I’ve been a Wipperman chain fan for a while now, mostly because of their connex link and because I’ve never broken one . So I have an Ultegra chain with a new grouppo and wanted a quick link for it. Local shop only had SRAM, and I know lots of people are fans of their chains, so I got one.
Well today I started performing a long overdue overhaul of my bike and I was going berserker trying to take off the chain. After far too long, anger issues took over and I just broke the SRAM link by hand and ruined the chain (it probably needed to be swapped out anyway… yeah, that’s the ticket)
Anyway, I finally got around to checking the SRAM website about their link:
“SRAM chain engineers developed PowerLock as a tool free, sure and consistent way to connect our 10 speed chains. While PL does not require special tools for install, the especially tight tolerances of 10 Speed drive trains mandated that each PowerLock is good for a one-time application only.”
Oh. Maybe I should have known my gear a little better before I went off half cocked. Either way, it’s back to the Wipp chains for me. I know there are lots of SRAM fans out there, but a one time use quick connect link is a little dumb IMO. Generally I take chains off to clean them a few times a year (though apparently not on the bike in question) the PowerLock doesn’t really make sense to me.
I was always under the impression the pins on these links are fixed to the one outer plate they are attached to. I.E. no pushing allowed. Isn’t the point of these links that they are tool-free and no pin pushing is required/involved?
I used a chain tool and decided to not use a “master link” on a SRAM 1090r chain. Well, big mistake. The chain snapped after 35 miles. This is after, I was very careful to make sure the pin was centered between outer links AND the chain was still flexible. There were no issues while riding, no shift issues, no grinding/crunching noises while it pass over the cassette in smaller cogs, etc… and it still snapped.
I tried a Whipperman link on the SRAM 10spd chain and it works fine.
That being said, since I had it snap, I ditched the whole setup and bought a new chain.
I run a KMC light weight chain that is DLC coated. Works great!
No, not a big deal. It is a $13-15 part(depends on where you get it) BUT, if you don’t know and you break it, your out of luck until you can find a new one.
Steve,
You break it with a chain break BUT, you need a new Sram Power link to put it back together. Again, not a big deal if you plan for it but, not cool when you don’t know and don’t have good access to a new one.
Removal was easy and I didn’t seem to have stressed the powerlink. I rode the bike on the trainer for a few training session before testing outdoors. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this then follow Sram’s advice.
Agree. Can’t even begin to count how many times I have removed my SRAM chain for either cleaning or travel and have NEVER had an issue reusing the link with thousands of miles afterward.