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Which chains is everyone using?

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jonathanf2:
I'm curious what chains everyone is using? I've tried a few different brands and now I'm starting to lean towards Shimano chains especially when using aftermarket cassettes. I recently had a chain break on my 11 speed road bike (during a hard out of saddle sprint climb) and all I had at home to replace it was a 12 speed Shimano SLX chain for MTBs. Once mounted, this has been the best chain setup I've had to date. Shifts are smooth, quiet and works amazingly well on my AliEx lightweight cassette. I've dabbled using 12 speed chains before, but it seems the Shimano chains with their Hyper Glide and Sil-Tec coating make a noticeable improvement. Also I wonder if some of the shift issues people were having with aftermarket cassettes (like the SROAD) could have been rectified with a different chain setup?

Anyways, what chains have you found to work well?

jannmayer:
My road bike came with a Shimano 105 11 speed chain. It's still going strong after 3000+ miles. I've had good luck with Shimano SLX 12 speed chains on my mountain bike (1000+ miles before 0.5% wear).


I currently have a KMC X11 chain on my gravel bike because I got it for a really good price. It doesn't have many miles on it but it shifts really well with the XT cassette. It shifts a lot better than the Shimano chain did with the AliExpress lightweight cassette.

Wet Noodle:
KMC Z510HX, one is good for a year or so, bought in bulk
(Sorry, only fixed gear atm)

zxcvbnmjm:
YBN SLA!

"The YBN SLA remains Zero Friction Cycling’s top recommendation due to it’s overall balance of outright efficiency, outstanding longevity, and coatings that get along very well with fastest lubricants on the market (Mspeedwax / UFO etc). The YBN SLA is very fast, typically within around 0.5w of fastest chain (dura ace) however it has approx 50% greater longevity vs Dura Ace / Ultegra chains."

https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/chaintesting/

coffeebreak:
Man may be its just me but I can't tell difference between fake Shimano and original one. That being said I think I also had fake KMC once and it was fine. Right now I am on original KMC chain and I can't definitively say that it is better than Shimano. Need to give YBN a try.
That said, I did try VG Sports chain (mostly because they had gold color on the cheap) and it was bad or at least it was bad in the company of Sunshine cassette. Don't want to give it a second chance though considering other chains are pretty much the same price.

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