Originally Posted by
Jeff Wills
It wasn't until several years later that a real alternative (SRAM) became available. .
Actually the alternative predated the problem. Bob Lickton invented the Lickton Link some time before that but never succeeded in getting any OEM to adopt it. So it remained a niche aftermarket item used by a relatively small number of cyclists. It wasn't until Sram licensed the patent, (or designed around it) and made the Powerlink standard on their chains that it became common.