Unboxed KMC Chains On eBay

[RollWithIt]

They are also selling the excellent Sram 1031 Ten speed chain for £16.99

i’ll take a look at that, thanks! I can stomach £20 on a decent chain, but beyond that it’s getting a bit much as I tend to purchase three chains and rotate their usage.

I contacted a couple of the local bike shops, as recommended by KMC themselves, and whilst I couldn’t obtain the chain I wanted locally, both shops stated you can mix and match chains and cassettes, which I didn’t realise. This now opens-up other possibilities, allowing me to purchase from online companies that I have used many times in the past.

[Jules59]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350740161749

£15.99 been buying chains from them for years.

Many thanks. Best price (inc delivery) on KMC X11 that I've seen.

[walter_neff]

Decathlon's own brand 11 speed chain is a reboxed KMC, presumably the cheapest one given that it's £14.99 for 118 links. The other speeds may also be KMC but can't confirm as I've only used the 11.

[Sweep]

Decathlon's own brand 11 speed chain is a reboxed KMC, presumably the cheapest one given that it's £14.99 for 118 links. The other speeds may also be KMC but can't confirm as I've only used the 11.

The "3 to 8 speed" chain here:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/3-to-8-sp ... mc=8640930

is described as:

"designed in collaboration with KMC"

which i take to mean that it's a KMC.

Same phrase used for the 9 speed chain:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/9-speed-b ... mc=8640929

[Slowtwitch]

Decathlon's own brand 11 speed chain is a reboxed KMC, presumably the cheapest one given that it's £14.99 for 118 links. The other speeds may also be KMC but can't confirm as I've only used the 11.

The "3 to 8 speed" chain here:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/3-to-8-sp ... mc=8640930

is described as:

"designed in collaboration with KMC"

which i take to mean that it's a KMC.

Same phrase used for the 9 speed chain:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/9-speed-b ... mc=8640929

Designed in collaboration probably means they designed the cardboard box together!

[walter_neff]

The Decathlon boxed 11s that I use has KMC stamped on the link plates

[AndyK]

Doesn't mean it's fake just because of lack of retail packaging.

Yes, we all agonize about that 2% probability that it might be genuine.

With bike parts it's much less clear cut than that, there are loads of genuine grey goods without retail packaging on the market, and as had been said chain comes cheaper on workshop rolls as well. It's quite feasible that a business will get better profit selling it straight of the roll.

This is true. Having a few trade accounts, I can order genuine KMC chains from reputable distributors either in retail boxes, loose (normally in a plastic bag) or on a 50 metre reel. The bagged chains and the reel are intended for workshop use only, not for resale separately, but most distributors won't stop a retailer reselling them. Some distributors do have conditions preventing selling products on eBay, though.

If I were to cut a 50m reel of X11 chain into (say) 116-link lengths and sell them that way, I would save around 6% to 7% on the cost price of the equivalent number of boxed chains - savings which I could pass on to the customer. (Though if I were paying someone by the hour to do the cutting, that would eat into those savings.)

So yeah, be wary of too-good-to-be-true prices, but prices that save you a pound or two on the boxed version may be for the genuine article. As ever, look into the seller and see whether they're an established business.

[CliveyT]

[
If I were to cut a 50m reel of X11 chain into (say) 116-link lengths and sell them that way, I would save around 6% to 7% on the cost price of the equivalent number of boxed chains

Sounds quite tempting, I'm accumulating quite a heap of 1/8"" sections from trimming chains down for the singlespeed. Eventually I'll be able to stitch them together and get a 'free' chain, but a reel would solve all the problem. Problem is 50m would outlast my singlespeed days by some time. Anyone want to share?

[cyclop]

Just seen boxed kmc x9 at Merlin Cycles......£10-50!

[gregoryoftours]

Just seen boxed kmc x9 at Merlin Cycles......£10-50!

That's only for 108 links unfortunately. Really good if that's long enough though, and their bog standard x9 are £12 which isn't too bad.

[2_i]

Yes, we all agonize about that 2% probability that it might be genuine.

This is true. Having a few trade accounts, I can order genuine KMC chains from reputable distributors either in retail boxes, loose (normally in a plastic bag) or on a 50 metre reel. The bagged chains and the reel are intended for workshop use only, not for resale separately, but most distributors won't stop a retailer reselling them. Some distributors do have conditions preventing selling products on eBay, though.

If I were to cut a 50m reel of X11 chain into (say) 116-link lengths and sell them that way, I would save around 6% to 7% on the cost price of the equivalent number of boxed chains - savings which I could pass on to the customer. (Though if I were paying someone by the hour to do the cutting, that would eat into those savings.)

So yeah, be wary of too-good-to-be-true prices, but prices that save you a pound or two on the boxed version may be for the genuine article. As ever, look into the seller and see whether they're an established business.

So for an attractive price of KMC chains, a seller of the genuine ones would be making 5% profit and of the fake 50%+. Guess which chains are going to dominate the market and by what factor. Yes, I think that the 2% chance of the genuine one from a random seller is a reasonable estimate. The seller of the fake one can then still lower the price by £1 and retain a handsome profit. I am baffled by this discussion even taking place. Yes the optimal saving money decision is to pay a more and get a boxed chain that is for sure genuine. This is about the chain and even the fake chain will have you riding fine at least for a while. i am more worried about the decisions that people make in other areas when they exhibit such decision making skills with the chain.

[gregoryoftours]

If you do a few checks before you buy, and buy from a reputable or established seller, eBay or not, the chance that you'll get a fake is relatively low. Fake components are also generally easy to spot once in hand. I've bought many genuine grey goods from reputable sellers, eg most recently a set of Deore xt v-brakes from SJS cycles eBay store at a good price. Genuine grey unboxed goods.

It's common in the bike industry because many components get bought by bike manufacturers to build their bikes but for whatever reason, the product line changes or the bike model doesn't sell well, the unboxed or 'grey' components get sold separately. The 'grey' in this case has nothing to do with ethically grey or dodgy. Same goes for chains.

Maybe a high chance of getting a fake if you buy from 'any old random' seller, but that's not what most people are discussing here. Most people would do a little research and wouldn't decide based on price alone.

[Slowtwitch]

The decathlon chains are definitely the real KMC deal, I just bought a 10spd version today and virtually identical to the one I had previously.