Shimano IG chains real or fake?

[RadNomad]

I need a new 7/8 speed Shimano IG chain. On ebay IG51 chains are offered from 5 pounds to over 30 pounds for one chain. The wildly fluctuating price offers and sellers who's sources are unknown and who in some cases cannot even type proper English and who's business address is a hotmail account frankly does not fill me with confidence. Call me old fashioned but i'd prefer to buy from a reputable authorized Shimano retailer, where one can enjoy a certain confidence that the items are legit.

Can anyone please recommend a reputable retailer which sources direct from Shimano and stocks IG chains. It needs to be online or mail order delivery as i need the item posted to a UK address. Thanks!

Before suggesting nobody would fake a bicycle chain... the Chinese in particular make counterfeits of pretty much anything and all the way down the value chain (pun!) - even low cost items like synthetic fake eggs and black pepper made from mud. I just want to avoid unwittingly buying junk.

 

[Gaddmeister]

Re:

Bought my hg51's of fleabay with no issues came in Shimano packaging for £7. Remember Shimano supply the planet, so may well be cheaper from certain sources. If concerned look at the feedback?

 

[RadNomad]

Re:

I reckon IG chains on ebay are fake. Here's why:
Red flags:
- Shimano no longer shows IG chains on their official website. Only HG for 6/7/8 speed.
- From what i can find, no official bike shops or branded suppliers are stocking IG. Ebay sellers supplying IG almost always trace to a Chinese source / business / name. Yes Shimano themselves might/might've made them in China but why only mysterious companies with hotmail addresses are selling IG?
- Ebay IGs are half the price of genuine Shimano HGs.
- Ebay IGs have different packaging style to the current corporate identity of Shimano.
- I bought and fitted an IG from ebay a while ago but it wore much faster than the HG on my other bike (7 speed LavaDome IG, 8 speed CinderCone HG. Both with good cassettes and rings - very comparable bikes).

They are fake surely? If we are to believe they are 'old stock', one must wonder how they just keep coming year after year and at such bargain basement pricing. It seems that nobody cares because Shimano has likely discontinued them, they are a low cost item and buyers are clueless anyway.

So what to do if you have an IG chainset, want to keep it and want to avoid fake shite? I guess the best solution will be to fit a genuine Shimano HG chain and live with whatever front shifting quality it gives.

 

[legrandefromage]

The ones I've had have been perfectly ok and up to the job so havent really given it much more thought.

 

[M-Power]

Re:

Imo anything to do with drivetrain is not worth risking your life for to save a few quid. If you ride on the road, even for a short section and are being followed by fast moving traffic and your drive train seizes up or you loose a snapped chain suddenly....

 

[legrandefromage]

That could be said about anything, chains rarely snap, even nasty Wilkinsons £7 chains never snapped and they were really bad.

 

[M-Power]

Re:

Theres a lot of cheap sub standard stuff coming out of you know where these days. Ultimately, you pays yer money....

I put cheap no name tyres on my first car many years ago and nearly checked out when one 'new tyre' turned into an egg on the motorway then exploded. Theres less risky ways to save a few quid.