Originally Posted by
TriBiker19
And directional after using the chain for a while makes sense, too, but not that a new chain would be impactfully directional. I would guess that after a while, wear would lead to similar performance in a normal or backwards chain.
Maybe. I'm not sure what all contributes to the directional differences. The visually-obvious directionality on Shimano 11-speed chains is the beveling on the plates, and that won't wear in appreciably with use.