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Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 9 Mar 2018, 9:28pm
by mercalia
Sweep wrote:Don't suppose you have a list of chain link marks brucey?

Any idea what a Z signifies? Saw on a no name chain the other day, not in wilko.

Excuse my ignorance, but I don't get around much with chains, have remained faithful to SRAM for years.


why change now since 8 speed SRAM ones are not expensive - I dont want to remind you of the Halfords thing :wink:

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 10 Mar 2018, 7:59am
by Marcus Aurelius
The move to 11 speed, being the ‘gold standard’ did seem to bring the price of fatter chains down. That’s fine by me, all but one of my bikes are between 8 and 10 speed.

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 10 Mar 2018, 2:19pm
by PH
Not made it as far as the Derby Wilkos (Yet) shame as my folder is in need of a new one and the failure mode on that is more likely to be neglect than wear.

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 10 Mar 2018, 6:57pm
by whoof
I went to my local Wilko's this morning. No chains at any price and all their other bike stuff usual prices so must only be available in certain stores.

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 10 Mar 2018, 7:08pm
by Sweep
Thanks whoof.

Odd that they had no chains at all.

I should stress that in the london one I saw them in, they were not marked as a discount, just the normal pric8ng marker.

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 10 Mar 2018, 7:37pm
by Cyril Haearn
whoof wrote:I went to my local Wilko's this morning. No chains at any price and all their other bike stuff usual prices so must only be available in certain stores.

It is a bit like the offers at Aldi + co but not so organised and regular
I would have another look next week

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 19 Mar 2018, 9:08pm
by Sweep
Popped in again on sunday - it was the one in penge, south london.
No longer there. It was as if they had never existed - no shelf price markers remained, in fact no chains at all which was very odd.
Never did find out what they were. May have missed a mega bargain of supplies that would have lasted a decade. Or could have saved my drive chains. Will never know. My affair with sram continues.
And I must get round to giving away on here or to a charity shop mercalia"s hot chain tip stock.

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 19 Mar 2018, 10:56pm
by mercalia
Sweep wrote:Popped in again on sunday - it was the one in penge, south london.
No longer there. It was as if they had never existed - no shelf price markers remained, in fact no chains at all which was very odd.
Never did find out what they were. May have missed a mega bargain of supplies that would have lasted a decade. Or could have saved my drive chains. Will never know. My affair with sram continues.
And I must get round to giving away on here or to a charity shop mercalia"s hot chain tip stock.

well seems to me Sweep you nearly did-a-Mercalia yourself, lucky you they vanished. :wink:

by the way it seems there is a market ( or so some one thinks ) for used ( vintage) chains :shock: --

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-vintage-Fahrrad-Ketten-Jiangsu-China/372251809320?hash=item56abefd628:g:79cAAOSwOy1arl9J

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 20 Mar 2018, 7:28pm
by Pneumant
Good old Wilko. I actually popped in for a packet of Jakemans Peppermint Mints & a can of pop last Thursday & came across these hidden bargains following my usual perusal of the bike stuff. Too good to pass over so I purchased four of the 1-3 speed chains priced at 50p each :shock: . They are stamped 'Taya' & are supplied with a split link. Quality looks basic but probably OK for the fixed. I also picked up one 5-8 speed chain for my commuter bike & that was 62p :D. Again this is a no frills chain - forgot to check the make prior to stashing in the attic. There were maybe a couple of each remaining on the shelves in my miles away from London provincial midlands branch. Imagine they are all gone now!

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 21 Mar 2018, 3:32pm
by colin54
I went in the Skelmersdale Branch today, I thought I'll have a look in the bike section because of this thread, nothing to

see there, however on the reduced shelf there were 3 basic quality rack top bags for 70p each ,a set of wellgo plastic toe


clips for 20p (c/w straps and reflectors) and a Schwalbe 700c schraeder valved tube for 20p.

I bought the clips for the toe straps which are always handy and one of the rack bags for my brother's bike.

It almost made up for the vast amount I spent on wild bird seed.

P1090564 (640x435).jpg


90p!

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 28 Mar 2018, 5:44pm
by rjb
Picked up 2 taya 5-8 speed chains in wilco's today for 50p each. :wink:

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 28 Mar 2018, 6:25pm
by Sweep
rjb wrote:Picked up 2 taya 5-8 speed chains in wilco's today for 50p each. :wink:

Any views on their quality?

Re: Cheap as chains? Or too cheap?

Posted: 28 Mar 2018, 7:59pm
by BigG
I paid about £4.00 each for my TAYA chains including postage (purchased three at one time at £2.95 ea. plus postage). These and their predecessors have always served me well although I prefer (and normally use) the KMC links. Mine are 7/8 speed versions (TA 50 or 51 IIRC). Whether the Wilco ones are the same is hard to know. I have asked a couple of times on this website whether any one has had any quality problems with TAYA chains, but have never had any reported.