Ebike-Specific Chain Versus Regular Chain for Mid-Drive Ebike (Pictures!)

[mail_e36]

Friends,

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with ebike-specific chains, specifically for mid-drive ebikes?

I finally installed the 'KMC e9 Sport 9-Speed E-Bike Chain' (along with a brand-new cassette), after riding 1,000 miles on a regular chain. My LBS said my regular chain was on its last leg at 1,000 miles. The bike is powered by the Bafang Ultra motor, but I'm always very careful shifting and usually don't give it a lot of torque.

On the attached images you'll see that the ebike-specific chain apparently has a higher 'Durability Factor', with a Level Five durability. A regular chain appears to have only a Level Three durability. Both chain are made by KMC. The ebike-specific chain is called 'E9', whereas the regular chain is called 'X9'.

Friends, are 'ebike chains' simply a ploy or gimmick for chain manufacturers to sell a higher priced chain to us, or is there an actual improvement in build quality and durability?

Please share your thoughts, thanks!

 

[fooferdoggie]

I tested the Shimano e bike chai9 the 10 speed. I averaged 2500 miles out of the regular chain and I got 3000 out of the e bike chain. so it was not worth the doubt price. but maybe on your motor it would make a difference.

 

[mail_e36]

Friends,

Two years after my initial post, I'm happy to provide an UPDATE.

After 2 years and 2,000 miles riding my 85-pound mid-drive ebike with the KMC e9 Sport 9-Speed E-Bike specific Chain, I did not have a single chain issue.

The ebike chain popped off maybe once-twice in 2,000 miles, never ripped or snapped, did not sag significantly, and never let me down.

The LBS mechanic said that after 2,000 miles and two years the chain was around 80% 'used up', so we replaced it with the same identical chain.

Just sharing this update for the community as the 'durability factor' seems to be higher.

If you have a mid-drive ebike, once your original (likely 'regular') chain is end-of-life, I'd personally recommend replacing it with an ebike-specific chain.

Full disclosure, I ride VERY carefully, and despite NOT having a Gear Shift Sensor, I ALWAYS let off the power when switching gears (use the 'brake as a clutch' method), and NEVER switch gears under motor power.

What has been YOUR experience with ebike-specific chains? Please share.

P.S. - With every chain switch, I always get a new cassette also, as it's cheap enough.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have used both. my trek needs 1.25 chains so I finally changed over to a e bike chain as its longer. I would get 2000 miles out of a regular chain and
3500 out of a e chain. I don't change out the cassette I usually get around 8000 miles from them. On my first bosch powered bike I got almost 14,000 miles on the cassette. I only change the cassette or chainring when shifting our noise becomes an issue. our tandem we would only wear out the 13t cog but you can replace that one easily.

 

[mail_e36]

I have used both. my trek needs 1.25 chains so I finally changed over to a e bike chain as its longer. I would get 2000 miles out of a regular chain and
3500 out of a e chain. I don't change out the cassette I usually get around 8000 miles from them. On my first bosch powered bike I got almost 14,000 miles on the cassette. I only change the cassette or chainring when shifting our noise becomes an issue. our tandem we would only wear out the 13t cog but you can replace that one easily.

That's a good point, @fooferdoggie.

The cassette is inexpensive, so figured why not change them both out to avoid variability... but you're right, could have gotten MUCH more use out of the cassette.

 

[juggernaut1]

KMC e9 chain on Ananda powered hardtail ebike with shift cut - I only got circa 800klms before it was unrideable (badly slipping on gears). LBS put a 10 speed chain on it (not sure of brand) for free and it’s done circa 1,000 klm without issue. Shifts are also crisper with the 10sp chain.

Sram 12sp GX chain (solid pin chain) on 60v Bafang Ultra powered eMTB with shift cut. Done circa 2,200klms and it’s been faultless. Perfect shifts since I initially set it up from new without needing any further adjustment. I put a chain checker on it the other day and still plenty of life. I was quite surprised.

On both bikes I back off the pedals when upshifting but not when downshifting. Never had a chain come off either bike.

 

[mail_e36]

KMC e9 chain on Ananda powered hardtail ebike with shift cut - I only got circa 800klms before it was unrideable (badly slipping on gears). LBS put a 10 speed chain on it (not sure of brand) for free and it’s done circa 1,000 klm without issue. Shifts are also crisper with the 10sp chain.

Sram 12sp GX chain (solid pin chain) on 60v Bafang Ultra powered eMTB with shift cut. Done circa 2,200klms and it’s been faultless. Perfect shifts since I initially set it up from new without needing any further adjustment. I put a chain checker on it the other day and still plenty of life. I was quite surprised.

On both bikes I back off the pedals when upshifting but not when downshifting. Never had a chain come off either bike.

@juggernaut1 please share more with us about this strategy: "On both bikes I back off the pedals when upshifting but not when downshifting", would love to hear about the logic of not backing off power when downshifting?

 

[juggernaut1]

@juggernaut1 please share more with us about this strategy: "On both bikes I back off the pedals when upshifting but not when downshifting", would love to hear about the logic of not backing off power when downshifting?

My strategy is based on what I hear when I shift and I have adapted the way I ride accordingly. To this end, upshifting into a taller gear, particularly on the Bafang powered bike, is met with a clunk if I dont back off the pedals prior to the shift. There is no such clunk when downshifting into a lower gear hence I don’t change my pedal pressure. One bike has a Shimano setup and the other a SRAM setup. Except for the KMC e9 chain, nothing else has been changed in the bikes since new. Although I did put a 48T chainring on the Bafang powered bike shortly after purchase, and extended the chain by the required links.

 

[smorgasbord]

After 2 years and 2,000 miles riding my 85-pound mid-drive ebike with the KMC e9 Sport 9-Speed E-Bike specific Chain, I did not have a single chain issue.
The ebike chain popped off maybe once-twice in 2,000 miles, never ripped or snapped, did not sag significantly, and never let me down.
The LBS mechanic said that after 2,000 miles and two years the chain was around 80% 'used up', so we replaced it with the same identical chain.

I recommend reading this older thread on Mid-Drive Chain Care.

The 80% wear figure your bike shop said you had was hopefully based on chain stretch. The general rule is at 1% chain stretch, your chain is worn. Anything under 0.5% stretch and your chain is fine. Most advise replacing the chain at around 0.75% stretch to avoid damaging other components on your bike. If the bike shop wasn't just pulling that 80% figure out of what rests on their saddles, they used a ruler, a digital chain checker, or even a pair of now cheap digital calipers (see the link above for details on how to check yourself).

Here's a Park Tool video on checking bike chain stretch yourself (using one of their tools of course):

Sram 12sp GX chain (solid pin chain) on 60v Bafang Ultra powered eMTB with shift cut.

If you like the SRAM GX chain, you'll like the SRAM X01 even more. Here's a comparison:

ASK MBA: IS SRAM'S X01 CHAIN WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY COMPARED TO GX? - Mountain Bike Action Magazine

It can be confusing trying to figure out what is worth spending more money on and what isn’t.

mbaction.com

Here's another couple of posts referring to a chain test that unfortunately is no longer on the web:

12-speed MTB chains - The ultimate test!

Comparison review of different 12-speed MTB mountain bike bicycle chains

mtbengineer.blogspot.com

4 Takeaways from the CyclingTips Ultimate Chain Test - Pinkbike

Want to know what the most durable and most efficient chains are? CyclingTips embarked on a massive investigation to find out.

www.pinkbike.com

and a couple of EBR posts:

Bafang Ultra Recommended Chain

Hello, I have a custom fat bike with a Bafang Ultra that should be coming in early this fall. I have a hub drive MTB now and read a lot about the drivetrain wear with mid-drive, let alone the higher powered Bafang Ultra powered system. Does anyone have a recommendation for a chain? I typically...

forums.electricbikereview.com

Bafang Ultra Recommended Chain

For long term reliability, you want to have many things in order. Do your build right and you will have long life on your drivetrain without the issues a lot of people have. My Bullitt came into use in March, and just crossed 1000 miles. It has no sign of chain, chainring, cog or cassette...

forums.electricbikereview.com

This is another test article:

Sram eagle Xo1 and XX1 chains have frankly amazing wear durability due to Srams HARDCHROME treatment. This is very different to the level of chrome treatment used on their 11spd road chains (PG1190 or PG1170). Srams 11spd road chains with whatever that chrome treatment is have just ok longevity. Hardchrome, from a wear longevity perspective, is all that and a bag of chips.

Srams GX and NX level chains do NOT have hardchrome, and have really very average (aka, poor) wear lifespan. Do not buy GX chain, make the step up to X01, the difference in price will be pay for itself about 50 times over.

And here are the test results from that article:

What these tests consistently show is that newer chains are better than older chains, so even if you don't need 12 speeds, in general a 12 speed chain is better than an 11 speed chain, which is better than a 10 or 9 speed chain. And the "guidelines" about link thickness or solid vs hollow pins are almost always wrong. The newer and lighter chains are better than the older and heavier chains because metallurgy wins out.
And this is important for those of us running SRAM 12 speed drivetrains because the cassettes and front chain rings aren't cheap. Better to replace the chain before its wear affects the sprockets on those.

 

[juggernaut1]

I have been looking at the X01 chains as a possible replacement, however I have seen posts where the hollow pins have been crushed on more powerful M620 builds.

 

[smorgasbord]

I've been running X01 chains since before I first posted about them, so a few years. Two Luna Apollos, with 1500 watt output, bikes are 70 lbs, I'm about 185 lbs, my wife is substantially less though. Climb hills as steep as 18%. Chain stretch has been minimal, and no breakage. I can't speak for all hollow pin chains, of course.

 

[juggernaut1]

Just saw this timely post over on the EMTB forums with a member sharing their comparison of chains, SRAM XX1 chain compared to a couple of Shimano chains. No measurable wear on the XX1 chain. Sounds like the XO1 and XX1 chains are the ones to buy. As mentioned above, I’ve also been surprised by the lack of wear of my GX chain considering my bike has 1800 watts.

UPDATE at 1700 km total / +3 months.

Status of kms vs chain wear per chain:

• XT: 400km = 0.10% wear
• XX1: 600km = 0.00% wear
• Deore: 100km = 0.07% wear
• XX1: 600km = 0.00% wear

I have run the Deore chain for 2 rides and does even worse than the XT. Note both Shimano's in the graph show immediate wear from start. Both the XX1 chains remain at 0 wear, not measurable; my KMC chain checker hardly fits at any location across the chain. Compared to where I could already measure wear on both Shimano's after a single ride.

Source post 35

Experiment 2: 4x chain rotation longevity

IMHO surface treatment should have less impact on longevity than the steel grade the links are made from. These guys tested various chains: https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/chaintesting/

www.emtbforums.com