Powerlinks?

A planty

have heard about power links recently, but was alittle dubious about using them. Having looked in to them i came to realise that i have one on my road bike and have spent hours lol cleaning my chain.my worries were that it wouldn't hold up to much but had no problems on my raod bike, so my question is would they stand up to the abuse of off road trailing and is there anyone that use them

nicklouse

most people have and use them.

and there is no need to SHOUT next time.

andymc06

Lots of people use them for MTB'ing. They come free with sram chains as well as being available separately .I have been using one for the past year with no problems at all and I am not light on the pedals!

Anonymous

Perfectly fine. Never had a powerlink break. Regular links yes, but they get replaced by powerlinks.

They're a ride saver. Chains snap from time to time. Carry powerlinks and a chain splitter and you're off again in a few minutes and you don't have to take it easy or anything like that, just ride as normal.

notes: Simano is different (as always) and uses a master pin which is fiddly, SRAM do Powerlinks, they're reusable (except 10 speed for some reason), KMC chains are much better than all of these and have their equivalent (Missing Links) - which are reusable, 9 or 10 speed.

nicklouse

deadkenny wrote:

notes: Simano is different (as always) and uses a master pin which is fiddly, SRAM do Powerlinks, they're reusable (except 10 speed for some reason), KMC chains are much better than all of these and have their equivalent (Missing Links) - which are reusable, 9 or 10 speed.

Shimano do do a "powerlink" it comes with the chain. (there are two versions of each aftermarket chain. with pin or with link).
Sram 10spd are PowerLocks.

Jamieg285

Are the KMC links compatible with a Shimano 10sp chain?

nicklouse

as long as the spd is correct yes.

delcol

i never had a power link fail on me, on any bike.. road through to downhill bike..

i use a 10sp kmc link on my sram 10sp chain....

mar_k

What power link/lock is suitable to use with a shimano 10 speed chain?

nicklouse

any.

njee20

I've broken several Powerlinks, but I still use them, makes things easier.

Shimano do do a "powerlink" it comes with the chain. (there are two versions of each aftermarket chain. with pin or with link).

Did they not discontinue them pretty soon after introduction and revert to joining pins because the links were wearing very fast and breaking? I'd suggest any with quick links are old stock, it's not a choice you have here through the legitimate channels at least!

nicklouse

njee20 wrote:

I've broken several Powerlinks, but I still use them, makes things easier.

Shimano do do a "powerlink" it comes with the chain. (there are two versions of each aftermarket chain. with pin or with link).

Did they not discontinue them pretty soon after introduction and revert to joining pins because the links were wearing very fast and breaking? I'd suggest any with quick links are old stock, it's not a choice you have here through the legitimate channels at least!

good question. only noticed them last year.

but as i dont tend to use shimano chains I can not comment.

mar_k

nicklouse wrote:

any.

aslong as its 10 speed, is that right?

njee20

aslong as its 10 speed, is that right?

That's right.

Yep pretty sure they dropped them Nick, so the first batches of chains had links, then they went to pins.

jehosophat

I have used them for 15 years (along with Sachs/SRAM chains) and have never broken one. They can occasionally be really hard to split but overall work really well.

Mental Mickey

The advertising spiel for Sram Powerlinks says:

Every chain is only as strong as its weakest link - traditionally, the connecting link. In contrast, the PowerLink™ connection is just as strong and durable as every other link in the chain

I've never had any snap, even under heavy load, only standard links have ever snapped on me, especially while single speeding Grrrrrrr.

Powerlinks are very handy if you have a pack of them in with whatever kit (chain tool required too) you carry, can be the difference between walking back home/to the car or not.

njee20

I've never had any snap, even under heavy load, only standard links have ever snapped on me, especially while single speeding Grrrrrrr.

I've snapped several, which considering they constitute 1% of the chain is quite telling! Like I say though, they do make life easier, so I'll continue to use them, not like they fail all the time.

Mental Mickey

njee20 wrote:

I've never had any snap, even under heavy load, only standard links have ever snapped on me, especially while single speeding Grrrrrrr.

I've snapped several, which considering they constitute 1% of the chain is quite telling! Like I say though, they do make life easier, so I'll continue to use them, not like they fail all the time.

Life is about opinions, one bike shop mechanic once told me they are easily as strong as the rest of the chain, he wasn't a newbie, he was in his late 40's and rides at Fort William a lot with his son. But that's just 'another man's opinion', don't make it the right answer or THE answer.

I've not had any snap yet in three years of riding, my weight varies but I'm currently a 15 stone tank, but have quite strong legs. When I snap SS chains, it's usually when I'm also using the bars as leverage in time with pedalling in a standing position, I've nearly ruined my chances of ever having kids three times now, as I'm getting ever closer to landing smack bang on that nasty stem each time.

I'm not actually someone with wonderful pedal technique and finesse either, I hammer those pedal and get the job done, can climb some pretty steep terrain too,(I'm talking back on a geared back with powerlinks now) you on the other hand are a finely tuned racing machine? I would imagine that while you put a bike through its paces, you also have some finesse though years of experience?

So the answer as to why you, and other snap them, and other people don't will remain a mystery.

Anonymous

I rarely snap mine anyway. Most of my links are donated to others who frequently snap theirs.

Down to how you treat your chain in my opinion. Too much cleaning, too little, cross chaining, shifting under heavy load.

Still I keep the links just in case and once replaced the chain is just the same as before the break as far as I'm concerned. And anyway, SRAM and KMC chains come with a powerlink as part of the chain, so if they're not strong, why would they do that? Never had a powerlink snap.

S-M

My bike came with a SRAM chain/link 1750 miles ago, had no trouble at all, removed it and reinstalled it numerous times without an issue.

pilch

Never snapped any powerlinks, i've stuck them in shimano chains with no problem as I find the joining pin thing to be a pain in the ar5e, always keep the ones off knackered chains too as spares in case the chain goes when you are out riding.

Snapped a new chain before now.... not due to wear, it bounced off and jammed, I didn't realise, jumped on the pedals and crunch - the powerlink was fine, one of the normal links went so I just put another powerlink in and carried on... it stayed that way for a few weeks as I was too tight to buy a new chain.

njee20

I'm not actually someone with wonderful pedal technique and finesse either, I hammer those pedal and get the job done, can climb some pretty steep terrain too,(I'm talking back on a geared back with powerlinks now) you on the other hand are a finely tuned racing machine? I would imagine that while you put a bike through its paces, you also have some finesse though years of experience?

Possibly! I have a penchant for snapping chains, not done it for a couple of years admittedly (since going 10 speed...), but have broken at least 10 (different) chains including Dura Ace, SRAM PC89-R, PC99/PC990 and KMC X9SLs, and like I said, also broken several PowerLinks. One of those things really! They're still convenient to use, and whether I was unlucky or whether they're actually weaker it's not a problem IMO.

Anonymous

pilch wrote:

it stayed that way for a few weeks as I was too tight to buy a new chain.

I'd keep it until a new chain is actually required. Just having a couple of powerlinks in there is no reason to replace the chain and it will ride just the same as if it was a fresh chain. As said, the sram/kmc ones come with one link already in it to join the chain as new.

schmako

A question for the MTB mythbusters.

Entire chain out of powerlinks?

Pretty pointless, but meh!

The Spiderman

I`ve often thought about making up a chain of powerlinks and all the spare bits of chain offcuts I have in the shed!

I`ve run a chain with 2 powerlinks,no problems.