Record 10 spd Chain Link...

the number of "may result in injury or death" statements in the campy ultra narrow chain installation manual is enough to make me want to go back to 8-speeds.

since 1972 i've not popped a chain, but my new chorus 10-speed rig (and that carbon fork) has me thinking about it with every hill i stomp up...and i live amidst lots of hills.

reading about all the chain breakage with the narrow chains is somewhat worrying and if you think $35 for a connector link is robbery (and it is! what's an entire new record chain? $50 or so?), i just forked over $90+ for the 'proper' campy chain rivet tool. my old sedis and regina chains used to go 5,000 worry-free miles.

[font=Arial]The campy 10s chain link is a use-only-once pin. When installed properly it should be as strong as the normal pins. If you have the earlier campy 10s chain (2003 and earlier) this is specially prone to such a problem. Campy has since solved it with the intro of the 2004 C10 chain and the newer ultra model.[/font]
[font=Arial] [/font]
[font=Arial]There are other alternative 10s chains out there which work just as great as campy's or even better - KMC X10, Wipperman Conex, Mavic 10s chain and alike. Cost is a few bucks more the cost of the campy link and these feature ingenious re-usable locking links. Should you lose or need one (the link) they cost only a few bucks.[/font]

Yeah Campybob, while I agree with you that USD 50 (or in my case 35 Euro) chains are for the birds, we have to live with them for 10 speed sex-appeal. :o

On the other hand, all that in the manual is legalese... I have never had a problem with a Campagnolo C10 chain, and have heard excellent things about the Wipperman, KMX, etc options, if you feel the need for reuseable links.

Hi Guys, thanks for all the replies but now you've got me thinking, my c-10 chain has a removable link which I take out once a month along with the Cassette so I can clean the drive-train properly, so you're saying I can only take this link out once, put it back in once and the next time I have to use a brand new Link?

Obviously it would be better to buy a new chain for $20 more...

A friend of mine is a mettalurgist and I was asking him about the wear properties of Ti compared to steel and he said it's only around 1/3rd as good, which meanse the last 4 gears on my Cassette are going to wear pretty fast too... 🙁

By the way, the friend who last his change I was reffering to in my original post rides shim 105's, it was easier to find the missing Link on the road because it was half way up a 6mph climb, this made me think that knowing my luck, I'd lose this Link 30 miles from home at 20 mph and I'd never find it, hence the idea of carrying a spare....

i must be getting old, pete...i remember paying $6 for a top-of-the-line racing chain. 😄

it's good to hear folks saying the campy chain is durable. mine does shift nicely. it's fast and positive.

i got to wonder if many of the 'failures' are caused by chowderhead amatuer mechanics as opposed to actual product failure.

safe riding to you all!

I always carry a wipperman connex link as a spare, just in case my dura-ace 10 speed chain breaks, at least then I can get home. Also don't forget the chain breaker if you need to take out a or adjust few links before putting it back together. Down under there about 18 USD. I would buy anything other than a wipperman, some other connector links have failed and damaged the drive train according to my LBS.

Jaguar27 said:

Hi Guys, thanks for all the replies but now you've got me thinking, my c-10 chain has a removable link which I take out once a month along with the Cassette so I can clean the drive-train properly, so you're saying I can only take this link out once, put it back in once and the next time I have to use a brand new Link?

Obviously it would be better to buy a new chain for $20 more...

....

You can leave the link Jaguar27 next time you break the chain for cleaning.

You see, a brand new c10 comes with the use-only-once pin. Brand new, the link has an extension which breaks off upon installation. Preferably this should be installed with the special 10s tool chain cutter from campy. Next time you want to cut your chain for cleaning you should cut it in anywhere in the chain except where the link is.

Thanks for the reply and the Pics hd....
My Chain has what I'd call a "quick release" Link, it has an elongated Hole on each side which means I don't need a tool to take the chain apart to take it off the Bike...
I hope this makes sense.

hd reynolds said:

You can leave the link Jaguar27 next time you break the chain for cleaning.

You see, a brand new c10 comes with the use-only-once pin. Brand new, the link has an extension which breaks off upon installation. Preferably this should be installed with the special 10s tool chain cutter from campy. Next time you want to cut your chain for cleaning you should cut it in anywhere in the chain except where the link is.

Jaguar27 said:

Thanks for the reply and the Pics hd....
My Chain has what I'd call a "quick release" Link, it has an elongated Hole on each side which means I don't need a tool to take the chain apart to take it off the Bike...
I hope this makes sense.

Yes, am familiar with it. In fact Wipperman, KMC and Mavic 10s chains use such links.

hd reynolds said:

Yes, am familiar with it. In fact Wipperman, KMC and Mavic 10s chains use such links.

Yes, those are the ones....
Is it OK to use them multiple times?

I wanna try a campy chain but they say u have to use one of their chain tools. That sucks because they are like 80$ at dealer cost! no LBS in town has one nor will ever get one. i love campy but sometimes i think there too into themselves 🙄 esp small parts...

IEatRice4Dinner said:

I wanna try a campy chain but they say u have to use one of their chain tools. That sucks because they are like 80$ at dealer cost! no LBS in town has one nor will ever get one.

So buy a Campy chain and a $5 Connex link like the one pictured above; then use a regular chain tool to take off the unneeded portion of the chain.

I find Campy chains to be the most durable, but I sure don't want to deal with their special pins.

i've successfully and CAREFULLY used an old $5 rivoli chain breaker tool on the campy 10-speed chorus chain. one just has be very careful to drive the pin straight. i changed the position of the chain tool three or four times as i started the pin into the hole.

that said, i plunked down the $90+ for the campy chain breaker. i've yet to use it, but i'll post a report when i do. if it's like all the other campy tools i own it will work a bit better than a park/pedro's/etc. on the campy part it was designed to fit.

btw, the campy chain breaker is way too large to stuff into a seat bag. it's a 'shop tool' imo.

thanks for the pictures, hd reynolds. i'll have to buy a couple of those connex links.

Jaguar27 said:

Yes, those are the ones....
Is it OK to use them multiple times?

Yes, that's why they made those.😄

Forget the Campy tool, just use a Park Tool CT-3, works like a charm and a lot less expensive.

Park CT-3

Campagnolo® 10-speed Chains

These chains currently use a special system called the HD-Link. It consists of a short section of links and two special piloted rivets. When determining chain length, you must deduct an additional amount of chain equal to this section.

[img]parktool.comchain85.jpgOpen ↗[/img]

Both ends of the special link section are out plates, and these must attach to the inner plate section of the chain. Install the pilot into the chain rivet and place this into the chain. Engage pilot and rivet so that the rivet faces the inside of the bike, toward the spokes. The pilot is then pushing outward, away from the spokes.

[img]parktool.comchain75.jpgOpen ↗[/img] [img]parktool.comchain77.jpgOpen ↗[/img]

It is especially important with the Park Tool chain tools to press downward on the chain at rivet to keep in fully engaged. In the image below, the thumb presses down on the chain.

[img]parktool.comchain86.jpgOpen ↗[/img]

After the rivet is fully pressed, remove the pilot simply by pulling outward.

[img]parktool.comchain81.jpgOpen ↗[/img]

[img]parktool.comchain82.jpgOpen ↗[/img]