Qs RE: 10-sp chains and reusable master links
 

About the middle of the 2014 riding season I went back to waxing my chains (10-sp Campy). Now I am a full-fledged wax-aholic. To support my habit, I need chains with infinitely reusable master links because the chain has to come off of the bike every few hundred km. I experimented with re-waxing the chain while it was still on the bike, but the fatal flaw was always the inability to equalize the temperatures of the chain and the (melted) wax, which resulted in less than optimal penetration.

And I've been pressing my luck re-using the PowerLink on a 10-sp SRAM chain, which I bought thinking was reusable, because they used to be, but that has changed. But I dodn't discover that until after I'd reused it a number of times.

I'm primarily interested in a single brand solution (like Connex/X-link), but if anyone has had a positive result with mix-n-match (like ShimaNO/MissingLink), I'd be interested to hear about it, too.

So I'd appreciate everyone sharing their personal experiences.


Among other things, I'm looking at KMC chains, but I note on their website that they recommend no more than 3 uses of the MissingLink. If any of you "runs-with-scissors" types has reused a KMC link significantly more than three times, and lived to tell about it, I'd also be interested to hear that.


My primary concern is shifting quality, in large part because waxing makes a chain deathly silent.

TIA!

I've used a Park MLP-1 with masterlinks from SRAM/KMC/Superlink (both latching and non-latching) and never had the slightest problem with reinstalling them multiple times. There is nothing about the design that makes it a risk. Just remember the link wears with the chain, and should be replaced at the same time.

On the other hand, the *only* link I ever had disconnect in use was a Connex.

I used a KMC link with a shimano chain until the chain wore out, since then I have been using KMC chains with KMC links. I also wax my chains (with graphite mixed in) but I get between 500-1000 miles per treatment, so I have used each link probably 4 or 5 times. However, once I dropped half the link outside when cleaning my bike, so I reused half of an old one I had hanging around. That half went significantly more changes.

I'm not sure the link wears like the chain. My understanding (which may be flawed) is that the wear and elongation occurs in the holes that the pins go through, not in the pins themselves. The holes on the link are not load-bearing, they just keep the link linked. I know my old links look the same as the new ones, just less shiny.
Having said that, the KMC chains (and Nashbar and Performance, which are also KMC) come with a new link, so I do change them when I change the chain.

The holes in the inner plates wear, *and* the surfaces of the pins they rub against also wear.

Superlink had a bad batch around 2000 with soft pins that wore *much* faster than the plates. In just 200 miles you would start to hear the link clicking. Removal would reveal the plates had worn grooves in the pins.

Why are some links not reusable ?? I can understand they may not "lock" as tightly after several disconnects, but chains are always under tension, so I wouldn't think they'd pop open from shifting.

It is for hysterical reasons:

The original was the Superlink, and it was patented, and the patent included the words "reusable".

Initially, SRAM licensed the patent for the 8 & 9s links, then decided they didn't want to pay any more money, so they concocted the latching design that was difficult to remove, and called it "non-reusable", and introduced it in the 10s links.

KMC links come in both designs, which is dumb since the patent has expired. There is no good reason to keep producing the latching "non-reusable" version, other than to convince people to needlessly buy more links.

I used Connex on all my 10-speed chains. It's extremely easy to remove without tools. (But don't let either end of the chain go flying or it'll fling the half connector across the room!) I used the same link on two or three chains, then replaced it "just in case", but it looked fine.

Connex doesn't have an affordable version for 11 speed, so now I'm using Sram links. (Connex prices: 10 speed are around $12-13, but 11 speed are $30.) But I rarely remove the chain to clean it anymore. I just wipe it clean with paper towels dampened with rubbing alcohol and apply more lube. The chain still lasts a long time.

As an amateur mechanic, I always use quick links. I can replace my chain using a simple chain tool and not worry about getting the special pin installed correctly.

If what I read is correct, SRAM has to claim their Powerlink is not reusable because they have a design patent conflict with someone (KMC?) if their link is advertised as reusable. Mechanically, I agree with you that there is no reason it shouldn't be.

I certainly agree the Connex is the class act of reusable master links and by far the easiest to R&R. However, I never use a link beyond the life of the chain it was originally installed on. New chain = new link.

It's all about KMC for me. Easiest link design out there. Plus, they're pretty cheap.

C'mon, now, you can't just tease me and leave me like that. Where do you get the graphite (I'm assuming it's powdered), what sort of ratio/amounts are you mixing it at, and what change did you see in the performance of the wax?

I had some work done on my bike at the shop,

& the mechanic re-used the power link.

When I questioned that, he said "wut?'

In fact, I think he was pretty competent,

& I have reused that same link a number of times.