• I've heard it said that at least at the lower end of the price scale, 3/32" chain is more actually stronger and more reliable than 1/8".

    The conjecture held perhaps in the 1970s but no longer. 3/32" is now obsolete. The old Sedis and Regina chains that used to be so popular are no longer available--- production ended decades ago. For the past 2 decades almost all road chains are bushingless designs and all the latest and greatest are for multigear setups of 8 and beyond. By current standards the Rohloff SLT-99 (no longer in production), in its day with 7.1mm (6.8mm for the 9-speed version) the narrowest and most flexible chain on the market, is wide (Campa's 11-speed chain is 5.5mm wide).

    For 3/32" track/singlespeed you want a chain with bushings and 7.8mm wide. These are now at the fringe. HIghest end chains seem to be either old school 1/8" for elite track (Izumi and friends) or super narrow chains designed for fast gear changing in multi-gear systems. In the middle are 1/8" BMX chains. With BMX still going strong, singlespeed/fix-gear become cult and road cycling drifting off into sub 6mm spheres.. the pendulum has swung back strongly for 1/8".

    I think the only argument for 3/32" left is the available of old Campa NR/SR 144 chainrings. While Campa made them with 42 to 70 teeth most of the NOS chainrings one will find are limited to a few popular sizes.

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