Preferred 11 Speed Chain - Bike Forums

Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Tandem Cycling > Preferred 11 speed chain Username Remember Me? Password By logging into your account, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to the use of cookies as described therein. Register Forgot Password? Register FAQ Calendar Today's Posts Search Vendor Directory Notices Tandem Cycling A bicycle built for two. Want to find out more about this wonderful world of tandems? Check out this forum to talk with other tandem enthusiasts. Captains and stokers welcome! Search Forums Show Threads Show Posts Advanced Search Find All Liked Posts Go to Page... Preferred 11 speed chain Reply Subscribe Thread Tools Search this Thread 04-02-17 | 11:23 AM #1 tandemraw Thread Starter Junior Member Joined: Jun 2015 Posts: 22 Likes: 0 Bikes: Landshark 2016, Comotion CoPilot 2000 Preferred 11 speed chain I'm about to replace an 11 speed chain for a 2x11 Di2 drivetrain. A question: is the Shimano CN-XG900 any better/worse for tandems than the XG700? Do the hollow pins of the XG900 weaken the chain at all vs the solid pins of the XG700? I've had an XG700 which has been smooth and quiet, but I'm wondering if the XG900 will be even smoother or quieter? Also, has anyone tried the Shimano quick link SM-CN900-11? Does it work well, or are other brand master links preferred? I haven't used a master link yet, but would like to do so to make bike disassembly for travel easier, so long as I'm not compromising on chain performance. Thanks, Ron Reply 0 0 tandemraw View Public Profile Find More Posts by tandemraw View iTrader Profile 06-06-17 | 11:01 AM #2 blacknbluebikes Senior Member Joined: Jul 2013 Posts: 1,286 Likes: 863 From: NJ, USA Bikes: two blacks, a blue and a white. OP - what'd you choose? any afterthoughts? Reply 0 0 blacknbluebikes View Public Profile Find More Posts by blacknbluebikes View iTrader Profile 06-12-17 | 08:22 AM #3 tandemraw Thread Starter Junior Member Joined: Jun 2015 Posts: 22 Likes: 0 Bikes: Landshark 2016, Comotion CoPilot 2000 I put on the XG900 (DuraAce) and it has worked fine. At the time I put it in, the Shimano quick link wasn't yet available, so I still have some experimenting to do going forward when I next replace the chain, as I would prefer a master link for faster bike disassembly and packing. Reply 0 0 tandemraw View Public Profile Find More Posts by tandemraw View iTrader Profile 06-12-17 | 09:47 AM #4 diabloridr Full Member Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 434 Likes: 13 From: Central Coast, California, USA Bikes: Co-Motion Macchiato, Calfee Dragonfly, Ancient Sun Fixie, Trek 5900 Quote: Originally Posted by tandemraw I put on the XG900 (DuraAce) and it has worked fine. At the time I put it in, the Shimano quick link wasn't yet available, so I still have some experimenting to do going forward when I next replace the chain, as I would prefer a master link for faster bike disassembly and packing. I've been using a KMC quick link on the XG900 chain on my single with no issues. When I need to break the chain on the Macchiato I'll install the same on it's chain. Reply 0 0 diabloridr View Public Profile Find More Posts by diabloridr View iTrader Profile 06-12-17 | 11:59 AM #5 fietsbob Banned Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 43,587 Likes: 1,376 From: NW,Oregon Coast Bikes: 8 Just don't leave any on too long, and the rest of the drive train will wear slower. Reply 0 0 fietsbob View Public Profile Find More Posts by fietsbob View iTrader Profile 08-11-17 | 03:22 PM #6 tandemraw Thread Starter Junior Member Joined: Jun 2015 Posts: 22 Likes: 0 Bikes: Landshark 2016, Comotion CoPilot 2000 Anyone try the Shimano quick link yet? Reply 0 0 tandemraw View Public Profile Find More Posts by tandemraw View iTrader Profile 08-11-17 | 09:08 PM #7 pdlpsher Senior Member Joined: Mar 2017 Posts: 104 Likes: 0 From: Loveland CO Bikes: 2017 Santana Ti700 I have the Shimano quick link on my half bike. They work just like the KMC version except the force needed to close and open the link is quite high. Shimano probably did this for safety/security reason. I have the Park quick link plier so it's no problem. But I wouldn't advice installing the Shimano quick link without using a proper plier. To close the pin one could use the crank but opening it would be difficult without a proper plier. Reply 0 0 pdlpsher View Public Profile Find More Posts by pdlpsher View iTrader Profile 08-12-17 | 10:29 AM #8 twocicle Clipless in Coeur d'Alene Joined: Mar 2012 Posts: 1,996 Likes: 22 From: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Bikes: Tandems: Calfee Dragonfly S&S, Ventana ECDM mtb; Singles: Specialized Tarmac SL4 S-Works, Specialized Stumpjumper Pro, etal. Not sure where you get the Shimano "CN-XG900" model info from. Haven't seen it listed anywhere. When Shimano came out with the 11spd stuff, the DA chain was SM-CN900 and the Ultegra was SM-CN800. I used both on my single and tandem without any issue. These chains are not "directional" as the side links are symmetrical. When the newer version came out I bought a bunch of SM-CN800 chains at a low price and still slowly working through that stash. The current 11spd DA/XTR and Ultegra/XT chains are SM-HG901 and SM-HG801 respectively. The side links on these chains are different, where the smaller side must go to the inside. They did this to work better shifting up to bigger cogs on the super wide ratio cassette jumps. The pin/roller shoulders are also made stronger to avoid breaking open the links if you shift aggressively (also needed to be stronger for e-bike loads). The SM-HG901 and SM-HG801 are the best 11spd Shimano chains available. I have the SM-HG801 on our mtn tandem and it works fine. FWIW, I use the KMC MissingLink 11spd (designated as non-reusable) on all our 11spd bikes including the mtn tandem with the HG801 chain, and have removed/installed the same MissingLinks numerous times without issue. The KMC MissingLink 11spd version I have is still the old symmetric (same size side plates) design but also seems to work fine on the asymmetric 801 chain. Buy them in cards of 6 to save a bit of money (~ $5/ea) from Amazon. Last edited by twocicle; 08-17-17 at 09:07 AM. Reply 0 0 twocicle View Public Profile Find More Posts by twocicle View iTrader Profile 08-13-17 | 01:31 AM #9 pdlpsher Senior Member Joined: Mar 2017 Posts: 104 Likes: 0 From: Loveland CO Bikes: 2017 Santana Ti700 This is where I got my Shimano quick links. Shimano SM-CN900 11S Chain Quick-Link CN-HG901/HG701/HG601/HG900/HG700 1 Pair | eBay