Best chain for 11 speed Campag Record group - Record or KMC ??

As above - currently run a KMC on 10 speed Centaur but about to move to 11 Record - views welcomed

If it's similar to 10sp I would go KMC - the record 10sp chain was a pain in the arse to join. I just went out and got a KMC chain in the end.

^ this. .. You need a specific 11 speed rivet peening tool for the 11 speed Campagnolo chain

You don't necessarily - kmc make an 11sp missing link you can use on a Campag chain. I did this rather than spend £140 on the peening tool. The tool was nice,but not that nice.

Take KMC, they are good and reliable. I've used theirs single speed, 9spd, 10spd chains and all were great. I imagine a lot cheaper as well for something you need to replace fairly often.

Connex.

always used KMC for around 15 years and never had a problem with them was just just curious about the Campag option - seems like most prefer the KMC for ease of fixing as well as performance

@Scilly.Suffolk +1 . That black and gold...

I would go record. Have had both, can't tell a difference, i just prefer to have all record if it were me. Get a quick link. Ive used kmc, bbb´s and even sram´s 11s lock and they all work.

yep - have used speedlinks for years and always carry a spare in the tool bag in case of snapped chain (happened to my missus once on a sportive and was a godsend)

yep - just love gold chains - all mine are -- 2 road bikes and 2 MTB

Chorus with a kmc link

You don't really need to drop the chain off that often, and for removing the RD or FD to clean it (when they get so manky you can't do it on the bike), then the FD cage can be split or the lower jockey from the RD can be removed, so for me, I'd go with the correct chain, joined correctly, so preserving warranty on all the transmission parts, removing any risk of the missing link opening (it's rare but it can happen) and also the occasional problem that we see of the much squarer edges of the missing link damaging the plastic bumper plate inside the FD - this doesn't happen with the correct Chorus or Record chain as the edges of the links are heavily bevelled - we have seen it with others.

Front shift, especially on the 2015 groups, is also highly dependent on the correct interface between the outer link plates of the chain and the ramps and shift pins on the big chainring - different link plate shapes will interfere to some extent with this. It'll still work, of course - but you are looking to spend a lot of money on a groupset and you want it to be "right" not just "adequate" ...

HTH
Graeme
Velotech Cycling Ltd
Campagnolo main UK Tech and Service Centre

I've got the missing link on my Super Record group. Feels right to me. It was the thought of the overpriced peening tool that didn't feel right.

Thanks Graeme - food for thought there

@Dillahunt - some joining links are worse for damaging the bumper plate than others. Some joining links part more easily than others - so we would recommend against but if the user is determined to use one, I'd recommend the KMC one as the best risk, albeit at the expense of an invalidated warranty.

All I'd say is, if a joining link parts and demolishes your RD or FD (as we have seen happen), then the link manufacturer is generally unlikely to offer compensation as most manufacturers don't offer warranty against consequential loss. I don't know about SRAM and Shimano but in Campagnolo's case, if we were ever to have a correctly joined (by which I mean, joined in the way that Campagnolo indicate with a Campagnolo tool) chain sent to us as a within-warranty period failure, we'd look on a case-by-case basis but if the derailleur, say, were damaged, we'd certainly consider warranty on that part as well.

On the wider question, I know the tool looks expensive (well, it is expensive ...) but there are a good many tools that end-users don't often have to use that are expensive and that are just as important for correct assembly of a bike - and I'd class a chain tool for use in assembly the same way. I am pretty fanatical about my bikes working correctly (in my job it'd be somewhat embarrassing if they didn't) and being pretty much spotless - and I don't usually break a chain at any point in it's service life - there is just no need ... and with my hard hat and dayglo vest on, there is a risk management consideration here, too - almost every chain I have ever seen fail, has failed at the join. So once you have a tested join in the chain, why take the risk of making another potential failure point if you don't need to?

I agree with GFK Velo... buying a top end group set like Record and then botching it with cheap components and tools for convenience is not good practice. I do have a pair of Record Ergo levers, but I bought them second hand for very little and I don't expect anything in terms of warranty of course. Equally, I run 9 speed drivetrains, which is not what the 11 speed levers were designed to do in the first place, but are not so "tool sensitive"... Shimano chains that are linked via the old fashioned (but in my view far superior) pin and can be joined with a decent Park Tool chain splitter, rather than having to invest in a dedicated tool.

I bet even GFK Velo secretly has one of these... :-)

As a mechanic a decent chain tool (or multiple tools) are width their money all day long, as above if a chains going to fail its pretty much the link or the pin that the owner has re fitted by using two rocks.

Though my favourite is giant road bikes special shimano chains that they join with two rocks in the factory so your customers end up with split chains in their first climb on their new bike, worst of which wrote the frame off!

My own experinece is a record 10 speed or 11 speed chain give me more miles before i have to change them. I use campagnolo guide for measuring chain wear to decide this.

I do use kmc chains but they do wear out a bit quicker. The only chain i have got over 2000 miles from is a record chain. my last chorus chain did 1500 miles before campagnolo says it worn. It god a record now.

I have never had to remove a chain from my bike Until it needs changing.

kmc chains though do run fine on camagnolo drive trains not tried them though on the new 2015 omes though. The links are reliable.

If working on a bike use the correct tools If you dont want to buy them then take the job to a shop.

Summary if you have a top end camapagnolo groupset then the correct chain is the best thing for it. If you have the money for record then you have the money for the tools to join the chain it needs. It a bit like buying a bmw m6 and balking at the cost of servicing.

So after all of the above can anyone recommend a suitable 11 speed quick link for a campy chain? All quite pricey online compared to the 10 speed versions.