The fact that you truthfully admit you didnt know some stuff there the more I respected you.Its very hard to find people like you these days. Thank you so much for this very informative video.
@@rgmtb Do you see any problem with using a Shimano 11 speed chain on a Shimano 12 speed chain RING? Inner plate dimension is the same, as far as I know, but someone mentioned the Shimano 12 speed chainring has special grooves that may cause the 11 speed to fall off. Any idea about this? I have an 11 speed drivetrain, but want to use a 12 speed crankset/chainring on it (switching square taper on 11 speed to a hollowtech ii).
I think you got 1/2 and 1/8 inch mixed there. The og 1/2 x 1/8" chain is 1/8" wide and the link length is 1/2". You can see it with the naked eye which is longer. But otherwise great stuff!! :)
I watched 4 videos to find out why my chain was slipping they all told me to check for wear. Not one told me I had the wrong chain! This video taught me soo much. Excellent stuff guys. 😊
Coming from bmx, I've seen tons of guys have half link chains on upside down and it feels and sounds horrible until I flip them over and its smooth and quiet
This was super helpful. I was searching all over the internet to find out about front chainring/cassette/chain compatibility and even emailing some manufacturers but like you said at the beginning, some things they won’t tell you. But this answered my question perfectly. Thanks!!
G-R-E-A-T VIDEO!!! I've definitely learned a lot! All I knew is that chains are different for different cassettes, but I never knew that there are so much nuances and tiny details that should be taken care of!
HAHAHAHA! So you've been around the block a few times and done the dirty work. It's not easy to keep up with all this stuff and things change too often!
Boy, did I need to know this. Thank you so much. Appreciated the mention of stronger ebike chains. Could have mentioned ebike cassettes along with that. You want a full steel cassette with strong ebike motors.
I have a Park CC-4 chain measure tool. I"ll call it stretch, because the tool will either fall through or not, indicating stretch. Assuming this is correct, what I believe you're saying is that the distance from link to link is the same for a 10 speed vs. 11 speed. Therefore, the tool is good for both. I hope I am correct as I maintain my 10 speed and wife 11 speed bikes.
I did not know about the directionality (I don't think), but I did know about the shape of the links and how they were engineered to do better with shifting. I only learned about this in the last couple of years. This is exceptional information to know, though! I am the head coach for a small NICA team out here in Florida and this is helpful for team bike maintenance. Thanks for the video! Stay upright and keep the rubber side down. -Brian
I'm so glad this video helped! Jason does a wonderful job explaining bike tech and really hit it out of the park with this one! Keep an eye on the channel because I have a bike review coming up on a HT that a lot of the NICA coaches liked when I showed it to them :-)
Great info! One thing that I think you missed was explaining why you're only supposed to used a quick link once. I know most manufactures say that once you take the chain apart you're supposed to get a new quick link. I've never really followed this rule, that's why I'd like it explained better.
Just replace the link when you replace the chain. I have removed the chain many times to service my derailleur and deep-clean the chain. The links are going to wear the same as the roller bearings on the riveted section of the chain. The link is less strong because it is not riveted, but still has plenty of strength to work until the end of the chains life.
I knew that chains were directional tbh I build my own bikes so that was how I knew, some has arrows and also the master link may themselves may have arrows them.
A little confusion there on what is 1/8th inch. The center-to-center pin distance (chain pitch) is 1/2 inch (12.7mm) for all standard (non-Campagnolo) bicycle chains and I think the inner width starts out at 3/32 inch for 6/7/8 speed. Otherwise good comparison of chains. Annoyingly Shimano quick-links are rated as single-use items.
Great vid, not seen a vid explaining all of this before. Great you made a video explaining all of this. good to have it all in one video. I knew all of this, but I don't remember where I got all of my knowledge anymore.
Just for information, They do make 3/32 single speed freewheels for BMX(White Industries & Profile)and most BMX sprockets/chainrings can use a 3/32 chain. Cheers
Great video. Yes, I knew that the chains have direction. I learned from error, my system is 1 x 12 Sram and knowing that it had direction I turned it upside down. I had to do it again and put it well. In the sram chains the quick link has a directional arrow indicating the direction to which it should turn, "forward".
thanks for that info. like Dean said in the video, a lot of info I didn't know. i noticed the difference, generally. but, i never took the time to put it all together.
I figured out I was old when I was browsing Amazon for a new chain for my 9 speed downhill bike. Found all these cool KMC DLC chains but only in 10 speed. No cool coatings or anything special for 9 speed. Only found the chain, I’m already using
I honestly can say that I didn't know that about the chains. I know that SRAM chains need to be aligned with the cassette or they don't fit on the teeth well but had no idea about the Shimano directional chains. I enjoyed making this video and learned a lot!
That got me also, had to google it: bicycle chain pitch is exactly 1/2 inch (12.7 mm). This goes for all the bicycle chains, regardless of the speed number.
I heard some people prefer a 9speed chain on a 10speed cassette for the thicker links giving more strength. Is there any drawbacks for overall durability ?
In my experience as a Melbourne bicycle courier over 4 winters 3 summers where trams drop sand on brakes you get sand on your drivetrain you don't want an "entry level" drivetrain you want Shimano XT and lube at the end of every wet day using a Ritchey kerosene bath chain cleaner on the weekend, you don't want to customize too much stick to factory equipment as say Shimano have the best patents.
A couple corrections to be made at the beginning of the video. Actually he got the dimensions and terms mixed up. I guess maybe he was nervous or just reading from a script? The distance center to center of the barrels is about 1/2" not the distance between the barrels. Also the distance between the plates is 1/8"-3/32". Also he refers to the "micrometer"...it isnt a micrometer. It is a digital caliper. Small points. But, people watching this video will repeat whats said and that would be bad. Good video though. Thank you for doing this.
It's written in the Shimano papers that it's directional. First pic, very big, can't miss it ....... One of the first things I learned as a home mechanic.
I was a pro building commercial bikes in the 1960s now I am trying to build a bike foir grandson and me I have 7 speed Shimano on my trike and I need a new strong chain and he is a Kid with a 20" Down hill. Spanish shops want to sell me a bike but I have to tell them what chain I need. I have no idea. we only had 2 chains when I was building commercial bikes now its crazy! This is all new to me after 50 years !! Well I have a 7 speed, Are they all 7s the same? What chain can I ask for please? UK was a lot easier!
Great Video - so informative and well presented. Chain snapped on me yesterday and didn’t have any links with me ......6 km walk over the hills in the dark. Will be prepared next time, and will get a matching brand chain to my driver train.
@@1911Zoey Done 16 miles but that is hard going and lots of heavy mud as I came back and spent 3 hour washing everything. Yesterday I put on a new derailleur GX 11 speed as my 12 speed is very tired and the 11 speed GX was the same, and the cable for my seat post snapped so changed that, and 4 new bearings on the rear axle and a big difference. The chains I use are Sram PC-1110 as there cheap and use 4 and rotate.
Too your orginal question I run 4 chains too one complete cassette shimano SLX M7000 11/46 and the chains are 114 links and still gives slack at 180mm rear travel and have never broke a chain. Don't use Sram cassettes ae they wear faster.
If the inside width is identical for 10/11/12 speed Shimano (they call it HG-X), then wouldn't it theoretically work to use a HG-X10 speed 2x/3x crankset with a HG-X11 speed chain? Shimano of course does not say in their compatibility documents that these are compatible, and maybe shifting in the front will not be as smooth, but it should work, right?
I just change my chain on my Trek Marlin 6 and when I searched for help I discovered that Shimano chains only go on one way. So I had to look up what my drive train was.-
Great video!...I've been wondering why my (barely used) 9 SPEED 2005 Giant Rainier Mt. Bike keeps ghost jumping speeds.Come to find out it came with an 8 Speed (3/32) chain from the factory.What up with that?...One correction though (and maybe I'm wrong), I think you misspoke in the beginning when you said the standard pitch is 1/8 when it's 1/2.Just for clarification.
@@paul340mopar That got me too, I don't know shit about bike chains and that's why I'm watching but, I do know the difference between 1/8" and 1/2" Duh, had to google chain bike chain pitch to get the correct info: bicycle chain pitch is exactly 1/2 inch (12.7 mm). This goes for all the bicycle chains, regardless of the speed number.
I'm watching this because I got my bike converted to ebike. And I'm thinking of mix matching the gear-set like putting 9 speed RD (can cover 50t cassette) into 8 speed cassette (11-46T) while using 8speed chain because I think the thicker the chain the better. I'm just looking for someone who already did this 😅
You got a mistake in this. the distance between pins is not 1/8" for years. 1/8" is roughly equivalent to the pin diameter, take a look at a ruler and hold one up to the chain. You'll see
That's totally my mistake. I should have moved the overhead camera closer to the table. When the video was recorded I looked it over and everything was to far away. I basically did what I could to pull in the shots. Sorry man, my bad on this one for sure.
I'd say I was safe with all 18 speed bikes, until some nutter gave me a bike with a 6 speed index shift that he'd installed a 5 speed rear wheel onto. Then he couldn't understand why top gear came off the cassette... Switching to friction shifters but at least I don't have any fuss about mis-matched chains. The video certainly has a lot of useful info though All bikes Shimano running gear - one less headache
Pitch is 1/2 inch,I don't know how much he understands cause he also said"11/128 thousandths of an inch".Must have no basic mechanical training in measurement.
@@simonyardley3126 2:33 I think Jason simply mixed them up. 3:16 Jason obviously meant that the width was reduced by 11/128 or about 0.2 mm, the calipers clearly didn't indicate the with of a chain. From people that know him, he's a fantastic mechanic and a very nice guy. And where do you get a "mechanical training in measurement" anyway?
Bought a used fixie.. single speed. Did a whole bunch of Frankenstein work on like four bikes. Swap this, swap that. Turns out they used single speed chain on a mountain bike crank and I'm pretty sure the single sprocket on the rear is 3/32. So.. my mountain bike is now a single speed using the fixie crank and a coaster brake hub (unbraked). The 3/32 chain fits the cruiser hub perfect with reasonable play, but they used a single speed on that too. Now that I beat my head on several bikes, and watching this video twice in the last couple of months, I have determined that manufacturers throw stuff together. And I'm back on ebay reordering a 3/32 half link instead of a single half link because I forgot all the progression of my mayhem. All my components will match if I have to march to the end of the world to get it right, but WOW** really? Does it have to be this way? 😆
9:45 I don't believe you are correct in saying that 10 to 12 speed chains have the same inner width. I know this as I recently upgraded my bike from a 1x10 shimano drivetrain to the new shimano deore 1x12 drivetrain and I had to purchase a new chainring as the one I had physically would not fit the 12 speed chain and I had to get a 12 speed specific one. Therefore I think you are right about the plate width decreasing on the chain as you move up from 10 to 12 speed however this inevitably will also lead to narrower rivets to accomodate for the thinnrr plates thereby leading to narrower spacing between the plates as well. If you just look closely at a 10 speed and 12 speed chain you can visually see that the spacing is much narrower between the plates on the 12 speed chain, I've even confirmed this by measuring with a caliper.
I just discovered that the guidance regarding Shimano chains stamping info on one side of chain to enable which direction the chain fits. I just had to look but my Shimano chains are stamped on both sides. So Professionals dont know everything (We are in Europe)!
Older Shimano chains were NOT directional. Shimano made them directional starting with their 2nd gen 10-speed chains. In fact Shimano said not to use the directional ones on tripple 10-speed setups. So both directional and non-directional Shimano chains were available at the same time for quite a while.
I really wish things could be simplified like they used to be. Do you think they purposely make them difficult to give bike shops more business or is it because nothing is regulated (like automobiles) so they have free range to design anything or are they just worrying about weight and strength?
I'm even more confused now, lol. When you say 10-speed, or 6 speed, what is that referring to? Because I don't know about you, but I've never heard of a mtn bike w/ only 6 speeds on it. Mine I bought in year 2000 or 2001, it's still in good condition, and it has 21 speeds! Update: I realized that the bike world has changed quite a bit, lol. There are actual 10-speed mtn bikes.
