Bike Chain questions

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  • #12207
    Born2BMild
    Participant

    What are O ring chains and what are X ring chains? Which are better and what would be your preference if you had the choice?

    Ta

    #50015
    katana
    Participant

    O ring chains have an O ring to seal lubricant in and keep dirt and moisture out of the rollers on the chain.
    Motorcycle_Chain.jpg

    This greatly improves the life of the chain (if it is maintained correctly). However, as with most things there is a down side. The O ring creates more friction within the chain and therefore saps more power from the bike. In order to reduce the friction some companies replace the O ring with rings that have an X or even Z shaped cross sections, which have less surface area touching the moving parts of the chain. Many race teams use non O ring chains in order to maximise the available power and then change them after every race.

    So to answer your question which is better – it depends on what is important to you.
    – power loss?
    – long life?
    – cost?

    #50016
    Born2BMild
    Participant

    Cheers, mate. Very informative.

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