SHould i use a HG53 chain

[apb]

I have an 8 speed cassette, But a Sora rear Derailleur.

The spec for my bike, which i got from the Ridgeback website, says it comes with a HG53 chain, even though it has 8 gears. I would like to replace the cassette and chain, SHould i use this chain or the HG 40?

I am concerned the HG40 chain will be to wide for the Sora derailleur.

Regards,

Alan

 

[HLaB]

Any 8sp (shimano compatible) chain will fit your cassette; IMO and it seems to be supported here but you'd be better to ignore shimano altogether and go with something like SRAM. Sram chains are better quality, have a quicklink (less hassle to fit or remove) and often cheaper. KMC is another good brand of chain. As to cassette IMO SRAM do better quality cassettes too and the offer a better range for me. On my ridgeback townbike, I've had a few SRAM chain & cassettes and I'm currently running a sram 11-28 cassette and a Wipperman Connex chain as this was cheapest when I last replaced.

 

[apb]

Hi HLab

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately i have already ordered the cassette (8sp tiagra, there was a sale), or i would of had a rethink. i will have a look at other 8sp chains an go with that. Thanks for the advice.
Will look closer at SRAM in the future.

cheers,

 

[simon.r]

Another vote for ditching the Shimano chain. Most Shimano stuff is excellent IMO, but their chains break with monotonous regularity!

 

[apb]

Evans cycle are doing KMC 8-speed Chain for 12 quid. It looks like a good option for my commuter.

Thanks for the advice, really appreciated.

 

[I like Skol]

Another vote for ditching the Shimano chain. Most Shimano stuff is excellent IMO, but their chains break with monotonous regularity!

IME the shimano chains don't break even when split and rejoined without the 'proper' pin so I attribute many of these stories to user error. I cannot comment on longevity but since starting to do mileages where chain lifespan becomes noticable (i.e 1 year or less rather than 4-5 or more years) I had the factory original shimano HG53 chain last less than 500 miles before wearing past 0.75% while the replacement has done over 2500 miles before showing similar wear. I have just fitted another HG53 last week but may try something else next as Sram and KMC are continually recommended on this forum.

 

[Lard Armstrong]

I have had a bad experience with 2x SRAM chains, both failed prematurely. It was nothing to do with inexperience/user error, poor quality chains.

Back to KMC, no problems since.

 

[fossyant]

Never had a chain fail ever. KMC usually though. 9 speed chains work well on 7 or 8 speed systems too.

 

[simon.r]

I've had 3 Shimano chains fail, all prematurely and all on new bikes. It's possible that they weren't joined properly at the factory, but I'm not prepared to risk it. Have never had a SRAM chain fail.

 

[mickle]

SRAM here too. It was all we fitted to the fleet of our 400 road-show bikes. No failures. But then, chains really shouldn't fail if they've been fitted and used correctly.
Some chains are less resistant to fluffed gear changes than others. I've had nothing but bad experiences with Shi**no chains.

 

[HLaB]

I've never had a shimano chain fail but its just the sheer convenience of SRAM and KMC (quicklinks) which makes me favour them. Actually I've only had three chains fail. The one on my raleigh mtb as a kid, no idea the brand just that it failed quickly but with a new link circa 20year later its still running (but not used much). The unbranded chain on my old bso. And the SRAM chain on my town bike (deliberately run to breaking point ).