bikerjp

I thought the Ultegra chain would be the obvious one, but some of the reviews leave me less than impressed. Outside the cassette, everything is sram so I was thinking of a KMC X10SL Chain since I'm not trying to match components and it seems to be a good chain with good reviews. It's kind of pricey though so I was wondering if there is something that might work as well for less. Having a superlight chain is not a priority. Although the gold will look slick on my black bike. I'm mainly wanting a smooth, quiet chain that will work well with the mixed sram/shimano divetrain. Thanks.

BarryJo

Last night I happened on Performance's web site and noticed the DA 7900 chain was less expensive than the Ultegra (I think it was $39).
I've never had any problems with the 7900 chain and it's compatable with sram.

bikerjp

I was actually thinking that originally but was told Shimano make the DA chain incompatible with anything but DA because they were selling way more chains than cassettes.

Will a 7900 chain work, and work well, on a 6700 cassette despite Shimano's claim?

And what's the diff between 7900 and 7901?

achoo

Huh?

BarryJo

I run a 7900 chain on both my bikes, both have ultegra 6600 cassettes. No problems at all.
In fact my stock Giant TCR came fully equipped DA7900 except for the rear cassette which is ultegra.

Not sure about the 7901.

bikerjp

That's what I said. But the mechanic I spoke to said a DA chain would not work on an Ultegra cassette. He said Shimano did it purposely. However, others seem to be saying you can.

bikerjp

But it probably had an Ultegra chain too. I've checked several DA spec bikes and if they have Ultegra cassettes they have Ultegra chains.

entukay

KMC X10SL, a great default chain

topflightpro

I've never fun a KMC X10 chain, but I have run Ultegra 6600, Ultegra 6700, Dura Ace 7800, Dura Ace 7900 and Sram 1090 chains on Sram drivetrains and cassettes without any problem.

As a side note, unless you are buying a Red cassette, get an Ultegra Cassette. The Force cassettes, IMO, are of pretty poor quality compared to Ultegra.

kimconyc

kmc x10.93 (not the X10SL)

Cheap, good quick link, works.

bikerjp

The marketing hype from Shimano is pretty annoying. Sounds like a 10spd chain is a 10spd chain regardless of compatibility claims. Thanks for the feedback on cassettes. I was planning to get the Ultegra but keep wavering a bit.

Thanks for the tip. About $25 less than the SL on Amazon. Is it "nearly" as good as the SL or is the SL worth the extra cost?

TLCFORBIKES

There is slight differences between all the 10 speed chains but only slight. On one of my bikes I am running all Sram Force with a Shimano DA cassette and a Campagnolo chain. Shifts great. On another I have all Campagnolo Record with a KMC chain. Shifts great. You can use any 10 speed chain that you want and it will work well (most will work very well). Pick one that wont break the bank - clean it and lube it regularly and replace it when it needs to be replaced. Issues about the Ultegra 10 speed chain that keep coming up. I am going on record as saying that I have never had any issues using them or on any that I have installed for my clients.

waltersc

I have had great luck with Ultegra chains. I run SRAM Red with an Ultegra 6700 casette and 6600 chain.

Cdy291

I can't take the syrup-ie grease that comes on the KMC chains. It takes quite an effort to get it all off. I already have my next chain, a Sram 1031. All chains come with some grease but not like KMC.

kimconyc

I used to use the X10SL Gold but have since switched to the X10.93 because it costs so much less. It weighs more and doesn't have the fancy TiNi coating that comes with the X10SL Gold but it seems durable enough to survive wet rides and salt and make it past the standard 3K miles with ease.

kimconyc

The grease that comes with the chains is superior to a light-weight lube. If you are concerned about aesthetics, just wipe down the sides of the chain with a rag and a dash of Pledge.

Psimet2001 

KMC - -FTW. DX10 is my preference currently.

The bits about 7900 have to do with the fact that it was designed to be uni-directional and made to work with the 7900 crank. IIRC - and I say that because honestly only fools are buying 7900 chains so I never have them run through my hands - they should function normally on any 10 spd setup. Also - I believe that the 7900 and 7901 had something to do with the re-design having to do with initially releasing the chain with a replaceable link and then nixing that.

bikerjp

Based on the web specs, my caad9 came with the KMC DX-10SC chain. It, or the sram cassette, or the two together is rather noisy. It has about 600 miles on it. I'm wondering if I can just keep using it with the new cassette or if that's enough wear to justify a new chain with the new cassette. Seems a waste to toss it after just a couple months.

And I'm not swapping chains every time I toss on the stock, now relegated to trainer only, wheels.

BayAreaUser

that's an awesome price. It's advertised as $59 now.

Sort of out of topic, but could one potentially ride a 7900 cassette and chain with everything else 7800 without issues?
Thanks.

Psimet2001 

In practice I have found the KMC DX10 to be one of the quietest chains to run on SRAM or SHimano setups. Has been fairly quiet on Campy setups as well. Forget the specs - look at the chain sideplates. It will tell you what chain you have. I am guessing you may actually have a SRAM chain. SUPER NOISy. Don't worry about interactions with other cassettes. Doesn't matter. Just make sure your derail is adjusted and shifting well for the wheel it is on. Replace chain when worn out.

topflightpro

You shouldn't have to change cassettes that often. I've got one with well over 10,000 miles on it that I use on my emergency back up wheels.

As for chains, I can generally get about 2,000 miles out of them. I generally buy Ultegra - I get them just over cost at my LBS - or DuraAce (also just over cost) if they are out of the Ultegra chains.

bikerjp

I'm not changing the cassette, I'm buying a new set of wheels and a new cassette. Old wheel will server as trainer wheel so I'm leaving the old cassette on. General advice is new cassette = new chain but if I can just use my current chain for a while that would be nice.

achoo

The 6700 chain is unidirectional, too.

Didn't seem to matter the one time I put one on backwards. The one time I know of, anyway.

bikerjp

Checked the chain and it says DX10 SC so might be more the cassette that's the noise issue.

BarryJo

No comprende. I've bought a couple of 7900 chains to run on my 6600 spec'ed bikes. The chain is only $10 more than Ultegra @LBS. That makes me a fool?

One of the guys at my LBS put a 7900 chain on backwards on one of my bikes. I rode it for over 1000 miles before another mechanic checking out a problem with my front derailleur noticed the problem and promptly called out the other guy for doing shoddy work.
I didn't care, I had no problems running the chain backwards, and got a replacement free of charge