Hello I drive both Chains on my old EBike. XT is worn at 800 Kilometer and XTR at 1900 Kilometer. Price was Xt 40 Euro and XTR 50 Euro. So i buy some XTR Chains for my new EBike.
thank you for doing this test. i just wore out my first xtr chain @ 2000 or so miles of trail rides. with sram it's known to always buy x01 or xx1 chains as they are cheaper in the long run, last much longer than gx. i suspected shimano may be similar and your test confirmed my suspicion. just ordered another 9100 chain, thank you again !
My chain checker is a 12 inch measuring tape. Pretty accurate and easy to see it once it is past 1/32 or way past the 1/16 after about 1500 km I think on a my m6100 with somehow hard use on some mud and dusty long roads. Recently bought YBN 12 speed Silver in red box (base model) and seems to be good quality as I have tested before a 9 speed YBN. KMC x12 feels gritty even after short use only. Great chain test and comparison videos!
A quick look at my preferred shimano canadian shimano online shop has xtr 95cad, xt 75cad and deore 6100 45cad. Xtr seems to make sense now especially considering the lack of maintenance and a little weight savings
Interesting indeed! I have the Shimano Ultegra CN-M8100 12-speed chain fitted to my new bike which I am happy, but my personal preference is KMC, so I'll be fitting one of their finest 12 speed equivalents before I start clocking some mileage.
Having broke my neck I'm happy to hear the guy is doing OK. No paralyses? Biking is still fun for me, just not too proud to get off and walk if need be. No use trying to do things I'm hesitant to attempt. Thanks for the comparison - this is my first eMTB and interested in seeing how things last.
Two fractures in the neck and one in the upper back, no paralyses thankfully! Sounds like you avoided getting paralyzed too! He's been back on the peddle-bike about 5 months after, taking it easy, deciding how he wanna proceed.
Clean and re-lube after every wet ride, wipe and re-lube after every dry ride. Also get a larger front chain ring (if MTB), it will put less tension on the chain as well as less link movement. I can get 3000km out of a chain on my road bike in summer without excessive wear. Also stop cross chaining just because it looks cool to stay in the big ring!
At what point would you recommend it making financial advice? for example i can get an xtr chain for double the price of the slx chain. however will the xtr do double the range? is it better to get two slx chains and change at .5 or will this cause more wear to the chainring and cassette? appreciate any advice. thanks for the great video!
At double the price, I'd give the XTR a go, just to test and see how long it'll last. Any more and I'd pick either the Deore or SLX, depending on which is cheaper. I've seen the SLX being cheaper than the Deore.
It would require a special device, but what would be interesting would be to find out the breaking point of shimano xt 12 speed vs shimano xt 11 speed chains.
@@joses8365 See the data released by Friction Facts. 12sp chains essentially across the board are more durable than their 11sp counterparts. This myth that say a 9speed chain is more durable because it's thicker is a myth (with the exception of huge plated chains like single speed chains). There is literally no R&D spent on new tech for say 9 speed chains (and 11sp) but new coatings/new materials are invested into the latest. So although 12sp is thinner, it actually resists wear much better than 11sp, 10sp etc.
Were there any differences in anything like how well the chains sat on the cassette gears, sounds, smoothness that you noticed if you compared all the chains? Thanks.
No, I haven't been able to tell if there's a difference in noise, shifting performance, etc. I haven't spent much time testing that, but didn't notice anything when riding each chain back-to-back before starting the test.
I rode 4500 km with two slx M7100 chains (Canyon Spectral) , I changed the complete drivetrail because i was going on holiday but was still OK. No problem with shifting, no broken shains, no grinding etc. I ride most the time trails with lots of climbing. Of course everything is worn out but i keep riding until the chain starts skipping, every 300 km I swap the chain. On my regular spectral I could only do 3000 km Max with two chains, that surprized me a bit because an ebike has so much more power. Only downside of the 12 speed cass is the 10 t ring, even with a new chain , under load the chain somtimes skips, 13 T is OK for 25 km/h at a cadance of 70 with 34 T front (27.5 rear)
I need a new chain, and so far only options for me are KMC X-11e or Shimano CN-HG701 11, cus I need a 122 link chain. I see tthe X-11 E is cheaper. So this is another chain that should be tested. Some have recommended to use Sram 12 speed chain, despite me having 11 speed setup. what do you think about it? My setup: 11-50T Garbaruk, 32T Absolute Black Oval, RD M6100 SGS. Currently use a KMC X-11 Silver.
Great review, really helpful and really surprised how the XTR chain held up snapped my Deore chain on my Trek fuel exe after 70 Km’s so was questioning the durability of it, will definitely look at an XTR now once this one wears out and if its at the right price
nice, but you should have given more details: where and how you drove, how dirty the chain was, how often you cleaned it, how often you lubricated it and with what. you could also use a vernier caliper to get the actual numbers (jaws for measuring hole diameters, up to 119.80mm is good, from 119.80-120.00mm time to change, don't use over 120mm).by the way, I use wax and HG70 chain lasts over 6000km, combined on road bike and mtb, 50:50, I strongly doubt that hg70 chain is better than your chains
Trying to determine how many km a chain will last will be anecdotal and we would very likely get a completely different result if we redid the test. Therefore, we only wanted to see if there were eny differences between the chains. We tried to wear out the chains as fast as possible, to finish the test. So there was little lube and washing.
thanks for the chain tests - know it's a lot of work. i guess my question would be around whether the more expensive chains (one assumes better somehow) would mean that the cassette lasts longer. if a cheap chain is wearing down the cassette prematurely then it could be a false economy.
I haven't done this test and I don't think I have a meaningful way of testing it. I believe this doesn't affect cassette wear as the chain wears around the pins and the rollers just rest on the cogs without much friction. But I don't know for sure.
We try to wear down the chains as fast as possible, to finish the test. But if you take better care of it, you should easily exceed our figures. This test is just about comparing them. But yeah, chains wear out faster on an emtb.
The chain checker you used isn’t made for Shimano 12 Speed Drivetrains. That’s why it wore out so fast. Park tool makes a chain checker that is made for SRAM T-Type and Shimano 12 Speed. I noticed this with my XT chain, should’ve been worn out over 6 months ago with my chain checker.
@@EMTBVideos you are correct, the 3.2 works on 12s shimano and sram but not the sram axs flat top or transmission chains. the pins are thicker in those so you need the park cc4 which measures from the front of the rollers. cc4 works on both types of chains since it measures roller to roller
Something about this testing methodology seems off. A chain should last much longer than 400 - 800kms. I'm running an SLX M7100 on my MTB and did a 100km MTB epic the other day. I'm to believe that I would get 2 weeks out of my chain before it wears out. Seems sus.
it can, but wouldnt recomend since it can snap at that point. If you want safest solution, use quick link and use it only once. Most of the ppl i know reuse quick link and no problems with that. If you race dont reuse quick link, and if you want to carry chain tool around dont use link at all. ;)
SLX seems to really be the very worst value in 12s Shimano lineup for quite literally every part except the crankset. SLX shifter is basically exact same as Deore for more money, while XT has instant-release, actual bearings, rubber grips and feels better. Chain lasts and weights exact same as Deore too, SLX derailleur is the one that makes the very least sense - exact same as Deore for noticeably more money, while XT has actual sealed bearings on pulley wheels and clutch quick access port. SLX cassette makes little sense too, too low weight difference between Deore and it for the price to make sense, etc. They really "failed" with SLX, except for crankset which is virtually XT for 30% less money.
Yea my SLX chain is getting rusty too and I take decent care of my stuff. I have a 20 year old bike thats been outside for a year and the chain is perfect. My slx chain is kept in the garage and gets lube all the time, rust.
@@EMTBVideos thx! for the feedback, i have a 11s drivetrain and got my hands on a xtr chain form a tiny outlet store having 40% discounts (out of business) i bought it anyway before confirmation :)
Due to the circumstances, we didn't get to ride the test for as long as we wanted. Chances are we could have made it a bit further. The main takeaway is the XTR was noticably more durable than the XT, and therefore the SLX and Deore too. We rode the ebike mostly with maximum motor power and we didn't clean and lube it alot, to finish the test as fast as possible (:
This doesn't make sense. I believe they are the same steel, same treatment, same tolerances. I thought the only difference was the hollow pins. What am I missing???
I never looked into it. I guess there are other differences. Would be strange if Deore, SLX and XT wa identical at different prices. But what do I know (: Will ask them if I get the opportunity.
Yeah, acusing me of being clickbaity seems deserved... The guy broke his neck and sold the bike. I had to travel a bit to measure the bike and unfortunately I wasn't able to measure both chains as they were worn out. It still tells us the XTR is more durable.
Hello
I drive both Chains on my old EBike. XT is worn at 800 Kilometer and XTR at 1900 Kilometer. Price was Xt 40 Euro and XTR 50 Euro. So i buy some XTR Chains for my new EBike.
Thankyou - you're one of a few youtubers who does great reviews that are not biased!
Thanks, happy to hear that!
Very valuable, thank you so much! I'm really surprised that the XTR chain is both lighter and more durable.
thank you for doing this test. i just wore out my first xtr chain @ 2000 or so miles of trail rides. with sram it's known to always buy x01 or xx1 chains as they are cheaper in the long run, last much longer than gx. i suspected shimano may be similar and your test confirmed my suspicion. just ordered another 9100 chain, thank you again !
My chain checker is a 12 inch measuring tape. Pretty accurate and easy to see it once it is past 1/32 or way past the 1/16 after about 1500 km I think on a my m6100 with somehow hard use on some mud and dusty long roads. Recently bought YBN 12 speed Silver in red box (base model) and seems to be good quality as I have tested before a 9 speed YBN. KMC x12 feels gritty even after short use only. Great chain test and comparison videos!
A quick look at my preferred shimano canadian shimano online shop has xtr 95cad, xt 75cad and deore 6100 45cad. Xtr seems to make sense now especially considering the lack of maintenance and a little weight savings
Interesting indeed! I have the Shimano Ultegra CN-M8100 12-speed chain fitted to my new bike which I am happy, but my personal preference is KMC, so I'll be fitting one of their finest 12 speed equivalents before I start clocking some mileage.
Having broke my neck I'm happy to hear the guy is doing OK. No paralyses? Biking is still fun for me, just not too proud to get off and walk if need be. No use trying to do things I'm hesitant to attempt. Thanks for the comparison - this is my first eMTB and interested in seeing how things last.
Two fractures in the neck and one in the upper back, no paralyses thankfully! Sounds like you avoided getting paralyzed too! He's been back on the peddle-bike about 5 months after, taking it easy, deciding how he wanna proceed.
Clean and re-lube after every wet ride, wipe and re-lube after every dry ride. Also get a larger front chain ring (if MTB), it will put less tension on the chain as well as less link movement. I can get 3000km out of a chain on my road bike in summer without excessive wear. Also stop cross chaining just because it looks cool to stay in the big ring!
welp MTB caters with mud and a lot strain on the trail. Roads are much more tame.
1x anything must cross chain
At what point would you recommend it making financial advice? for example i can get an xtr chain for double the price of the slx chain. however will the xtr do double the range? is it better to get two slx chains and change at .5 or will this cause more wear to the chainring and cassette? appreciate any advice. thanks for the great video!
At double the price, I'd give the XTR a go, just to test and see how long it'll last. Any more and I'd pick either the Deore or SLX, depending on which is cheaper. I've seen the SLX being cheaper than the Deore.
i was shocked at how easily the XT chain rust, no riding in the rain or anything, surface rust like crazy, will the XTR chain be better?
It would require a special device, but what would be interesting would be to find out the breaking point of shimano xt 12 speed vs shimano xt 11 speed chains.
Kind of a pointless comparison, remember both of those chains have a different width. 12 speeds are 5.3mm and 11 speeds are 5.5mm
@@joses8365 See the data released by Friction Facts. 12sp chains essentially across the board are more durable than their 11sp counterparts. This myth that say a 9speed chain is more durable because it's thicker is a myth (with the exception of huge plated chains like single speed chains). There is literally no R&D spent on new tech for say 9 speed chains (and 11sp) but new coatings/new materials are invested into the latest. So although 12sp is thinner, it actually resists wear much better than 11sp, 10sp etc.
The price difference is about $11 between the two. Spend the money and get the XTR it saves you money in the long run.
Were there any differences in anything like how well the chains sat on the cassette gears, sounds, smoothness that you noticed if you compared all the chains? Thanks.
No, I haven't been able to tell if there's a difference in noise, shifting performance, etc. I haven't spent much time testing that, but didn't notice anything when riding each chain back-to-back before starting the test.
I rode 4500 km with two slx M7100 chains (Canyon Spectral) , I changed the complete drivetrail because i was going on holiday but was still OK. No problem with shifting, no broken shains, no grinding etc. I ride most the time trails with lots of climbing. Of course everything is worn out but i keep riding until the chain starts skipping, every 300 km I swap the chain. On my regular spectral I could only do 3000 km Max with two chains, that surprized me a bit because an ebike has so much more power. Only downside of the 12 speed cass is the 10 t ring, even with a new chain , under load the chain somtimes skips, 13 T is OK for 25 km/h at a cadance of 70 with 34 T front (27.5 rear)
10T seems to be pushing it too far.
Power is not pressure. So higher power doesn't mean much higher chain pull. You could add a 3rd chain even a forth.
I need a new chain, and so far only options for me are KMC X-11e or Shimano CN-HG701 11, cus I need a 122 link chain. I see tthe X-11 E is cheaper. So this is another chain that should be tested.
Some have recommended to use Sram 12 speed chain, despite me having 11 speed setup. what do you think about it? My setup: 11-50T Garbaruk, 32T Absolute Black Oval, RD M6100 SGS. Currently use a KMC X-11 Silver.
Great review, really helpful and really surprised how the XTR chain held up snapped my Deore chain on my Trek fuel exe after 70 Km’s so was questioning the durability of it, will definitely look at an XTR now once this one wears out and if its at the right price
Yeah, I was a bit surprised to find the XTR was the most durable. Usually the high-end stuff sacrifice some durability for weight savings.
nice, but you should have given more details: where and how you drove, how dirty the chain was, how often you cleaned it, how often you lubricated it and with what. you could also use a vernier caliper to get the actual numbers (jaws for measuring hole diameters, up to 119.80mm is good, from 119.80-120.00mm time to change, don't use over 120mm).by the way, I use wax and HG70 chain lasts over 6000km, combined on road bike and mtb, 50:50, I strongly doubt that hg70 chain is better than your chains
Trying to determine how many km a chain will last will be anecdotal and we would very likely get a completely different result if we redid the test. Therefore, we only wanted to see if there were eny differences between the chains. We tried to wear out the chains as fast as possible, to finish the test. So there was little lube and washing.
thanks for the chain tests - know it's a lot of work. i guess my question would be around whether the more expensive chains (one assumes better somehow) would mean that the cassette lasts longer. if a cheap chain is wearing down the cassette prematurely then it could be a false economy.
I haven't done this test and I don't think I have a meaningful way of testing it. I believe this doesn't affect cassette wear as the chain wears around the pins and the rollers just rest on the cogs without much friction. But I don't know for sure.
Do e-bike wear out chains faster than regular bikes?
I don't have an e-bike, but 600 km seems like very little milleage to wear out a chain!
We try to wear down the chains as fast as possible, to finish the test. But if you take better care of it, you should easily exceed our figures. This test is just about comparing them. But yeah, chains wear out faster on an emtb.
Great! Thanks!
The chain checker you used isn’t made for Shimano 12 Speed Drivetrains. That’s why it wore out so fast. Park tool makes a chain checker that is made for SRAM T-Type and Shimano 12 Speed. I noticed this with my XT chain, should’ve been worn out over 6 months ago with my chain checker.
Hmm, are you sure? Park Tool says the CC-3.2 supports 12s, not T-Type though.
www.parktool.com/en-int/product/chain-wear-indicator-cc-3-2
@@EMTBVideos you are correct, the 3.2 works on 12s shimano and sram but not the sram axs flat top or transmission chains. the pins are thicker in those so you need the park cc4 which measures from the front of the rollers. cc4 works on both types of chains since it measures roller to roller
Something about this testing methodology seems off. A chain should last much longer than 400 - 800kms. I'm running an SLX M7100 on my MTB and did a 100km MTB epic the other day. I'm to believe that I would get 2 weeks out of my chain before it wears out. Seems sus.
@@cc-000 no
@@eXTreemator yes
Anyone kows if the CN-7100 (or similar) can be cut and put together with it's own links or can you only connect it back using the quick link ? Thanks.
it can, but wouldnt recomend since it can snap at that point. If you want safest solution, use quick link and use it only once. Most of the ppl i know reuse quick link and no problems with that. If you race dont reuse quick link, and if you want to carry chain tool around dont use link at all. ;)
SLX seems to really be the very worst value in 12s Shimano lineup for quite literally every part except the crankset. SLX shifter is basically exact same as Deore for more money, while XT has instant-release, actual bearings, rubber grips and feels better. Chain lasts and weights exact same as Deore too, SLX derailleur is the one that makes the very least sense - exact same as Deore for noticeably more money, while XT has actual sealed bearings on pulley wheels and clutch quick access port. SLX cassette makes little sense too, too low weight difference between Deore and it for the price to make sense, etc.
They really "failed" with SLX, except for crankset which is virtually XT for 30% less money.
Added bonus, XT goes rusty, XTR does not :)
Yea my SLX chain is getting rusty too and I take decent care of my stuff. I have a 20 year old bike thats been outside for a year and the chain is perfect. My slx chain is kept in the garage and gets lube all the time, rust.
Really?
I had my new bike for a week, took it out once in the 'slightly' wet cond and when I looked at it the next day I was shocked. The rust was bad!
so is it a good id to slam an xtr chain on a slx/xt drivetrain?
Yeah, depending in prices. It's nothing wrong with going XTR chain on any of the Shimano 12s mtb drivetrains.
@@EMTBVideos thx! for the feedback, i have a 11s drivetrain and got my hands on a xtr chain form a tiny outlet store having 40% discounts (out of business) i bought it anyway before confirmation :)
@@bekhele Ah, I see. I don't know how big the difference is between the models on 11s, but an XTR at 40% sounds like a safe choice!
If you want teally loads of wievs compare KMC E12 to XTR M9100 in long run. many seeking KMC vs Shimano comparision and none exist.
Are these chains fake? Real Shimano packaging should have the number of links hand marked, not printed.
Not to my knowledge. I got them through the Norwegian distributor.
Only 600km?
Due to the circumstances, we didn't get to ride the test for as long as we wanted. Chances are we could have made it a bit further. The main takeaway is the XTR was noticably more durable than the XT, and therefore the SLX and Deore too.
We rode the ebike mostly with maximum motor power and we didn't clean and lube it alot, to finish the test as fast as possible (:
where is the test?
KMC chain snaped after 5000km
Breaking your neck in order to perform a test is a bit extreme, don't you think?
This doesn't make sense. I believe they are the same steel, same treatment, same tolerances. I thought the only difference was the hollow pins. What am I missing???
I never looked into it. I guess there are other differences. Would be strange if Deore, SLX and XT wa identical at different prices. But what do I know (: Will ask them if I get the opportunity.
Along with better materials and treat ment, the higher end components have tighter machining tolerances, therefore less slop and wear
So an incomplete test with no accurate data & final result. Another youtuber putting up vids just to get views 🙄
Yeah, acusing me of being clickbaity seems deserved... The guy broke his neck and sold the bike. I had to travel a bit to measure the bike and unfortunately I wasn't able to measure both chains as they were worn out. It still tells us the XTR is more durable.