Which chain is better, the Wipperman chain or Sram PC? I’m looking to buy a new chain and like these two because you can remove them by simply removing the connex/powerlink. Do I need to have a chain for each size cassette I use on my road bike (between a 12-23 to 11-32)?
Thanks,
Dave from VA
Neither: Use a Shimano chain if you have Shimano drivetrain and a Campagnolo chain if you have a Campagnolo drivetrain. I can’t begin to describe to you the volume of problems we have with third party chain manufacturers. People are in utter denial of it also, as you will see by the response to my post here in a few minutes… It is so simple: Shimano goes on Shmano, Campy on Campy, the rest goes in the trash. OK, let me have it…
I now use a SRAM cassette, so I use a SRAM chain as well. Where does that fit in?
OK, I’ll take the bait. here goes.
I’ve used a SRAM/Sachs/Sedis chain for many years, and have never had a problem. Not one broken chain. I have had broken shimano and campy chains though. Yes they were installed properly with the proper pin. To both manufacturers credit, their chains have improved quite a bit over the last few years. Shift quality is good for 7 9 and 9 speed systems (10 speed, no idea, only ever used campy chains there).
The only thing I have noted is that the drivetrain can be a little noisier. No biggie.
Tom’s been hittin the crack pipe again. Keep in mind that Tom’s all about coordination. All of the logos on all of the components must match. Otherwise the bike just looks awful and, at that point, who really cares about performance??? Tom, is it also important that the “HG” stamped on the side of each Shimano link be oriented in the same manner?
Seriously, I have an SRAM one my tri bike and a Wipperman on my road bike. I really like them both and have had no problems whatsoever with breakage or shifting. Having a master link that you can easily remove rules!! As a matter of fact, the only chain I’ve ever snapped was a Shimano.
Now, granted that Tom works on a hell of a lot more bikes than I do (I just work on my own). I trust him if he says he’s seen problems. However, I already own my chains and put quite a few miles in and so far I much prefer them to my old Shimanos. Based on my experience so far, I’m quite certain that my next chain will not be a Shimano.
As for choosing between the Wipp and the SRAM, I like the feel (and even the look!!) of the Wipp a bit better. It’s like buttah. There are a few on this site though who claim to have had problems with their Wippermans. Do a forum search on Wipperman and you’ll see the old threads.
I’ve used SRAM chains before without any noticeable difference in noise or shifting, though they did seem to wear out faster than a Shimano chain. I’m currently running a Shimano DA chain with the SRAM link so I can easily remove the chain for cleaning. No problems with this so far. Where does this stand in your book, Tom?
I’m currently running a Shimano DA chain with the SRAM link so I can easily remove the chain for cleaning. No problems with this so far. Where does this stand in your book, Tom?
I’ve been doing a similar thing with a Campy 10-speed chain and an IRD “Snap Link II” for several months for no troubles. The IRD Black Lightning teflon-coated chain was a piece of junk that skipped all over the place on a brand new cogset, but the easy link from it has worked fine with the new Campy 10-speed chain I bought to replace it when I couldn’t even get it out of a bike stand without skipping.
Which link system is better or eazyer to use, Wipperman or Sram? Also, do I need to buy a seperate chain for each cassette I own?
“People are in utter denial of it also, as you will see by the response to my post here”
i utterly deny this.
campy makes the best road bike shifting systems in the world, and the worst chains. both shimano and campy in utter denial of this one fact, that it’s very hard to have user-manipulated press-fit systems on narrow chains. wippermann is a chain company. period. that’s why i like them. but both wippermann and sachs have link systems that imho are better conceived than that which either shimano and campy employ.
but maybe tom and i are both right. it’s not the chains i like when considering campy versus wipp. it’s the link systems. that’s my soap box. i’ve heard that some people use wippermann and/or sachs links (i.e., the connex link) with other chains (perhaps shimano). i’ve never done this, don’t know how it works. tom, you ever tried this?
Dan, I’m using a SRAM Powerlink on my Shimano chain right now. It was originally a quick fix, when I took the chain off to clean and realized I didn’t have any more pins. So I put my extra powerlink (my tri bike uses SRAM chains) on the Shimano chain, and have had no problems, with a little over 800 miles. Much easier to clean now too.