Last summer, I had a real flashback mechanical. Breaking the chain on my Specialized Levo test rig took me back to the early 2000s, or whenever it was, the last time I snapped this oh-so-crucial component.
Even though I run a prestigious blog, I took it upon myself to simply go online and shop for a replacement chain, like any average person would do. No groveling emails to PR reps this time. I did a little research and found that KMC made one of the very few e-bike specific chains, at least one that fit my 12-speed SRAM Eagle drivetrain.
So, after spending about $58 including shipping at the BikeInn, a new e-bike specific chain was in the mail. Why BikeInn, you ask? They came up on Google and offered the best price.
Since my catastrophic ride that left me walking home like a chump (and yes, I now know there is a chain tool in the Specialized SWAT head tube thingie), I’ve put about 175 miles on that KMC e12 chain. So, um, yeah. It seems to work. It hasn’t broken. Chain reviews are kind of a pass/fail sort of thing, right?
I will note that this new chain is noticeably beefier than the SRAM X0 chain it replaced. The pins have rounder heads, not the flat, machined pins you see on lighter-weight chains and certainly not the hollow pins of an XX1 chain. The outer chain plates appear to be a bit thicker than SRAM’s. Overall, it just seems heavy-duty, almost like an old-school 8-speed chain, if you remember those.
Maybe this was all in my head, but the KMC chain feels different from the SRAM chain. It seems to translate its heavy-duty construction into a shift action that was a little clunkier. But not always in a negative way — it is like the chain really finds its way home with solid auditory and physical feedback. It shifts fine. It just shifts a bit different.
If that is the price to pay to avoid a broken chain, I’ll gladly pay it. As I covered last year, when the mechanical occurred, chains are a weak link on e-MTBs. I think the industry is still playing catchup and using technology that wasn’t originally designed for the additional wattage delivered by an electric motor.
I have seen a few other brands offering e-bike chains, but those seem to target cargo bikes and townies, as they aren’t available for 12-speed drivetrains. Fortunately, KMC is offering one solution to this problem, and so far, it works for me.