KMC chains

[Andywinds]

Are KMC chains Shimano compatible?

I'm looking at this chain for my 10sp Shimano setup - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-x10-93-10-speed-chain/

Many thanks
Andy

 

[fossyant]

Yes. Better than Shimano.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Yes. Better than Shimano.

Hmmmmmmm.

 

[HarryTheDog]

I have always been a KMC fan and never had a problem with them ,however I rang my local renowned bike shop who supplies a lot of the local serious racers and he now refuses to stock KMC chains as they have had a lot of problems with them with several returned faulty, so @Yellow Saddle is your hmmmmm to do with problems you have found with them?, has their quality suffered of late?

 

[Andywinds]

I have always been a KMC fan and never had a problem with them ,however I rang my local renowned bike shop who supplies a lot of the local serious racers and he now refuses to stock KMC chains as they have had a lot of problems with them with several returned faulty, so @Yellow Saddle is your hmmmmm to do with problems you have found with them?, has their quality suffered of late?

I've ran this chain on my SRAM road bike without issue. I just heard someone say that you should fit Shimano to Shimano kit.

Just another one, is there a tool I should buy when fitted gear cable ends? Or can I just use pliers?

 

[Milkfloat]

As I understand it KMC make or used to make some of Shimano's chains.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I have always been a KMC fan and never had a problem with them ,however I rang my local renowned bike shop who supplies a lot of the local serious racers and he now refuses to stock KMC chains as they have had a lot of problems with them with several returned faulty, so @Yellow Saddle is your hmmmmm to do with problems you have found with them?, has their quality suffered of late?

No, nothing wrong with them, I just don't think they're any better than Shimano chains. KMC also has a laughable X on some of their sideplates which they market as some sort of stretch-proof mechanism. It is truly laughable but obviously not naïve. They know what they're doing, they're just pressing important marketing buttons in the consumer's mind.
I've seen batch faults in all brands of chains. This happens and doesn't necessarily tarnish a brand as long as they deal with the returns in a consumer-friendly way and attempt to train their dealers not to say "this has never happened before" or "this is the first time I've seen this" (and therefore "you must have done something stupid.". I have some photos of chains that failed from hydrogen embrittlement due to faulty electroplating in my book. I just wish I had started collecting photos and samples of factory faults much earlier for a more comprehensive record.

 

[adscrim]

[QUOTE 4247119, member: 9609"]A surprising amount of people think that chains stretch rather than wear - so probably quite a good bit of marketing. If anyone disputes their claim it should be quite easy to show that the plates did not stretch.[/QUOTE]
I think they actually say the X improves shifting.

Edit - they also state that a special treatment of the pins and plates makes them less prone to 'stretching' - and play on people's belief that the metal plates actually stretch.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I think they actually say the X improves shifting.

Edit - they also state that a special treatment of the pins and plates makes them less prone to 'stretching' - and play on people's belief that the metal plates actually stretch.

 

[adscrim]

View attachment 125734

two statements as denoted by the change in font - one for their x-bridge and one for the xsp treatment

 

[Yellow Saddle]

two statements as denoted by the change in font - one for their x-bridge and one for the xsp treatment

As a subtle font-interpreter myself I would say the capital X in eXtra corresponds with the X on the sideplate and indicates stretch-proofness. My marketing background says I would have done the same if it were me. There's no harm in taking a gullible public's money. It says so in the Bible somewhere, I think. My legal mind says that it is so ambiguous that it will have to go to a court in The Hague to prove that the graphic designer had disingenuous intent.
The very word "stretch" sends chills up my spine and means that science is after all, learnt from packaging. As a child reading a Rice Crispies packet I learnt that Ribovlavin ingested via a starchy, sugary, insulin-spurting breakfast cereal is vital to my diet.

 

[mjr]

No, nothing wrong with them, I just don't think they're any better than Shimano chains.

Aside from any discussion of wear rates, KMC chains are better because they come with quick links rather than Shimano's obnoxious single-use special pin system (or buying another maker's quick links as an extra).

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Aside from any discussion of wear rates, KMC chains are better because they come with quick links rather than Shimano's obnoxious single-use special pin system (or buying another maker's quick links as an extra).

There I have to agree with you.

 

[accountantpete]

I use KMC with no problem. The only downer is the quick link which I found difficult to engage and disengage by hand so had to get the BBB tool which does both effortlessly.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bbb-open-link-closing-link-tool-btl77/rp-prod47439

 

[slowmotion]

I've always used 10 speed KMC chains, the really cheapest usually. I have no complaints at all.