Rust free/resistant chains

[freeflow]

Further to my comment above here's a photo of the KMC E1 chain currently on my bike. This chain has covered about 1300 km and hasn't been cleaned since the last ride I did two days ago (on very wet roads). We are not important enough to have the roads salted around where I live.

[Stevek76]

If roads are salted and spray is getting to the chain I'm not sure there's much that can be done. As others have said, a fully rust resistant chain does not exist so it does rather come down to what you put on it. Regarding that, as someone who has used a few things and prefers wax, a thick winter oil lube is better at rust prevention, largely because you can leave it coating the entire chain as a protective barrier. Wax, precisely because of the way it keeps a chain clean, also exposes that chain to the outside elements.

The flip side of a thick oil lube coating the entire chain is of course that you will simply get a filthy chain potentially bathed in an oily grinding paste.

The only real options are ether belt drive or hub gears & a full chain case. If you need to use derailleur gears and don't have the time nor inclination to keep the chain clean & dry then it's really either clean & a bit rusty or dirty. If there were a way of having a clean & rust resistant chain with minimal effort I think we'd all be doing it

[MikeDee]

Wipperman has a stainless steel chain, but only the inner link is stainless and if you read the product description on the Wipperman website, it's for wear rather than corrosion resistance.

Various chains are plated or coated, and should provide some corrosion resistance for a time, but as I previously said, the plating/coating wears off in the parts of the chain that rub against each other.

[RecumbentRide]

Further to my comment above here's a photo of the KMC E1 chain currently on my bike. This chain has covered about 1300 km and hasn't been cleaned since the last ride I did two days ago (on very wet roads). We are not important enough to have the roads salted around where I live.

IMG_20210124_133711 (Small).jpg

I don't see a spec of rust on that and methinks on a normal chain it would be rusting by now. The KMC model I've been after has the additional coating so I reckon I'd fare better than you. More than likely I'm going to give this a go and will happily report back.

I appreciate what everyone is saying but if you haven't tried this model of chain or recent anti-rust chains then you can say all you like about coatings until you've tried it you don't know do you? For me it's definitely worth trying and if it doesn't work out you'll be the first to know.

[freeflow]

The KMC E1 chain has the EPC coating.

[PH]

The KMC E1 chain has the EPC coating.

EDITED - Just to avoid any confusion, the E1 also comes in several finishes other than the EPT


https://www.kmcchain.com/en/product/e-b ... ngle-speed

[PH]

I appreciate what everyone is saying but if you haven't tried this model of chain or recent anti-rust chains then you can say all you like about coatings until you've tried it you don't know do you? For me it's definitely worth trying and if it doesn't work out you'll be the first to know.

I think it goes even further than that, I know you wanted responders here and elsewhere to stick to your question, but as Brucey has said the chain and it's treatment can't be taken in isolation. The only response that will be really useful to you will be from someone who has used such a chain and your choice of treatment.
I used the cheap KMC rustproof 9 speed chain some years ago (Z??) when commuting on a derailleur bike, it never had any rust, though neither did the none rustproof one I used after it. As I didn't use wax on either of them, that experience is on no value to you, sorry.

[hamish]

In an open public forum I am not sure an OP can always expect every reply to answer the exact to the question and then grumble in an attempt to eliminate all noise and subject creep in the answers.

We post questions to elicit answers that benefit others as well as ourselves and to stimulate discussion.

[NickJP]

YBN make what they say is a Ti chain, but whether that's just the side-plates or the pins and rollers as well, I don't know, and they are ridiculously expensive. Plus if they actually are all Ti, wear would be considerably more rapid than with a steel chain.

[bgnukem]

At this time of year, wet salt will corrode pretty much any material that might be used to make a chain. If a chain was made entirely of a titanium- or nickel-base alloy, or perhaps a high chromium (22%-plus duplex grade) stainless steel, then corrosion might be resisted but the cost would be sky high and the material might not be hard / wear-resistant enough for the application.

Corrosion-resistant coatings will inevitably wear off inside the links, when subjected to abrasive road grit and when the links are penetrated by salty water they will corrode.

At the moment, after any wet commute/ride, I dry my chain thoroughly with kitchen towel and re-oil with wet lube and even then some corrosion is occurring overnight. Once a week I'm immersion cleaning the chain to remove any mud/grit and also the iron oxide itself, which is also a very effective abrasive.

I just can't see a shortcut to avoiding chain care unless the bike has a hub gear and can use a drive belt or full chain case.

[RecumbentRide]

The KMC E1 chain has the EPC coating.

Not on the page I'm looking at KMC E1, no mention of an EPT coating at all. Though it may have a EcoProTeQ / EPT coating according to vendors who sell your chain model. Maybe KMC forgot to mention it

[freeflow]

As age creeps on the cooperation between eyes, fingers and brain is growing ever more tenuous. Thanks for your correction.

[PH]

The KMC E1 chain has the EPC coating.

Not on the page I'm looking at KMC E1, no mention of an EPT coating at all. Though it may have a EcoProTeQ / EPT coating according to vendors who sell your chain model. Maybe KMC forgot to mention it

Try that link again, it's the same one I posted above, it shows four finishes, the one on the right is EPT

[freeflow]

I may not be the only one with issues EPC/EPT etc

[The utility cyclist]

YABAN make a high end titanium chain which has chromium carbide coated pins and chromium molybdenum alloy plates so should be extremely resistant to corrosion, it comes in 11 speed that I know of and works with Campagnolo and Shimano drivetrains AFAIK.