KMC DLC Chains?

[mdeth1313]

Anyone used them? Worth it or just buy like 4 or 5 regular kmc chains for the same amount of money?

[NHAero]

There is something from Zero Friction IIRC that certain KMC chains don't accept waxing well. This has been covered here but I can't put my finger on where right now. I've used plenty of KMC chains with both Squirt originally and now Silca immersion plus drip and they weren't the ones that have whatever coating wasn't wax friendly.

[.RJ]

A few years ago, I bought one of these things as I needed a chain that day (about to leave town for a month) and it was the only thing the shop had with the covid supply chain issues.

The wear on it was really, really good - about double what I'd normally get out of a chain. So it works as advertised but I havent bought another one once I was able to buy Ultegra chains again.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by NHAero

There is something from Zero Friction IIRC that certain KMC chains don't accept waxing well. This has been covered here but I can't put my finger on where right now. I've used plenty of KMC chains with both Squirt originally and now Silca immersion plus drip and they weren't the ones that have whatever coating wasn't wax friendly.

I believe its that whatever packing grease the chains are shipped in is very hard to get off and contaminates the wax

[mdeth1313]

FYI - I don't wax chains. I won't even bother giving my opinion on that whole thing. Wax on, wax off!!!

[catchourbreath]

I came across a couple DLC chains. Have one on my road bike, hot waxed it. Seems fine shifts fine, maybe the wax wears off faster? I don't ride that bike a ton

[mdeth1313]

OK - maybe we can get off the frickin' waxing question and back to the one I posted about?

[Talrand]

I haven't used a full DLC chain but I got some DLC black quicklinks to find them more easily when swapping chains. After about 500 km the coating has partially worn off on the pins, not sure why it'd fare better on the rest of the chain.

[mdeth1313]

From here and the WW site it seems they're not worth the extra money.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by Talrand

I haven't used a full DLC chain but I got some DLC black quicklinks to find them more easily when swapping chains. After about 500 km the coating has partially worn off on the pins, not sure why it'd fare better on the rest of the chain.

I didnt notice any of that on the DLC chain I tried.

Where did you buy them? Lots of counterfeit bike parts floating out there now. I wont buy chains from amazon or ebay now.

[catchourbreath]

My DLC does show wearing off of the black coating but I'm unsure of mileage

[FriarQuade]

The DLC is applied after the chain is assembled. So when it comes to the parts of the chain that are sliding against each other, it's just a normal chain. Spend your money elsewhere unless you just really want the look.

[kgreene10]

Originally Posted by .RJ

I believe its that whatever packing grease the chains are shipped in is very hard to get off and contaminates the wax

Do you know if this is DLC-specific or all KMC chains? I Silca-waxed a KMC 11-speed and then a Shimano 12-speed. The latter came out with way too much dirty looking wax. By email, Silca says it looks fine, but dirty wax flakes are now all over my brand-new, not even finished Tarmac.

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by kgreene10

Do you know if this is DLC-specific or all KMC chains? I Silca-waxed a KMC 11-speed and then a Shimano 12-speed. The latter came out with way too much dirty looking wax. By email, Silca says it looks fine, but dirty wax flakes are now all over my brand-new, not even finished Tarmac.

I haven’t had issues stripping KMC 11 speed chains and waxing them.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by kgreene10

Do you know if this is DLC-specific or all KMC chains? I Silca-waxed a KMC 11-speed and then a Shimano 12-speed. The latter came out with way too much dirty looking wax. By email, Silca says it looks fine, but dirty wax flakes are now all over my brand-new, not even finished Tarmac.

I dont. I've used plenty of KMC chains in the past but I've never stripped one, so no direct experience - just what I've read and I honestly dont even remember where it came from - ceramic speed or silca probably.

My shimano chains come out really clean, I use effetto allpine and then mineral spirits.