Rotated a 0.5 chain onto my roadie the other day and discovered today that it had 2 cracked outer links, so into the bin it went. For those interested it was a KMC.
In my experience, the best chains for me have been
- Wipperman. Excellent link and pin strength, I'm struggling to think of a single catastrophic failure. The bushings wear a but faster than YBN but seems to deal with less than ideal chain alignment and shifts better.
- YBN. Also excellent strength, although have had the odd popped pin. Excellent wear. Less forgiving of chain alignment and numpty gear changes.
- KMC. Good strength but have had the odd popped pin and cracked side plate. Good wear.
- Shimano. A few catastrophic failures. Otherwise good wear.
Also checked the cranks and BB while the chain was off. Both were fine. The Ultegra bbr60 must be going on 10 years and I have no idea how many 1000s of KMs, if anything it's at peak smoothness. Shimano's bearing OEM clearly knows their shit. The excellent sealing system undoubtedly helps too (take note Campag).
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