Which Chain? (Chains / Size / Width / Wear)

Any idea why?

Yes. The old chain and the old sprocket were equally knackered, the pitch elongation of the former precisely matching the tooth wear of the latter. It's in Chain Drives 1.01; never use an old chain on new sprockets.

Oh thankyou so much, I'll try on a borrowed new chain and check the sizes, thanks again

I'm planning on building a fixed gear bike so a I need a pretty strong and sturdy chain that won't break when I stop, any suggestions? Bare in mind I'm on a tight budget?

KMC

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Bare in mind I'm on a tight budget?

Remember this image and you'll remember how to spell:

Meanwhile, as above, any of the modestly priced KMC or Wippermann chains will be fine, since your brakes do most of the stopping on the road.

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ah yes very funny,
Ok thanks, hmm brakes yes, although to be honest I wasn't planning on putting brakes on!

Hello

I'm new here so if I'm posting in the wrong place feel free to smash my face in with a dead fish.

The is the first time I've not been able to find a good answer without lurking through these forums so I thought I'd sign up to ask.

I recently built my first single speed and was running a SRAM PC1 on 42/16 for about two months and the last two weeks with 48/16 and just checked the chain with the ice toolz checker and it says I need to replace. Does that sound right? I'm riding about 16 miles a day down the river so no hills to speak of, so can't see that the chain has had a silly amount of stress, or is that just how long they last?

Thanks for any help, and I like the bear picture.

Unrelated picture is unrelated:

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Sram PC1, used to last me 'bout a month max, avoid!
Try standard Izumi Track Chain instead.
HTH

After reading Tester's frequent recommendations for Wipperman chains I decided to give them another go instead of a trusted 510.

I put a 1z1 on my everyday bike. Despite looking like a toy, it is very quiet and so far, I'm impressed.

Mine's super noisy but that's because the chain tensioner's at a crazy angle. I ought to fix it...

Apologies for necroposting but it's a necessity.
Anyone have any ideas which bicycle shop might stock a white KMC in Central/East/SouthEast London? Been looking for a while but most of the small shops have horrendous or no websites so maybe someone can tell me from memory.

Apart from Evans preferably.
Thanks.

it's a necessity...white KMC

There's your trouble, you think the stupidest possible thing is a necessity.

Wippermann 1Z1 is a great chain and photographs white, so you can have a bike which works well but looks stupid when you show it off on teh internetz

Well you do have a perfectly valid point.
Coloured chains may be for twats but when your bike has a certain colour theme, I would prefer to keep it.
Regardless, would you be able to suggest a place where this chain is available?

Well, ended up getting a cult 410 for £8.
Was the best deal available and so far has proved to be far superior to the previous YBN chain.

Well, you ended up with a KMC Z410 (sold as S1 in Europe) after all, so you're on the right track. Shame you got one made by KMC for a bunch of 'merkins who ride children's bikes :-)

Not sure how you can tell in less than a day that the cheapest KMC is better than a YBN (Yaban are a perfectly respectable chain maker, and Tainan neighbour of KMC), unless you just mean that a new chain is better than a knackered old one.

Any non dry track use avoid the Izumi Standard Track chain. Clue was in the name really...

In the past, I've used KMC chains (can't remember which one), without any issues, but I only used them for a few months.

I've been hearing good things about Izumi though.

Which chain should I get, for general commuting around London? My only requirement is that it is 1/8" and silver. Any suggestions?

Would the Izumi be better or worse than KMC for this use?

For commuting, you ideally want a galvanised chain, either Wippermann 1Z1 or a KMC with the RB suffix, e.g. S1RB, Z1XRB. My money would be on the Wippermann because it has bushings, but that's mostly me being a snob; millions of people use bushingless chain on single speeds without any trouble. If you can find one, KMC do actually make a bushed galvanised chain, B1RB, but not many people stock it. Also, KMC make a full stainless steel chain, which PlanetX had at half price a while ago (now £12.99), Z1XInox aka S10Inox, which is also good and you might like the colour more if you're used to Nickel plated chains, as the galvanised ones are very "White Metal" coloured

Izumi chains are not really suitable for outdoor use, due to the lack of corrosion protection, and they are hugely over priced compared with equal quality Wippermann/KMC/Yaban due to hipster tax.

Thanks for that, had no idea stainless steel chains existed.

So i'm leaning more towards that one now, but what advantage would bushing chains give me? I tried to have a quick read on sheldon brown, but tbh, it went way over my head (i can't tell if bushing = good of bushingless = good).

Also, which is better (for rust proofing a chain), galvanising it? or just using stainless steel? Any disadvantages to using stainless?

Guess I'll definitely steer clear of the izumi though, thanks for the heads up on that.

Bushed chains are less flexible from side to side, so they are worse for dérailleurs but better for singlespeed. Bushed chains should last longer, because the pin load is spread over a greater area.

Not much to choose between galvanised and stainless, since both will die from wear before the corrosion gets them. Stainless is a bit more expensive, and potentially worse for any aluminium components in wet contact with the chain, i.e. your chainring, but again it's a marginal matter. In my experience, nothing runs quieter than galvanised chain, not sure why but I hypothesise the soft Zinc absorbs vibration which stiffer Nickel coating doesn't; whatever the reason, galvanised chains are excellent for creeping up on people :-)

If you want me to tell you what ⅛" chain to run on a daily driver, it's Wippermann 1Z1. Half my bikes have that or the 3/32" equivalent 7Z1.

Bushed chains are less flexible from side to side, so they are worse for dérailleurs but better for singlespeed. Bushed chains should last longer, because the pin load is spread over a greater area.

Not much to choose between galvanised and stainless, since both will die from wear before the corrosion gets them. Stainless is a bit more expensive, and potentially worse for any aluminium components in wet contact with the chain, i.e. your chainring, but again it's a marginal matter. In my experience, nothing runs quieter than galvanised chain, not sure why but I hypothesise the soft Zinc absorbs vibration which stiffer Nickel coating doesn't; whatever the reason, galvanised chains are excellent for creeping up on people :-)

If you want me to tell you what ⅛" chain to run on a daily driver, it's Wippermann 1Z1. Half my bikes have that or the 3/32" equivalent 7Z1.

Hmm, was about to purchase the inox chain, but that wipperman 1z1 is much cheaper...

Do both these chains include that special link, where you can remove the link with a flat head screwdriver? That's an important factor for me as well... since I hate using chain tools more than once per chain (I always mess it up).

Why can SS damage aluminium parts when it's wet?... I imagine it's because it's harder, but why only when it's wet?

Both chains come with spring clip master links

Stainless steel in wet contact with aluminium can cause faster galvanic corrosion of the aluminium than would be the case with Nickel free steels, and Zinc (galvanised) is even kinder to aluminium than plain steel.
http://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=89

It's only really a problem if your drive train stays wet for a long time, e.g. outdoor storage. Road salt added to the mix will make matters worse in all cases.

Both chains come with spring clip master links

Stainless steel in wet contact with aluminium can cause faster galvanic corrosion of the aluminium than would be the case with Nickel free steels, and Zinc (galvanised) is even kinder to aluminium than plain steel.
http://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=89

It's only really a problem if your drive train stays wet for a long time, e.g. outdoor storage. Road salt added to the mix will make matters worse in all cases.

Guess that settles it, I'm getting the chain you recommended. You seem knowledgable, the chain is cheap, and it's rust proof. Can't really ask for more.

Cheers! You saved me around 9 quid from my original plan (the izumi)

Just confirming, this one right? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/wippermann-bmxtrack-1z1-anti-rust-single-speed-chain/

That's the one, nice price, I was recommending at £9.99 :-)