# Ultegra or KMC X11 Chain?



## bpsmith (4 Mar 2015)

Looking around for bargains on consumables for the future and seen the Ultegra 11 speed chain going for £13.99. Normally I would use the KMC X11 SL (£36,95) and not think twice, but have Ultegra fitted presently and had no issues.

Have heard that the Ultegra isn't as good, but at a third of the price...

Has anyone used both Ultegra and KMC and what are your thoughts?


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## Fab Foodie (4 Mar 2015)

Buy the cheaper one and replace regularly. Basic kmc or similar chains are fine. The Ultegra one seems a bargain. Buy 3!


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## zizou (4 Mar 2015)

I prefer KMC (for the quick link and gold colour!) but in this case i'd save the money and go for Ultegra. Or 'downgrade' on the KMC model to X11 L model

IIRC KMC make the chains for Shimano


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## dan_bo (4 Mar 2015)

I've had problems with Shimano chains on steep hills in races. I use KMC without any issues.


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## dan_bo (4 Mar 2015)

dan_bo said:


> I've had problems with Shimano chains on steep hills in races. I use KMC without any issues.



That said I'm more suspicious of the joining method rather than the actual chain quality. Try 'em with a quick link maybe.


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## Soltydog (4 Mar 2015)

I saw this http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CHSESLC11SC/selcof-slc-h11cr-11-speed-chain & thought it was a bargain so bought one. Don't need it yet, but probably will later in the year, but the shimano one seems a better bargain.


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## youngoldbloke (4 Mar 2015)

bpsmith said:


> Looking around for bargains on consumables for the future and seen the
> *Ultegra 11 speed chain going for £13.99. *


Where?


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## Deleted member 23692 (4 Mar 2015)

I was a KMC convert but have recently reverted to Shimano chains - Ultegra on the road bike and XT on the MTB. Both are directional and seem to offer much smoother changes than the more expensive KMC ones I had previously. I've fitted them with KMC quick links, cos it's just better


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## bpsmith (4 Mar 2015)

Cheers for the replies guys. Always planned to add a quick link when replacing anyway.

It's academic now, as the product has been removed from the pbk site. They now have the 10 speed version listed for the same price. I suspect that it may have been an error, in hindsight.

Have found the 11 speed one elsewhere for £19.99 inc postage though, if that helps @youngoldbloke


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## uclown2002 (4 Mar 2015)

Do Shimano chains come with a quick link like kmc?


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## HLaB (4 Mar 2015)

Soltydog said:


> I saw this http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CHSESLC11SC/selcof-slc-h11cr-11-speed-chain & thought it was a bargain so bought one. Don't need it yet, but probably will later in the year, but the shimano one seems a better bargain.


Check it before you need it. I bought a bargain KMC Chain from PX, didn't use it for several months but when I did found it was missing pins and I was left holding two sections of chain


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## Deleted member 23692 (5 Mar 2015)

uclown2002 said:


> Do Shimano chains come with a quick link like kmc?


No, they come with a special 'use once only' pin. Much better to use a KMC quick link instead


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## Soltydog (5 Mar 2015)

HLaB said:


> Check it before you need it. I bought a bargain KMC Chain from PX, didn't use it for several months but when I did found it was missing pins and I was left holding two sections of chain


Cheers for the heads up. It's in a sealed box, so should be ok  but I also ordered a KMC 10 speed which I will be fitting very soon & that is just in a bag, so best check that one ASAP


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## DWiggy (5 Mar 2015)

Ultegra with 0 Problems, joined with a quick link and i've not paid more than £15 for one


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## bpsmith (5 Mar 2015)

DWiggy said:


> Ultegra with 0 Problems, joined with a quick link and i've not paid more than £15 for one



Is yours 11 speed?


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## DWiggy (5 Mar 2015)

bpsmith said:


> Is yours 11 speed?


No mines a 10spd


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## bpsmith (5 Mar 2015)

DWiggy said:


> No mines a 10spd


Hence the £15 then. No 11 speed for that!


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## DWiggy (5 Mar 2015)

bpsmith said:


> Hence the £15 then. No 11 speed for that!


Yer sorry missed that bit...and will stay 10spd for the foreseeable future at those prices.


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## youngoldbloke (5 Mar 2015)

Even the 11 speed qiucklinks are around £5 each.


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## bpsmith (5 Mar 2015)

Pack of 2 10 speed KMC links is £4.65. Pack of 2 11 speed is £7.95. Not a huge difference tbh.


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## youngoldbloke (5 Mar 2015)

bpsmith said:


> Pack of 2 10 speed KMC links is £4.65. Pack of 2 11 speed is £7.95. Not a huge difference tbh.


71% more! The cheapest I could find just now were CRC - £9.49. 
Found it - Ribble £7.95  BUT +1.99 postage = 9.94 - same as CRC then


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## Rustybucket (5 Mar 2015)

Why is the quick link better than the Shimano pin?

Ive fitted a couple of chains with the provided shimano pin & they seem ok?


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## Deleted member 23692 (5 Mar 2015)

There's nothing with with the pin, but come the day you need to remove the chain you'll spend ages looking for the one that's a 'wee bit different', whereas the quick link is much easier to find - I use a contrasting colour link so it's even easier. Added to that you can reuse the quicklink (even 10 and 11sp to some extent) whereas you'll need a new Shimano pin every time.


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## bpsmith (6 Mar 2015)

youngoldbloke said:


> 71% more! The cheapest I could find just now were CRC - £9.49.
> Found it - Ribble £7.95  BUT +1.99 postage = 9.94 - same as CRC then


Who orders that on its own though!?!

This thread is about the chsin remember, so the delivery is FREE with both items...and just found the chain is £2 cheaper again with Ribble! 

Which makes the 10 speed version actually 42% cheaper than the 11 speed. Percentages only really make sense when the values are higher though. £2.30 is less than a coffee at the end of the day, and can live with that for the superior shifting abilities!


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## youngoldbloke (6 Mar 2015)

'If you look after the pennies the pounds look after themselves'
I have ordered just quicklinks by themselves - after all my bike came complete with chain, I then bought the links separately - I often buy low cost items alone, as needed, so delivery charges are important to me.


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## bpsmith (6 Mar 2015)

Well I have not needed a quick link on the chain that happened to come with my bike...so that's significantly cheaper than yours.


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