KMC EPT chain - Avoid!

[sevenfourate]

Agree, that is a faulty product 100% or knock off. I've been using KMC chains for donkeys and never had a link go.

Ditto. I had / have still got them on all my BMX's. And now on all my (4) road / off-road bikes.

I did buy one i was suspect of (Aware that these are about the most faked brand of chains out there) and returned it immediately.

Other than that - i'm very careful where i purchase from. Infact only buying from one of two trusted suppliers. (Hopkinson Cycles or Highonbikes on ebay.......both have large physical Stores too)

Therefore i've never had any breakage or quickly-stretching issues. **Touch wood !!!

 

[wafter]

That's pretty shocking - It should take enormous loads to cause chains to fail in that way so there's something seriously wrong somewhere..

From the OP's experiences alone this appears to be confined to the EPC line (which is a corrosion resistant coating they apply to various chains in their model lineup).

FWIW I've got a 2.5yr old X9 EPT on my Fuji that's on about 2.5k miles and an 18-month old E8 EPT on the Brompton on slightly less mileage; neither of which are showing any obvious signs of sketchyness.

I'm well aware of the abundance of fakes and both came from reputable dealers for this reason.

 

[Drago]

I've seen a Shimano chain fail on one link in that manner, but the rider caught it before it could cause grief because he was one of my trainees and spotted it on the pre-ride check.

 

[lostinthought]

Does anyone know what this EPT treatment is? All I can find is the usual KMC marketing guff:

https://www.kmcchain.com/en/series/ept
https://www.kmcchain.eu/technology/ept-coating

I wonder if there is an outside possibility it could be causing this fractures to occur, much like the hard anodising on Mavic MA40 rims, all those years ago. Could it be applied with heat, in some metallurgically enbrittling way? Doubt it, but it would still be interesting to know what it actually is.

 

[PpPete]

Agree, that is a faulty product 100% or knock off. I've been using KMC chains for donkeys and never had a link go.

Yes, KMC has been my go-to brand for years. I had one outer plate break on an X11-EL recently, but it didnt completely separate and that chain was about 7 years old anyway !

 

[JonBuoy]

Possibly Hydrogen Embrittlement.