extra stretch proof solid pin solid plate chain, I am at 11 months and have had no problems at all , and 1/16th stretch , I also paid $25 dollars for it .
.

 

[big0mike]

Then I changed out the drive train again and now I have the same KMC chain you do , the X9.93 half nickel extra durable extra stretch proof solid pin solid plate chain, I am at 11 months and have had no problems at all , and 1/16th stretch , I also paid $25 dollars for it .
.

Damn, when I need a new chain I'm gonna have to remember this :thumbsup:

 

[kelstr]

Damn, when I need a new chain I'm gonna have to remember this :thumbsup:

I have been getting good service so far out of the KMC chain, I wished the light weight KMC hollow pin XC one would have worked for me , but the nasty hacky AM type of riding you and I do was just alittle hard on the light chain, ....

 

[Maadjurguer]

I don't know what the big deal is here...but I'm running a 3year old cassette....I've gone through 5 or 6 chains on it.....and you all know I ride a lot. My system still shifts like butter.

 

[Blatant]

Yep, me too. I understand this relationship (rings, chain, cassette) conceptually. However, I still replace individual pieces as they break/wear out. I've been running my 990 rear cassette for at least 14 months. During that time I've had a couple/three chains and two sets of chainrings. Drivetrain shifts like butter.

 

[longhairmike]

I don't know that the big deal is here...but I'm running a 3year old cassette....I've gone through 5 or 6 chains on it.....and you all know I ride a lot. My system still shifts like butter.

my cassette's so old it's on vinyl...

 

[PhxChem]

I ride in very dusty conditions.

Man, where do you live? In the desert or something?