KMC X8 8-Speed Silver X-Series High-Performance Bicycle Chain | Compatible with Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo and All Major Systems for road, MTB, and gravel bike riding

I purchased this to replace a really old and original chain on my Schwinn 24 speed mountain bike. I purchased the KMC X8.99/X8 Bicycle Chain and not only does it look great, it seems to be of better quality than my original. It comes with everything you need, including instructions and a missing link link. Once I had everything measured and popped the pin out, everything from there was pretty straightforward. Got the chain back on, and using the missing link, (which my original did not have) it makes it very easy to connect the chain together, and be on your way. I ended up using a different missing link only because of the color, but the one that comes with with the chain seems of better quality than the one I used. (this is just a recreational bike) The missing link link that comes with it is the same nice silver color as the chain. The chain overall came nicely lubricated, good packaging and fit perfectly after sizing it correctly. My old chain was very old and with this new chain my bike feels different when pedaling. Everything works. Shifting is smooth, no skips or jumps and very quiet. I have already ridden 30 miles on it and am happy I changed it. The chain just overall seems high quality and much nicer than my old chain even when new. Most importantly the compatibility, and fit is perfect on my bicycle. The size and links of the chain match up with my original.

This is a noticeably high performance chain. I'm extremely pleased and I highly recommend it.I have a 2016 Giant Defy road bike. According to their website, the stock chain is a KMC Z7. I found this chain with the same specs, but it has a beveled design to it. Also, it says that this chain is stretch proof, which is the reason why I was replacing the chain. I also replaced my cassette, because after 3000 miles of riding, undoubtedly about a third of that with a stretched chain, the teeth of the cassette were also worn. I went with the same cassette as my stock cassette, the SRAM PG850 8 Speed Cassette, also available here on Amazon for a good price.Shifts with this chain are immediate, precise, and smooth as butter. Up and down the cassette, one or two gears away, the response is immediate and smooth. Shifts with the stock chain was pretty good, but this is a whole new ball game. It's terrific! And it's actually $1 less than the KMC Z7 as of this writing for a better chain!If your specs can use this chain, get it!

Chain was self installed by an older biker using a road bike for exercise in a hilly N.J. location. Basically running about a two mile loop around the home neighborhood. Terrain is such that it requires a lot of gear shifting to manage it. Guesstimate the inclines running up to 4-5%. As a result the derailleur system is experiencing a lot of wear for a frequent 10-11 mile loop. These KMC chains provide a good, smooth and reliable shift. I am using it with a triple chain wheel and a 11-32 cog set. The 32 tooth max cogset was a recent upgrade from a 12-24 that was on the bike. Wanted an easier hill climb. So far all is well. Getting smooth quick shifts without a bunch of drama.Installation? What can I say? You should know what you are doing or use a shop to do the work. There is plenty of info on line. Park Tools has some great YouTube content that can help. My advice is to get proper tools for the job. For example the tool to open the master or quick link makes that a nothing effort. Try to fake it with a pair of needle nose pliers or fingers is likely to result in frustration and maybe blood. For a few dollars get the tool.Longevity? Use proper maintenance and it will hold up well.

Installed a new Efneo front gear system on a recumbent trike, and while the KMC X72 chain still had life even after 3,000 miles I decided to upgrade to the X8.99 chain with the newer drive. Took 3 packages of chain for the trike, and had help with a friend. All seemed to go well.Took for a short spin from his garage to the car, and then at home I rode maybe 40 yards. Next day went out to lubricate with Bioshield T9 lubricant and found a bad link. This was a new chain. So, I removed the bad link, and used a section of chain that was left over to replace the shortened one with the bad link.Got that all done, took the trike fro another 40 yard jog, was dark so waited to go the next day for a 10 miler.Next day was wiping down the chain and noticed once section of chain was leaning slightly to one side. Was only a small section, maybe three feet. But I went for a ride. Got caught in a rain on the way home, so sat under the cover of trees and was back pedaling - chain popped off. (?!) Was dark, but adjusted the headlamps and seen one section of chain was leaning, where the majority of the chain was laying flat. As long as I was not back pedaling was okay.Got home, rode slower. Parked the trike and checked the next day. Did not have enough extra chain, so ordered another set from Amazon. Now am fine. Chain running flat over the crank & sprocket.first time having a bed chain, and looked it over and indeed there was a section where the chain drifted to one side. Checked my chains again to be sure there were no twists, and everything was good. So sending this on section back to Amazon with a big (??).Hopefully this chain will do good, as I occasionally do get caught in the rain, and I ride almost over any terrain. X8.99 was recommended from the recumbent trike forums I frequent.Update: Chain has been skipping a lot lately. Sent the recumbent trike in to the mehcanic to see what is going on here. Should of went with the OEM cheaper version in hindsight.

have replaced a few chains with kmc brand and not disappointed. seem to generally be a little less in cost and this one is smooth and looks good. combined with a new rear cassette the shifts are smooth and quiet. lost one star for the "goop" they coat the chain with. it is so thick and sticky there is no way you could run it on your bike without immediately coating it with dirt an debris. drop it just once on an install an it will need to be wiped clean. it takes work to get this crap off and recoat with a quality chain lube. i cleaned with a citrus degreaser an then coated with a paraffin lube. once dry it is not sticky and attracts/holds little dirt. if you run this chain with the OEM coating you will also coat your derailluer with it and it will quickly be a dirty sticky mess. i emailed kmc about this and never got a reply. i think it is more about rust prevention, when sitting in a wharehouse or coming to the us on a ship, than practical use lubrication.

Okay, first off I'm not an avid bicyclist. I know very little about bikes, other than what I remember when I was scabbing up my knees as a kid. Recently, a friend gave me a Raleigh 21 speed mountain (I think. It has knobby tires, but no suspension. Low gear, is very, very low) bike. It's old, maybe 20 years or so. It wouldn't shift at all, the derailer's, chain and shifting mechanisms were all gummed up and stuck. Using some solvent and light oil, I got everything moving, and functioning as they should (Thanks Google, lots of good info out there on adjusting 20 year old Shimano derailer's and shifters). After I was done, I went for a test ride. It all worked, just not well. The shifting was super clunky and hesitant, and I was getting what felt like the chain was skipping off the rear cassette (I learned that word on the inter web. Thanks again, Google). I couldn't get in all of the gears, no matter how much adjusting I did. Basically, if I was on the smallest gear on the rear cassette, I the front one wouldn't shift to the far left. If I was on the large gear in back, the front wouldn't go all the way to the right, big, gear on the front.On closer inspection, I found several links of the chain were stuck and not rotating as they should. More solvent and lube. After trying and trying, it became clear that no amount of oil was going to loosen them up. So I came here and found this chain, and threw in the recommended chain tool. 36 hours later, Prime did it's thing, and my new chain and tool arrived.Back to Google to learn how to remove links, and get the chain the right length. The included quick link connector threw me off a bit, as it essentially adds a link back in, after you size the chain. As other reviewers stated, it takes some elbow grease to push the pins out, but nothing too crazy. The tool Amazon recommended worked perfectly. I even used it to push the pin back into the links I removed, and it did the job just fine.Once the chain was on, I took another test ride. All I can say is WOW!!! The old Raleigh feels like a completely different bicycle! Smooth, noise free shifting, and it rides so much smother. There is less effort required to pedal now as well. The gear skipping thing is 100% gone, and I can silently snick into each and every gear, every time I hit the shifter. I was actually a little surprised how big a difference this chain made. It's like a completely different bicycle now. Really, it's that good, and made that big of a difference!!!One side note. I didn't degrease and re-oil the chain as some other reviewers suggested. The oil, lube or whatever it was shipped with seemed about right. It's not super saturated in the stuff, and seems to be a pretty good lube. As the magic link thingy is easy to remove and is reusable, I'll wait until it needs a cleaning, and do it then...

I'm not a bicycle enthusiast, but have always done my own maintenance on the bikes I've owned over the years. Because of this, I have replaced a few chains and always thought a chain is a chain. This time was different as this X8.99 was an immediate, noticeable improvement to the 2003 bicycle.At this point, some of you might be thinking what I would be, after reading the above, "Duh, you replaced an 18 year old chain with a new one, what did you expect?"Yeah, I replaced an 18 year old chain. But I've had the bike since new and it saw maybe 100 easy street miles before being parked in a shed in the Northeast from around 2007 until I pulled it out a few months ago.The first photo shows the condition of the stock freewheel, Acera rear derailleur and Z chain. All had been cleaned, lubed , adjusted and were operating smoother than when I recieved the bike in 2004. At this point the only change to the original drive train, was the addition of Microshift grip shifters.The second photo shows the new X8.99 chain and new Altus front derailleur installed. Please know I rode the bike with the old chain and the new Altus derailleur.When I swapped chains, the first thing I noticed was that drive train was smoother and quieter than it had been with the original Z chain. The second thing I noticed was the shifting was quicker and pretty much silent. On my first test ride, the up-shifts between some of the cogs was so smooth, on flat pavement, that I had to look down to make sure the chain had actually changed cogs.For me, this chain was an unexpected upgrade to this bicycle.The chain arrives, in a plastic box with a "missing link" and instructions in multiple languages how to install the "missing link". While there is a tool for installation/removal of "missing links", you will not need one to do the initial installation. The chain is lubricated and you can easily assemble the "missing link" with your fingers.You will need a chain tool (chain breaker/rivet tool) and your old chain (so don't toss it out) to size your new chain. Get a good tool with a handle for leverage. I had a cheap tool I picked up 20 years ago or so that worked well on the older chains, but the handle broke with the amount of leverage I needed to push the rivet out of this chain. I'm guessing that may have something to do with the "mushroom head" rivets this chain has.Ride safe.

I didn't appreciate the quality of these until I tried a cheaper wonky brand (which was noisy and broke). These are well made and don't normally make any noise.

Item received as described. Very happy with it. Good quality and looks great. Packaged very securely. Would recommend and buy again.

Excelente producto, buen material, buen resultado.

Good quality

Prompt delivery. Item received as described.

After 13000 km (8000 miles) using this chain on an inside trainer the chain is only stretched by 0.45%.Yes, indoor conditions are ideal (no sand, no rain) but I average 150 watts and as a sprinter often go up to 1000 watts so I feel like the chain still gets a workout. This is my second 8 speed KMC X8 chain (see picture of old vs new, only 1/2 link stretch over 110 links). Shifting is excellent with this chain. I will definitively buy again and would give 6 starts if I could.Ohter info: I like to change chain when I get to 0.5% stretch to save my cassette. I can start to feel grinding at high power around 0.5%. I also mainly lubricated this chain with a general purpouse chain spray from WD-40. I will continue with this combination.