I just got a KMC 3/32" half link and SRAM PC-48 chain (3/32"). I put it together (no test ride yet) and spun the wheel around. Every time the half link mates with the cog it get this annoying "click" sound.

The chain looks like this:


and the link looks like this:


As you can see, the half link is not hourglass shaped like the SRAM links and sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at the chain from the side. The extra beef on the half link plate rubs on the cog. It seems to me that this would cause some uneven stretch or wear on either the cog or chain.

Anybody else have a setup like this? I want to know if this is going to be troublesome later on.

I don't know about the half-link, but when I tried to put an SRAM masterlink onto a KMC chain, it wouldn't fit. The KMC chain was just barely wider than the SRAM link so it wouldn't snap together.

I had no problems getting the chain together. I have the SRAM Powerlink and KMC Half Link separated by one regular SRAM link. I stressed the chain laterally a bit to loosen the half link up and it moves freely.

It's just that the clicking of that half link on the cog is really annoying and probably will cause long term wear. Can anybody confirm/deny this?

I've used a different brand of half link with no problems. Is it possible the link is stiff (ie, the pin is slightly too fat to be used with the chain you're running)?

I'm pretty sure it won't cause excess wear at all. Even if it does speed up the wear of that section by 20% ( a stretch... ow, what a pun), who gives a damn?

The noise may or may not be noticeable/annoying as you ride. Only one way to find out...

I had the same problem with a half-link on KMC or SRAM chains. The half-link was fine initially with the KMC, but somehow got tighter [?] the more I rode, and began skipping. I switched to SRAM [+ new half-link] and it was fine for a while, but then the noise and skipping came back. I eventually switched ring/cog to different ratios and I'm not using the half-links at all anymore.

Well I took it for a spin and I can't hear/feel anything when I ride. No stiffness at all, but like I said I torqued the chain a bit to loosen the links up.

is the half linke the right size and how tight is it pressed together also make sure your chain tension isn't too tight

Tension is good. Link is same size as chain (3/32"). I thought the weird link shape was going to either wear the cog or cause the chain to throw, but based on some hard sprint tests that didn't happen.