Interpreting the world of chains....

[lorenzo]

I'm just getting knee deep in a revamp of my '84 raleigh record ace, and it's only right and fair that she gets a nice new chain. It's got a 6 speed cassette on there, is there any problems to look out for when buying a chain? Is there an weight benefit to fitting a chain designed for a 9 or 10 speed bike due to their thin-ness, or would I just be asking for trouble? And can I do that anyway? Am I right in saying that so long as I don't put a chain designed for a 5 speed cassette I'll be OK? Any suggestions for specific chains?

 

[nammonk]

You want a 6/7 speed 3/32" chain. Modern 9/10/11 are too narrow. Sedis or Regina were common (it probably had a Sedis on). Nigel at campyoldy.co.uk has Regina, but is worryingly out of action at the moment.

There are loads of competitively priced Shimano and KMC chains on ebay that will do the job if you're not bothered about being period correct (search on 6 speed chain).

Nick

 

[lorenzo]

Thanks for the advice. I had a look at the chain that was on there last night, it's a sachs, but there's no other info on there, other that it's french. I'll take a butchers at ebay, see what I can turn up.

 

[pigman]

its a 6/7/8 speed chain you want. The 9/10 might work, but why pay more for something that is weaker and more expensive.
sachs/sedis/maillard has now evolved into sram.

 

[nj_cisca]

I was running a SRAM PC850 with shimano 7 speed. Should be fine with 6 sp too. Worked very well and good value, you can get them for about £10 now.

 

[lorenzo]

Spot on, great info, thanks.

 

[bm0p700f]

KMC 7/8 speed chain about £9 they work well on 6 speed too, which ust agrees witht he above.