I posted about my Hyperglide Cassette last week.People responded that its compatible with most chains.I put a KMC I had on it and it makes alot of noise.The cassette is a 7 speed and I bought that chain for a 6 sp. but it makes alot of noise.Too Thick?Meanwhile I browsed chains on Jensons sight and there are "Hyperglide"chains for sale.Will this improve performance considerably?They cost about $20.Shimano makes them.

The best part of the advantage from Hyperglide comes from the front chain ring shifting, and if the "chain noise" you are speaking about is coming from shifting in the front from the little ring to the big ring - then yes a "Hyperglide" chain will help IF you have "Hyperglide" (style) front chainrings. Some KMC chains are rather heavy and wide, do you have one that matches the number of speeds in the rear cog? There are different chains for 5-7 gears, 9 and 10 speed gears. 8 speeds are a little odd, some can take the some of the narrower 5-7 speed chains like an SRAM PC -890, others will rub in certain cross chain situations. "Chain noise" can come from a few things, worn chain & new gears, lack of the minimum lubrication, and also a really bad chainline. Some noise comes from indexed shifting not matching your new Hyperglide rear cassette. So, what kind of noise do you have?

Basically, you are going to have to experiment a bit and look at a lot of factors unique to your bike to sort it all out. Often adding one nice drivetrain part to an older bike quickly leads to buying several more to make it all work right. but at the least you are going to have to guess at some changes and adjustments to see if it works. My advice is to buy all new chain and chainrings that match the Hyperglide you just bought, now, while the cogs are still new because it is hard enough to Frankenstein the driveline on an old bike, starting off with fresh stuff eliminates some key complications right away Your shifting is 7-speed, right? Indexed 7-speed? Or downtube friction levers ( without detents for 5 or 6 speed ) that might just need tightening down to keep from slipping partway into a higher gear as you pedal - which makes a lot of noise.

Hyperglide only applies to the rear cluster (cassette or freewheel). Shimano's enhance front chainring shifting is called Hyperdrive:
https://www.shimano.com.au/publish/co...echnology.html

I'm guessing that the OP bought the wrong chain since he bought a 6-speed chain for a 7-speed system.

The chains I use are 6 and 7 speed compatible.I changed to a slightly thinner one and that seemed to help a little.The problem may better be described as a sticky or gritty feel while pedaling and I'm going to try to see if it goes away if I do some miles as the cassette was unused and maybe not oiled enough as Tuc did point out.There is no problem in the front by the way.Also the shifting is friction shifting only.

Going to a Shimano chain to work with the Shimano cogs would seem like a good bet. Those cogs are a highly complex computer-aided design, and I suspect running any old random chain with em throws away some of that work.

thanks!I'll bite the bullet and order the hyperglide chain.

I have stopped using Shimano chains myself. I find the whole different
colored pins for single use in the 8/9/and 10's to be another source of
confusion in my life, and teh whole business about only breaking the chain
once at a particular location and the directional orientation of placement
of the pin in the link simply adds to that.

I don't run anything with more cogs than an 8, and both sram and the KMC
chains up to that work fine on the Shimano equipment I own...maybe a dozen
or so bicycles.

Having said that, I think the advice about don't use a 6 speed chain on 7 cog
rears is probably good advice.

I'm using a SRAM PC-870 chain on my old bike with a 7 speed freewheel. It shifts well and is silent.

Interesting, I did not know drive and glide were two different techs, I thought they just changed the name over time.

For HG (Hyperglide) 7 & 8 speed cassettes, you need to use a 7.3mm pin (as opposed to other 8 speeds using 7.1). Both KMC and Shimano chains work well. I'm guessing the 6 speed chain you got doesn't work because there isn't a "shifting bridge" on the outer plate (6 speed chains are usually flat plates).

Shimano chains: HG40, HG50 (7,8 speed)
KMC: Z51, Z7, Z8

Yeah, I couldn't be bothered with any of that crap myself. Just use a quick link.

Well folks,my hyperglide chain came today(HG-70) and I put it on and its a world of difference!Smooth, quite.So for all of you with Hyperglide Cassetes or freehubs and you don't think the chain matters ,try it.World of difference!

I suspect the "6-speed" chain you originally got was made for 5/6-speed freewheel use and was wider than 7-speed or above requires. The old 5/6-speed freewheels and their chains were wider spaced than Ultra 6 and 7+ and won't work properly.

Just checked the "missing link" on the last chain and it was 7.1mm and intended for 7 or 8 speed chains.It was alright but the hyperglide is much better,Before that I had a thicker chain which was for a 6 speed.