8/21/14 9:22 AM

I've almost always used Campy Chains on my Campy equipped bikes, starting with 8sp. I'm still running 10sp Chorus on my bikes and 10sp Veloce on my wife's bike.
I do use a Connex Link on my chains as I like to remove my chain for cleaning and lubing.

In the past I've tried Wipperman and IRD chains. I didn't like the shifting with either of those chains.

Have any Campy users had good results using any of the KMC chains, and if so what model chain did you use.

Thanks

8/21/14 10:58 AM

You didn't mention Shimano or SRAM chains, and those are both good choices.

KMC chains also very good, but avoid their lower-level "Z" series chains for any serious mileage or severe (i.e. off-road) use.

A slightly-narrower chain tends to improve shifting and quietness in back, so I usually use 9s chain on my vintage bikes with Shimano and Suntour 5, 6 and 7-speed freewheels.

Most chains of a given "# of speeds" rating are narrower than Campy's own version.

I use C9 chain on my old Schwinns, bikes that are ridden hard, and these chains also work well and wear well.
Campagnolo stopped selling their 8s chain when their C9 chain became available, and the C9 chain then became their recommended chain.

I don't ever remove chains for cleaning. I lube the chain with a solvent-diluted oil, then wipe it down until visibly clean and dry.

8/21/14 3:00 PM

I can't speak for Campy specifically, but I favor SRAM chains as their quick link makes it easy to remove the chain with your hands. I swap in/out 2 chains to get 2xs the life of my cassette, plus have an extra clean chain.

That is when it comes time to lube up, I swap out the chain for the other and clean the other at my leisure. At one time I used a 3 chain rotation instead of two. That worked equally well.

Additionally, I save the quick links from the old chain and keep a pair in my saddle bag in the event I or one of my buddies breaks their chain during a ride.

8/21/14 3:06 PM

"I don't ever remove chains for cleaning. I lube the chain with a solvent-diluted oil, then wipe it down until visibly clean and dry."


+1

SRAM 951 cheap and good. 10 speed wise I like the Shimano due to the beveled outside plates. Seems to shift up to the big ring better/faster. When you are jumping 16 teeth instead of less. Or even more, although not recommended that I am aware.

Last edited by Sparky on 8/21/14 6:19 PM; edited 1 time in total

8/21/14 4:17 PM

A few years back I went to Shimano chains on my SRAM drivetrain. The new, plate specific designs work better than anything from what I have experienced.

I never remove my chains to clean them either.

8/21/14 6:18 PM

I've NEVER used a Campy chain, being completely turned off by their excessively fussy joining requirements and absurdly overpriced chain tools.

I've had excellent service with Wipperman and Shimano chains on both Campy and Shimano drive trains. The Connex link works very well and Shimano's joining pin has also been 100% reliable.

I also almost never remove the chain for cleaning. The Connex link and it's KMC equivalent are a convenience but not a big issue for me.

8/22/14 8:49 AM

The 10 speed SRAM links are not intended to be reused, but I found they can be, at least a few times. I reground a cheap wire stripper to squeeze the link together, and found that it took several times before wear appeared on the snap links. I never had problems as long as the link went together with a noticeable snap.

Not sure where it is these days, but here is the type of wire stripper I used. Where the notches are in the blades, I just filed it deeper with a round chainsaw file.

http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/khansaa.almansor1/cett1321/wiring-2/wiring-1/wire-stripper/image_view_fullscreen

8/23/14 8:05 AM

I've separated SRAM 10s links by first flexing each adjacent link to the PowerLink 90-degrees to the PowerLink, then applying a plier diagonally to the end-corners of the link, which does get the link halves sliding apart.
The pins tend to get knocked loose in the plates with these particular links though, although it's just the press-fit, and the pin's head or peening remains intact so the link remains usable.

I also carry a used 10s PowerLink in my lightweight pocket tool kit, which I have even used to connect a Shimano 10s chain in the field, but which was a ridiculously tight fit and only ridable after much heavy link-flexing.

8/23/14 12:06 PM

...on everything, road, 'cross and MTB. I get good life out of them and have never had a problem with one. You can buy them on Ebay for ~$35. Their "Quick Links" work great and you can reuse them, though they aren't as tight after they've been disconnected. That makes it easy to take the chain apart, if necessary.

Matthew, if you file notches on the outsides of the plier jaws, you can use them to spread the link, too. That's become the standard design for link pliers now.



I also have a pair of these Super-B pliers that are designed to both open and close by squeezing. It's a simple, brilliant design:



Last edited by Brian Nystrom on 8/25/14 5:29 AM; edited 1 time in total

8/23/14 4:24 PM

I bet my junk wire stripper was cheaper, and it looked just like the "remove" side of one of those tools. I never bothered to grind it to expand the links, because you can do that by pulling the chain, and you can feel when it snaps.

It was a long time ago. I shoulda patented it!

8/24/14 8:29 AM

I guess the jaw indents that allow the "pulling" effect are for people who work on a bike in a work stand, but the rest of us can, indeed, put foot to pedal if needed, to pull the link until it snaps fully seated.

I'm about to do as Jesus Saves does, swap in a new chain for a mildly-worn one, so as to be able to get several chain's lifespan out of my ever-harder-to-source Uniglide freewheels with custom ratios.
Having gotten the ratios sorted for my particular area's terrain, it's time to bring on a rotational chain-swap regimen for several of my older bikes.
I'm hoping that my sprockets won't complain about changing back and forth between Campagnolo and Shimano, though something terrible is surely to come of it...;-).
Heck, the chains I have been using were new-but-too-short C9 discards spliced together with older, re-rivetable 9-Link segments of Sachs 8s chain, which actually never gave me a hint of complaint and have so far seemed to resist wear/stretch rather well.

8/25/14 5:36 AM

I prefer to expand the link with the pliers, rather than using the crank to do it, as it's easier to do it in the stand. It took me all of 5 minutes with a file to add expansion notches to older Park pliers. If I didn't already own the Park pliers, I would have bought more Super-Bs.

8/25/14 8:07 AM

The triple jaw on the Super B is certainly clever, and if you're buying a tool, this one looks like the one to get.

8/25/14 11:08 AM

...it was definitely one of those slap your forehead and say "Duh!" moments. It seems so obvious, I'm surprised that Park, Pedros or one of the other big tool companies didn't think of it. The same is true for the spreader notches, the first generation pliers didn't have them.

Now, if someone would make circlip (a.k.a. "E-ring) pliers with the same design...

Last edited by Brian Nystrom on 8/25/14 5:38 PM; edited 1 time in total

8/25/14 3:55 PM

I was thinking the same thing about circlip pliers, but suspect that the problem here is clearance, since many such clips are recessed into a bore or surrounded by other things.

8/25/14 5:39 PM

...longer, narrower jaws, like typical circlip pliers do.

8/26/14 9:17 PM

No matter how narrow the jaws, I think the third jaw would get in the way sometimes.

Anyway, some of the proper circlip pliers have a dual action that allows you to switch whether they push open or closed, and that works pretty well too.

Thinking about it, one could probably take a set of those and modify it for a chain, but it would be a waste of money.