Chain Noise comparison
 

Chain #1: SRAM PC Red22 11 speed on a SRAM cassette. It's the shiny one. Very quiet when clean and lubricated. Replace at approx. 7700 miles and well before 0.5% using my Park chain checker tool.

Chain #2: KMC X11 with the oil slick purple finish. Maybe a couple of hundred miles. Always seems noisy, like a dry chain even when freshly lubed.

Both chains very clean from factory lube and Squirt drip wax after cleaning and as needed.

Are some chains just noisier than others? Which is the quietest? I have an unused Shimano chain so we'll see how goes next time. Some riders swear by Wipperman, although I have not tried that brand.

I will gladly give up longevity for quiet.

i'll assume you put the KMC on a 7700 mile drivetrain, and are blaming the noise on the chain.
if that's the case, your logic is the problem.

Please clarify.

Chainrings and cassette were both new at the time and visually appear to be unworn. The old chain shows minimal wear, if I can believe the Park checker tool.

If I can believe that I should change my cassette every 3 chains and chainrings every 5 (or something like that), then I have a long way to go. Again, the SRAM chain was quiet.

Perhaps a SRAM cassette and SRAM chain are a better match. Chainrings are Shimano Ultegra. FWIW, I am not a big fella nor a super strong masher. Just an average Joe Schmoe.

thanks for clarifying. :D

SRAM does not "make chains".. they are produced with SRAM branding by another company.

if it were my bike, i'd be busy trying to identify the differences in the two chains... and frankly, i rarely use any SRAM drivetrain parts, like their derailleurs.. or shifters. Too clunky and just plan odd. Many like them.
i have installed several of their branded chains... they are slightly wider than KMC chains, as per my measurements. I have never noted a difference in "noise" from either KMC or SRAM.
i DO use products from companies SRAM bought with big bank loans. Avid and RockShox.

Both measure 6.0mm width. Both labelled for 11 speed.

At least no one answered "new bike," I was expecting that.

Here is a picture from today. Not after cleaning, just an average day.
I saw this chain at the KMC booth at the Taiwan bike show, had to have.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...64cfe3f1c1.jpg
SRAM cassette, KMC chain

It's probably not that much noise. And probably few notice the noise your chain makes over the noise their own chain is making when riding.

So don't dwell on it too much.

If you are comparing the chains while the bike is in a work stand in a quiet room. Well that's a completely unreal situation compared to actually riding the bike on the road. Put on some Led Zeppelin or something and turn the volume up. <grin>

You are probably right. I had my shifter cables replaced at the LBS and went back a few weeks later for a fine tune. The owner tweaked it a little but seemed satisfied that all was ok.

I'm sure chains can be a bit different in this regard. I noticed on my road bike, if I'm in 4 or 5th gear, the chain makes more noise. I believe this is because this is when the chainline is straightest. There is essentially no side load on the chain, so whatever play the chain has in it, side-to-side, it can move a little in this position and make noise. In higher or lower gears, there's a side-load on the chain and this takes up the side-to-side play. So, less noise.

I could see where one chain might have a bit more side to side play in it than another. This could be because it is a different make or model, but could just be variations in manufacturing. And certainly the condition of the chain such as how clean or dirty, how much lube or wax build up is on it makes a difference.

Mine seems to be quietist in the middle cogs. Those little ones? I don't have a lot of use for those. I think their only function is to keep the big ones from falling off.

Is that bike titanium? I had a TI bike and the drivetrain was always noisy. I transferred everything over to a lugged carbon frame and the noise went away. Titanium frames are known for transmitting noise

I use SRAM 870-P and KMC X8, I dont wear them out as fast as I used to. They sound about the same. For sure when ever I hear my chain I consider it a sign of long over due lubrication. Or a mal-adjusted drive train. Do note that I ride steel bikes, not carbon, and my hearing is not as good as it used to be. I ride dusty, dirty, ravel roads so I lube them often. Nothing special, ATF and wipe, 30wt and wipe, ATF and wipe, thats it.

Some have told me that carbon bikes have sounds all their own...

Yep, Lynskey Ti.

Transferring everything to a new frame seems like an extreme way to get a little quieter.

Surprisingly, no one has suggested waxing! Maybe we have a new obsession?

I used SRAM 9sp chains for years with my Shimano drivetrain, then decided to try a KMC chain. People here at BF like them, they were inexpensive. But the KMC was noisier to my ear than the SRAM, and did not shift as smoothly, though it did shift. Then I tried a Shimano chain, and it was the best of the three.

The KMC chain needs to work with Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo, whereas a Shimano chain would be optimized for a Shimano drivetrain. I wonder if that gives Shimano any edge in performance and noise over KMC.

But chain noise is highly subjective, and reports are anecdotal. Good luck!

I also have a Shimano Ultegra chain. My LBS has a yearly big sale, so I usually buy stuff for later. But since my chains last more than a year, I am out of sequence.

But that purple just looks so cool!

Actually, my titanium bike developed a crack in the seat tube, so I bought another frame and transferred my components. I wasn't looking for a quieter drivetrain, I just wanted a bike that I could ride. The new bike was a Look KG381. My brother still owns it.

Since my bottle of Squirt is almost empty, I ordered some Silca Super Secret drip lube. Kinda pricey, but what the heck. It will probably last me a season and still less than my wife spends at Starbucks in a week.k

Or, having reassembled your drivetrain on a new frame, you adjusted it slightly differently?🤔

Or cleaned it, ha, ha...

FWIW, we rode our tandem today and it is pretty gunked up, being stored in the garage. Silent, dead silent. Although it is a 7 speed.

I adjusted everything exactly the same way I did on my titanium frame and I was pretty meticulous about keeping things clean. The difference was very noticeable, the new frame was almost silent right away while I had been trying for a couple of years trying to quiet the drivetrain on the TI bike

My understanding is that when they acquired the Sachs group the purchase included Sedis chains, production of which was moved to Portugal (no doubt as a result of some EU development grant) and that's where SRAM chains (and more recently Time pedals) are still made.

Here's an update:
Everything nice and clean, 2 coats of Squirt, one on each side of the rollers. Clean, smooth, quiet! Maybe I am under lubing?

So, of course it rained.

Update on the update.

Wasted too much time reading Friction Facts and they note that Squirt benefits from they term "layering." Meaning that initially it is recommended that you reapply after every ride for the first 5 or so.

Yesterday's ride was 66 miles, 5k feet of climbing and the only sound was my hard breathing. Now I am quiet, but still slow up the hills.

My first thought when I started reading this thread - you cleaned and therefore removed the factory lube between the pins and rollers. The toughest place to get your lube into. (Hence the repeat the lube several times after cleaning advice.) The two chains had different levels of lube furthest from the lubing location, hence the sound difference.

I am not a fan of cleaning chains in solvents unless I am switching to a different lube system that is incompatible. (The plastic based lube whose name I have forgotten, wax ...) The Finish Line wet MTB lube for my commuters and Tri Flo for my good bikes works just fine with the factory grease. I'm not obsessed with squeaky clean drivetrains so perhaps most here need to ignore my comments.