KMC X8 8-Speed Silver X-Series High-Performance Bicycle Chain

Okay, first off I'm not an avid bicyclist. I know very little about bikes, other than what I remember when I was scabbing up my knees as a kid. Recently, a friend gave me a Raleigh 21 speed mountain (I think. It has knobby tires, but no suspension. Low gear, is very, very low) bike. It's old, maybe 20 years or so. It wouldn't shift at all, the derailer's, chain and shifting mechanisms were all gummed up and stuck. Using some solvent and light oil, I got everything moving, and functioning as they should (Thanks Google, lots of good info out there on adjusting 20 year old Shimano derailer's and shifters). After I was done, I went for a test ride. It all worked, just not well. The shifting was super clunky and hesitant, and I was getting what felt like the chain was skipping off the rear cassette (I learned that word on the inter web. Thanks again, Google). I couldn't get in all of the gears, no matter how much adjusting I did. Basically, if I was on the smallest gear on the rear cassette, I the front one wouldn't shift to the far left. If I was on the large gear in back, the front wouldn't go all the way to the right, big, gear on the front. On closer inspection, I found several links of the chain were stuck and not rotating as they should. More solvent and lube. After trying and trying, it became clear that no amount of oil was going to loosen them up. So I came here and found this chain, and threw in the recommended chain tool. 36 hours later, Prime did it's thing, and my new chain and tool arrived. Back to Google to learn how to remove links, and get the chain the right length. The included quick link connector threw me off a bit, as it essentially adds a link back in, after you size the chain. As other reviewers stated, it takes some elbow grease to push the pins out, but nothing too crazy. The tool Amazon recommended worked perfectly. I even used it to push the pin back into the links I removed, and it did the job just fine. Once the chain was on, I took another test ride. All I can say is WOW!!! The old Raleigh feels like a completely different bicycle! Smooth, noise free shifting, and it rides so much smother. There is less effort required to pedal now as well. The gear skipping thing is 100% gone, and I can silently snick into each and every gear, every time I hit the shifter. I was actually a little surprised how big a difference this chain made. It's like a completely different bicycle now. Really, it's that good, and made that big of a difference!!! One side note. I didn't degrease and re-oil the chain as some other reviewers suggested. The oil, lube or whatever it was shipped with seemed about right. It's not super saturated in the stuff, and seems to be a pretty good lube. As the magic link thingy is easy to remove and is reusable, I'll wait until it needs a cleaning, and do it then...

I purchased this to replace a really old and original chain on my Schwinn 24 speed mountain bike. I purchased the KMC X8.99/X8 Bicycle Chain and not only does it look great, it seems to be of better quality than my original. It comes with everything you need, including instructions and a missing link link. Once I had everything measured and popped the pin out, everything from there was pretty straightforward. Got the chain back on, and using the missing link, (which my original did not have) it makes it very easy to connect the chain together, and be on your way. I ended up using a different missing link only because of the color, but the one that comes with with the chain seems of better quality than the one I used. (this is just a recreational bike) The missing link link that comes with it is the same nice silver color as the chain. The chain overall came nicely lubricated, good packaging and fit perfectly after sizing it correctly. My old chain was very old and with this new chain my bike feels different when pedaling. Everything works. Shifting is smooth, no skips or jumps and very quiet. I have already ridden 30 miles on it and am happy I changed it. The chain just overall seems high quality and much nicer than my old chain even when new. Most importantly the compatibility, and fit is perfect on my bicycle. The size and links of the chain match up with my original.

Utilized this chain when installing a Bafang E-Bike mid-drive kit on a Trek Dual Sport bicycle. Smooth shifting. Would recommend.

Great chain. ultra quick shipping!!

This is a much better chain than the KMC that comes on the Lectric 2.0 The missing link was a hassle. I did try a link tool but the link kept falling off before I could lock it in place. Finally after I got the link in place just stepped hard on the bike pedal, which of course pulled the chain in the proper direction and voila, installed. Runs very smoothly and quietly. Odd thing, the stock Lectric chain is longer by about 2 links, attaching the masterlink makes that short by 1 link. Installed anyway, no problems. I will edit this if there are any. Knocked 1 start off for the PIA Masterlink.

This was an easy replacement for my existing Shimano chain for my 8 speed bicycle (Gary Fisher Zebrano). The appearance of this chain is impressive. The build quality is exceptional. This is a very quiet chain and it navigates the various gears on my bicycle with ease. Since I purchased this chain it has doubled in price (I can see why). I've only put a few hundred miles on it so far, I'm curious to see how well it wears. So far so good. The chain cleans up easily and like I previously stated, it is impressive in appearance. The missing link was an easy install. I installed it without removing any links and thought I would need to remove one but a couple twists of my rear derailleur's barrel adjuster did the trick. If they do or even if they don't drop back down in price, I'm going to buy a few more to keep on hand. This so far appears to be a great looking chain that is very well made and easy to install.

I'm not a bicycle enthusiast, but have always done my own maintenance on the bikes I've owned over the years. Because of this, I have replaced a few chains and always thought a chain is a chain. This time was different as this X8.99 was an immediate, noticeable improvement to the 2003 bicycle. At this point, some of you might be thinking what I would be, after reading the above, "Duh, you replaced an 18 year old chain with a new one, what did you expect?" Yeah, I replaced an 18 year old chain. But I've had the bike since new and it saw maybe 100 easy street miles before being parked in a shed in the Northeast from around 2007 until I pulled it out a few months ago. The first photo shows the condition of the stock freewheel, Acera rear derailleur and Z chain. All had been cleaned, lubed , adjusted and were operating smoother than when I recieved the bike in 2004. At this point the only change to the original drive train, was the addition of Microshift grip shifters. The second photo shows the new X8.99 chain and new Altus front derailleur installed. Please know I rode the bike with the old chain and the new Altus derailleur. When I swapped chains, the first thing I noticed was that drive train was smoother and quieter than it had been with the original Z chain. The second thing I noticed was the shifting was quicker and pretty much silent. On my first test ride, the up-shifts between some of the cogs was so smooth, on flat pavement, that I had to look down to make sure the chain had actually changed cogs. For me, this chain was an unexpected upgrade to this bicycle. The chain arrives, in a plastic box with a "missing link" and instructions in multiple languages how to install the "missing link". While there is a tool for installation/removal of "missing links", you will not need one to do the initial installation. The chain is lubricated and you can easily assemble the "missing link" with your fingers. You will need a chain tool (chain breaker/rivet tool) and your old chain (so don't toss it out) to size your new chain. Get a good tool with a handle for leverage. I had a cheap tool I picked up 20 years ago or so that worked well on the older chains, but the handle broke with the amount of leverage I needed to push the rivet out of this chain. I'm guessing that may have something to do with the "mushroom head" rivets this chain has. Ride safe.

This is a chain for bicycles which have 7- or 8-speed rear cassettes / freewheels. After way too much research and upon the recommendation of two local bike shop mechanics, I decided to try a KMC chain rather than buy yet another expensive OEM Shimano or SRAM chain. This KMC chain turned out to be clearly superior to the OEM chains they replaced, and not just because the old chains were shot (e.g., stretched). - I was a bit skeptical that the X.99 would live up to KMC's claims about its anti-stretch, smoother-shifting, lower noise, etc. technology, but so far I cannot dispute any their claims. Shifting is NOTICEABLY smoother and quieter than before on both bikes on which the X.99 has been installed. The old sprocket hunting on the rear clusters has disappeared, and the shifts from chainring to chainring snap in place immediately rather than take a couple of spins before the chain seats. If I had known that shifting could be so smooth and precise I would have bought new chains long ago. - These chains come with a "Missing Link" link, meaning the chain can be "broken" without having to use a chain breaking tool ... this makes removing the chain from the bike very easy. I can recommend the X.99 chain without hesitation.

After 13000 km (8000 miles) using this chain on an inside trainer the chain is only stretched by 0.45%. Yes, indoor conditions are ideal (no sand, no rain) but I average 150 watts and as a sprinter often go up to 1000 watts so I feel like the chain still gets a workout. This is my second 8 speed KMC X8 chain (see picture of old vs new, only 1/2 link stretch over 110 links). Shifting is excellent with this chain. I will definitively buy again and would give 6 starts if I could. Ohter info: I like to change chain when I get to 0.5% stretch to save my cassette. I can start to feel grinding at high power around 0.5%. I also mainly lubricated this chain with a general purpouse chain spray from WD-40. I will continue with this combination.

Item received as described. Very happy with it. Good quality and looks great. Packaged very securely. Would recommend and buy again.

Excelente producto, buen material, buen resultado.

Good quality

Prompt delivery. Item received as described.