9 speed chain KMC v SRAM

mikeyj28

Hi all

for an XC HT 27 speed what which would you say is better? KMC or SRAM?
I am 11.5 stone and do XC (no DH)
Which has the better new linkage (powerlink etc)?

Thanks

delcol

i use both sram and kmc chains... for 10 sp kmc is better as their master links can be reused. unlike sram..
for 9spd pick which ever one you like best..
i use a sram 10spd chain with a kmc masterlink with no issues...

blister pus

I love the SRAM 991...but I've found the KMC X9.93 stretches less over the same time period.

So KMC.

cooldad

KMC

YeehaaMcgee

KMC. They're not made of soft cheese like Shimano and SRAM.

cloudynights

kmc chains may wear longer but they wear your cassette faster, sram chains for me

The Spiderman

I`ve used both.KMC are every bit as good if not longer lasting and cheaper.KMC for me.

mikeyj28

thanks guys

Looks like KMC for me

Anonymous

cloudynights wrote:

kmc chains may wear longer but they wear your cassette faster, sram chains for me

Don't buy cassettes made of soft cheese either then

Still, I seem to be doing okay with KMC X10.93 and SRAM 1050 cassette (though the latter on the soft cheese Crank Brother hub is another matter!).

Jockey wheels were wearing fast but find they do anyway. Got KCNC blingy ones now. Though jockey wheels probably should be softer than chain, but if KMC is tougher it should balance out. The KCNC is nice because it's so vented and doesn't get half as clogged up with mud as the factory ones.

cloudynights

deadkenny wrote:

cloudynights wrote:

kmc chains may wear longer but they wear your cassette faster, sram chains for me

Don't buy cassettes made of soft cheese either then

Still, I seem to be doing okay with KMC X10.93 and SRAM 1050 cassette (though the latter on the soft cheese Crank Brother hub is another matter!).

Jockey wheels were wearing fast but find they do anyway. Got KCNC blingy ones now. Though jockey wheels probably should be softer than chain, but if KMC is tougher it should balance out. The KCNC is nice because it's so vented and doesn't get half as clogged up with mud as the factory ones.

I thought a xt cassette was fine or do you think shimamo stuff is crap

Anonymous

No idea. I've only ever used SRAM cassettes anyway. Was assuming you might have a SRAM cassette as they're supposedly soft.

Thinking of an XT or similar due to issues with my CB hub/wheel, but that's more to do with the design of SRAM 10 speed cassettes (screws sticking out the back that catch on the spokes of certain CB wheels and maybe others).

YeehaaMcgee

XT casettes are fine, but, like most high-end, lightweight cassettes, they are largely made of light, and therefore, soft materials, whereas a super el-cheapo cassette will be made of pig-iron, and will still be fine when the sun dies.

cloudynights

with cross country mountain biking you tend to wear out your drivetrain components quicker than going to a trail centre, mainly because of the distances you cover have tried kmc, sram chains, sram cassettes shimano cassettes, kmc chains last longer but wear sram or shimano cassettes out quicker, yes you can put cheaper harder heavier cassettes and crank rings on but i ride cross country, weight is king putting heavy gear on is a bit like a downhiller riding with 80mm forks, it depends what you want from your drivetrain

YeehaaMcgee

cloudynights wrote:

with cross country mountain biking you tend to wear out your drivetrain components quicker than going to a trail centre, mainly because of the distances you cover have tried kmc, sram chains, sram cassettes shimano cassettes, kmc chains last longer but wear sram or shimano cassettes out quicker, yes you can put cheaper harder heavier cassettes and crank rings on but i ride cross country, weight is king putting heavy gear on is a bit like a downhiller riding with 80mm forks, it depends what you want from your drivetrain

If you stopped for a breath (or even a period) for a minute, then you might realise that I wasn't suggesting that he change his cassette for a heavy one. I was in fact merely pointing out that lightweight ones tend to be softer materials.

For what it's worth, I've never noticed KMC or Wippermann chains wearing down my cassettes any faster. And when I do replace a chain, I replace the cassette anyway, and vice versa.

cooldad

@cloudynights - bollocks

cloudynights

do the mileage cooldad the mileage never lies ive been doing this far to long to take any advice from a nob

cooldad

cloudynights wrote:

do the mileage cooldad the mileage never lies ive been doing this far to long to take any advice from a nob

Of course you don't. So could I see the results of your obviously scientific study showing the data obtained from your comprehensive tests of all the different chains and cassette permutations, under controlled conditions.


ps it's knob.

cloudynights

experience years and years of it something you lack, if i asked whats your style of riding, would you know what i was talking about and more importantly could you tell me


naw nob is fine, knob refers to a door knob i should know being a joiner, get ur facts right next time

YeehaaMcgee

cloudynights wrote:

experience years and years of it something you lack, if i asked whats your style of riding, would you know what i was talking about and more importantly could you tell me


naw nob is fine, knob refers to a door knob i should know being a joiner, get ur facts right next time

HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA
What a total frigging clumpnugfukkbucket!

Seriously, that is just, awesome.

Anonymous

So quality hard wearing chains plus cheese based lightweight components, ridden over long distances in all weather I assume. Get what you pay for there.

Out of interest, how well do the KMC super light thingamebob stuff work? Would have thought only super light chains are allowed.

Also, do you carry spare chain links or does that add too many grams?

cooldad

cloudynights wrote:

experience years and years of it something you lack, if i asked whats your style of riding, would you know what i was talking about and more importantly could you tell me


naw nob is fine, knob refers to a door knob i should know being a joiner, get ur facts right next time

Depends whether by style you mean in terms of fashion or genre.
I am well known for my fashion sense - my friends regularly comment on my sense of style, and my collection of tight, multicoloured lycra and fluorescent jackets. (Easier for the medevac chopper to spot me.)
If you mean in terms of genre, I ride a mountain bike on bumpy bits of stuff, like mountains, hills and random trails.

But I agree that I might be lacking in experience, bicycles are obviously much too technical for a knob, door or otherwise, to understand in a measley 40 odd years, but one day I hope to be as experienced as you, my new internet hero.

cooldad

Or, as I said previously, bollocks.

cloudynights

no try again, style does not mean " bumpy bits of stuff, like mountains, hills and random trails" thats a type although i think your joking when you said that because any mountain biker who has ridden for decades like yourself would know what riding style ment, yes im sure you know what it means, definitely sure

im no internet hero, just a" knob" or is it "nob"

cooldad

I guess both get the general idea across, so maybe bellend is simpler and does not contain a voiceless velar plosive.

blister pus

You're right about more mileage equals more wear but you're totally wrong about the level of wear a KMC chain exacts on a cassette. Sure there's a natural synergy between Shimano's kit and SRAM's kit, and a SRAM chain on a SRAM cassette feels nicer, but the supposed brutal added wear of a KMC chain just isn't there on long distances.

I would be classed as a Dark Peaks XC rider who covers distances, the millstone grit lives here and you don't get any more naturally occurring abrasive conditions in the UK. Anecdotally I find a KMC x9.93 chain will just snap when it dies, whereas a SRAM chain will just stretch to a point of uselessness very quickly in comparison, and if you don't catch them early they do infinitely more damage to a cassette (and drivetrain) over a shorter period of time, any stretched chain does.

pilch

cooldad wrote:

a voiceless velar plosive.

You don't hear that every day

I use SRAM & KMC, ride a lot of miles and race XC... I can't really say I notice a lot of difference between the 2...

cloudynights

A chain is like a sacrificial hanger, has to be fit for purpose strong enough but if it's stronger than your bike
Frame damage will happen, so if a chain is stronger harder than the drive train it's interacting with it will wear out those parts quicker

Chunkers1980

So mileage does lie if you have a super hard chain then?

cloudynights

Yeah whatever kid

Chunkers1980

What does that mean?

blister pus

cloudynights wrote:

A chain is like a sacrificial hanger, has to be fit for purpose strong enough but if it's stronger than your bike
Frame damage will happen, so if a chain is stronger harder than the drive train it's interacting with it will wear out those parts quicker

KMC chains just have a better design, a design that significantly reduces undue chain stretch. They all use hardened chrome coatings with Zinc / Nickel type anti rust protection. KMC don't possess some magic coating. Use a decent dry lube regularly and the effect of any chain is significantly reduced. However there is no cure for any stretched chain causing excessive wear other than changing it.