Originally Posted by
andr0id
There are a variety of benefits to nickel plating.
1) It's a harder coating and makes the chain last longer.
2) It's more corrosion resistant which is also going to make the chain last longer.
3) You can tell when your chain is dirty more easily, so you clean and lube it, which then makes it last longer.
The first two are debatable, though. Nickel plating on the outer plates has no effect where chains actually wear. If a chain of any kind actually rusts through a plate, the user has done something very wrong.
If the nickel plating is harder than the underlying steel, perhaps chains with nickel inner plates might last a little longer, though. Would be interested to hear if anyone has noticed this.