Curious if there are folks on here to explain the relative merits of YBN chains. A few years ago I heard Dylan Johnson saying they were superior to SRAM chains. Has the conversation changes now that everyone’s waxing their chains (I’m not 
)? Are YBB chains better for road than Shimano chains? Looking forward to y’all’s feedback.
YBB or YBN (aka Yaban)?
Thank you! You are correct. I fixed the question.
Wait, I just noticed the question is are YBN chains better than Shimano for road. For the 12s chains, all I have is Adam Kerin, who reported both longevity testing and friction testing from Ceramicspeed. The YBN 12s chain appears to be lower friction than the 12s XTR/DA chain, but shorter life. And you will lose the Hyperglide+ shifting.
You obviously have to decide for yourself if this counts as better. I’m fussy about my shifting, so I’d prioritize that. The speed differential may be on the order of 0.5W or so at 250W input - I am guessing based on previous figures that CS have put out. In the data on Kerin’s page, they asked him not to release raw numbers but to put things into buckets.
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On my previous road bike I ran 2 X YBN chains in rotation (immersion waxed) and they were great. The bike was close to 20 000kms on it before I sold it and the chains were still measuring fine.
For my replacement road bike I figured I should use the chain that came with it and then added a second shimano chain into the rotation. I think perhaps the shifting is mildly better but overall it’s much the same.
There may be some very minor efficiencies in either direction but I don’t think you’ll notice much difference either way. If you look after the chain it’ll last for ages. Any efficiencies from lower friction are imperceptible day to day.
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No Eagle experience (yet) but I picked up a few YBN 12s chains for cheap. One I’m holding for my wife’s Eagle equipped MTB when her chain wears out. I’ve got one on my 12s Shimano MTB and it works fine. I couldn’t tell a difference in shifting compared to shimano 12s chains. Its gold, though, so that’s worth at least 1w. Time will tell on longevity.
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