after 3200 miles its time to replace the chain.


the bike is a trek madone 4.6 with SRAM rival. so should I just buy a SRAM rival chain or is there a better option.

please tell me which and why its better.

KMC makes a much better. quieter chain for SRAM drivetrains. Buy the one that best corresponds to the expense level you are looking for. The SL X10 is magnificent. Ultra light and ultra quiet though a little pricey.

I ordered the KMC X10SL from a Taiwan EBay seller yesterday for $38 shipped. I did research beforehand. People seems to like it. Not a counterfit. If you concern about buying from overseas, Competitive Cyclist has it currently on sale for under $50.

Thanks, that's good info. I guarantee you will like it. I was going crazy with drivetrain noise on my Red setups. KMC knocked the noise right out, and saved weight at the same time. Good master link too.

I would go with a Shimano chain.

I'm about to rotate my KMC X10SL chain off the bike - it was expensive but much quieter than my previous SRAM chains. I found a 10 speed ultegra chain on chainlove for $24 so I'm going to try that out next.

I don't think there's much point in getting super expensive and/or slightly lighter chains, personally.

I've used their X10SL and been using their X11SL chains and would recommend KMC over anything else. Even the KMC X10.93 chain that can be purchased online for less than $30 is a great upgrade. Its slightly heavier than the SL chains because it doesn't use hollow pins, but performs just as great without the added cost.

So I took your advice and decided to get the KMC X10SL Silver. I found a US based site that sells it for $45 including 2 Missing Link (master links) and free shipping.

My current chain is 107 links including the master so I assume I remove the extra links to get to 106 and add the master.

That should be right. Check the finished lengths of old and new against each other. They should maybe be 1/4 inch different (new smaller) if you are replacing the old chain at about the right time.

Whatever chain is on sale. I've used Shimano, SRAM, and KMC; none of them are any better than the others. I get whatever's cheap on Amazon; often I buy Dura-Ace for about $40 and get five at a time. I do like to get a set of KMC master links for the Shimano chains.

So I replaced the chain with a KMC X10SL and have to say that the bike shifts much smoother and is quieter.

I have to attribute most of that to replacing a worn chain with a new one.

SO where did you get it?

$45 shipped
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=181236536674

What's weird is the way it's listed.

New KMC X10SL Silver Chain X10 SL /Shimano/Sram/Campy 116 links

With 2 Missing Link/ Shipping From USA /Not FOB Packing

Campy is a different chain, but the one I got is Sram/Shimano. I have Sram Rival with a Shimano Ultegra Cassette and it works great.

Also they say "with 2 missing link" so I assumed it can with 2 master links. What they mean is it comes with 2 halves... so only 1 master link.

I already own a chain break so I counted 106 links and removed the extra 10 links. The master link was easy to put on and a few minutes later i went for a ride.

Buy this:
https://www.probikekit.com/bicycle-ch.../10771746.html

Practically speaking, you may be right, but the Shimano 7901 chain seems to come out on top all the tests I've seen. I think friction facts rates it as the lowest friction chain, and tour mag rated it as the most durable. https://www.tour-magazin.de/services/...11/page45.html

If you care about that sorta stuff, get a Dura-Ace CN-7901 (I'm sure they're cheap now that DA9000 is out). If you don't, then buy whatever is on sale.

Simply not true.

I get longer life and better performance from the KMC chains over SRAM chains on my Rival drive train. The lightweight X10SL has less inertia for better shifting.

KMC on my Orbea and the master link is nice too.

Sounds like you have some brand-love there. That's fine, enjoy.

My last KMC wore out in just under a thousand miles.

That has to be user error. No chain can be so bad that it can't do 1,000 miles. That's less than 20 rides for most.

Several people posted here that 1,000 miles is the norm for them. Lost of things contribute - rider weight, rider leg strength, mashing, lots of hard sprinting, speeding up steep climbs standing, lots of hills.