My wife and I each have multiple bikes with 9-speed drivetrains. All of our bikes have had waxed chains since 2020, and I’ve known for awhile that I should optimize on higher end chains / more surface hardening.
Now I finally burned through my stock of spare 9s chains and actually need to decide what to buy.
I’ve previously posted on Discord about this, and know that it makes sense to go for something more expensive, but I’m also guessing I’m not the first person to have tried to get a conclusive answer on this specific question, and I’m looking for recommendations.
Thanks!
Probably anything you can get in a shop roll, like a 50 metre roll. You may have to hunt around to find one, but some online retailers will sell them. No wasted links cutting things to length and the per chain equivalent price will be cheaper.
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Thanks! I wasn’t aware of that option. Don’t remember if the shops I worked at in H.S. had those.
Will still see if whatever chains are most durable are available in this designation.
That said, 50m probably isn’t worth it for me. That’s 34 chains, which overestimate our mileage and our commitment to 9-speed.
So, I’m still interested in what’s the most durable per cost. And maybe just straight up durability, given the work involved in stripping factory grease (less if I just use a strip chip).
Before I bought a bike with 12-speed SRAM, I used YBN chains with hot wax exclusively for both 9- and 10-speed chains. I can’t say enough good things about them–long durability and much quieter than either SRAM or Shimano chains that I had previously tried. Bonus was that their quick-connect links were reusable up to 5 times.
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Chain Testing - Zero Friction Cycling
Just a couple of data points for 9 speed.
Chain-Longevity-Testing-Full-test-brief.pdf
Excellent discussion of chain construction and testing
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Purely anecdotally, I found SRAM PC970 to be the best tradeoff between price and durability. And it’s shiny. I normally like to keep things on-brand, but if it’ s 9-speed, it gets a 970 regardless.
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Andy, I thought I’d replied to this from my phone.
What was your source for YBN 9-speed chains, and did you go for a specific model?
I’m wary about buying chains online, although I suppose YBN 9-speed chains aren’t a likely target for counterfeiters. But here, YBN doesn’t have a ton of English-language info, or U.S. distribution that I can see.
I always bought them (and my hot wax mix) from Molten Speed Wax: MSPEEDWAX | Molten Speed Wax - 07. YBN 8/ 9 Speed Chains
I can attest to MSpeedwax as a company–it started as a dad & son combo who raced ‘cross in the Minneapolis area (still do?), and they have been very helpful and generous with their time and support over the years. Also super nice guys to chat with at races and they always appreciated their customers when they saw them in person. Their personal testing is what brought them to YBN chains; I loved how quiet they were compared to any other chain in addition to their longevity.
I now see YBN has a 12speed flattop chain, so I might switch back after my current supply of SRAM chains wear out.
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