Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
fastpedaller
Posts: 3435
Joined: 10 Jul 2014, 1:12pm
Location: Norfolk

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by fastpedaller »

niggle wrote:Meanwhile the KMC 8 speed X8.99 full nickel plate job on my tourer is still within the 1/16th" over 12 links wear limit at around 6000 miles of fairly mixed use and continues to shift just fine, the Campag C9 on my Genesis Equilibrium is not showing any measurable wear at about 4000 miles of on road use and the KMC brand grey finish bushed 1/8th" single speed chain on my Nexus hub gear bike has done about 8000 miles of very mixed dirty/gritty off and on road conditions with minimal maintenance and although somewhat elongated still functions.


What's your chain cleaning procedure? I get nowhere near than mileage with Shimano, and I try mild cleaning or not, and neither seems and different (although both are better than thorough cleaning with an in-situ chain cleaner)
niggle
Posts: 3435
Joined: 11 Mar 2009, 10:29pm
Location: Cornwall, near England

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by niggle »

fastpedaller wrote:
niggle wrote:Meanwhile the KMC 8 speed X8.99 full nickel plate job on my tourer is still within the 1/16th" over 12 links wear limit at around 6000 miles of fairly mixed use and continues to shift just fine, the Campag C9 on my Genesis Equilibrium is not showing any measurable wear at about 4000 miles of on road use and the KMC brand grey finish bushed 1/8th" single speed chain on my Nexus hub gear bike has done about 8000 miles of very mixed dirty/gritty off and on road conditions with minimal maintenance and although somewhat elongated still functions.


What's your chain cleaning procedure? I get nowhere near than mileage with Shimano, and I try mild cleaning or not, and neither seems and different (although both are better than thorough cleaning with an in-situ chain cleaner)

I clean all chains by removing and cleaning with toothbrush in a bath of kerosene then rinse thoroughly with agitation in white spirit, wipe off with clean rag and hang up to dry (needs 24 hours in cold garage in winter).

Genesis Equilibrium: dry lube in summer before each ride, wet lube in winter, cleaned after any rainy rides, or once a month during dry weather.

Touring bike: wet lube, clean once a month, re-lube in between if looking dry.

Hub gear commuter: clean chain about twice a year, apply plenty of lube whenever looking dry, wiping off any major crud first.

Lubes I usually use:
Halfords Bikehut Dry Lubricant with Teflon: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/tools-m ... lube-125ml
Halfords Bikehut Wet Synthetic Bike Lube: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/tools-m ... lube-125ml
youngteam
Posts: 25
Joined: 16 Mar 2013, 12:57pm

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by youngteam »

I bought one of the Clarks anti rust chains from Halfords last winter and it was probably the worst chain I've ever used. I'm not exactly kind to chains, but this one only lasted less than a month of winter commutes (20 miles a day, 5 days a week) whereas the SRAM and KMC chains I normally use easily last 6 months+.
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by mercalia »

youngteam wrote:I bought one of the Clarks anti rust chains from Halfords last winter and it was probably the worst chain I've ever used. I'm not exactly kind to chains, but this one only lasted less than a month of winter commutes (20 miles a day, 5 days a week) whereas the SRAM and KMC chains I normally use easily last 6 months+.



shame you didnt post some time ago to stop some people here wasting their money.
youngteam
Posts: 25
Joined: 16 Mar 2013, 12:57pm

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by youngteam »

Indeed. I will admonish myself accordingly.
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8443
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by Sweep »

I can help you.

And the two clarks chains will have found a use. ;)
Sweep
AndyA
Posts: 526
Joined: 21 Mar 2009, 9:16pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by AndyA »

I fitted a Bell brand chain bought for £4 from Asda on my daughter's 8-speed hybrid a couple of years ago. It is fine but then it has probably only done a couple of hundred miles in all that time....

Meanwhile the KMC 8 speed X8.99 full nickel plate job on my tourer is still within the 1/16th" over 12 links wear limit at around 6000 miles of fairly mixed use and continues to shift just fine, the Campag C9 on my Genesis Equilibrium is not showing any measurable wear at about 4000 miles of on road use and the KMC brand grey finish bushed 1/8th" single speed chain on my Nexus hub gear bike has done about 8000 miles of very mixed dirty/gritty off and on road conditions with minimal maintenance and although somewhat elongated still functions.[/quote]

I've got a KMC 8.99 on my touring tandem, 3000 miles and approx 0.5% stretch. No proper off the bike cleaning either, lots of fairly rough use including a 2200 mile trip from Athens to Edinburgh. It's kind of incredible
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by mercalia »

Well this a a very sad sad day? Re the cheapo Clarks 8 speed chain after 230 miles ONLY now measures .75+ using my Parks CC2 tool and getting towards the edge of the pin using a 12" ruler lining up the 0 at the centre of a pin. So on its way out.Nearly done. Compared to the Sram PC41 chain I took off at 1635 miles ( 2600 km) which is no way near the edge of the pin. AND I dont ride in the wet and I dont have enough strength to break a rice pudding skin. So it has had a good easy life and well lubed with my standard chain saw oil.

SO my conclusion on these Clarks chains - ------------------. expletive deleted. Glad I only got 2. No wonder they are cheap. :lol: :evil: :evil: :evil: :lol: We need a thumbs down and up icons?
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by mjr »

I wonder if Clarks or Halfords will use quotes from this forum in their advertising? There's some choice ones: "probably the worst chain I've ever used", "expletive deleted. Glad I only got 2. No wonder they are cheap" and my earlier "After two weeks, I decided to replace the chain with a KMC" :lol:
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8443
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by Sweep »

Very sporting, and daring, of you to report back, after you tempted me into buying some.
Anyone got any ideas on alternative uses for them?
Sweep
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by mercalia »

Sweep wrote:Very sporting, and daring, of you to report back, after you tempted me into buying some.
Anyone got any ideas on alternative uses for them?

'
thankyour lucky stars you didnt get the lot u originally ordered. I may just put the one I have left on the wall outside my home ( in its box as new ) see if some one takes it. probably some one will. any thing not bolted down vanishes here. 250 miles on a kids bike is a lot of miles?
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by pete75 »

Anyone else tried the relatively low priced Selcof chains from Planet X. Have just fitted a 9 speed and it seems as good as any other so far though only miles will tell. They come with both a quick link and a Shimano style joining pin so there's a choice on how to fit. It also perhaps indicates the chains aren't built down to a price else why include two fitting methods. They are made in Taiwan though Selcof is an Italian brand.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
Brucey
Posts: 44521
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by Brucey »

I have hypothesised about this before but I wonder if out in Cornwall they use a lot less road salt than in other counties? Anywhere near the west coast there are far fewer frosty nights and in Cornwall this goes double. In addition whatever road salt there is could be washed away more quickly by the (fairly frequent) rainfall.

Certainly by contrast the worst chain wear where I live comes in the wintertime when there is road salt present. If the temperature dips to zero in the wee hours they go out and grit the roads anyway, even if there may only be a few places that will actually freeze hard. It has been recorded that some counties use excessive quantities of road salt in a typical winter. Most forms of chain lubricant are simply overwhelmed by road salt and anyone that goes through a winter without seeing 'brown-ness' (from rust) creeping out of their chain at some point is doing pretty well.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
niggle
Posts: 3435
Joined: 11 Mar 2009, 10:29pm
Location: Cornwall, near England

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by niggle »

Brucey wrote:I have hypothesised about this before but I wonder if out in Cornwall they use a lot less road salt than in other counties? Anywhere near the west coast there are far fewer frosty nights and in Cornwall this goes double. In addition whatever road salt there is could be washed away more quickly by the (fairly frequent) rainfall.

Certainly by contrast the worst chain wear where I live comes in the wintertime when there is road salt present. If the temperature dips to zero in the wee hours they go out and grit the roads anyway, even if there may only be a few places that will actually freeze hard. It has been recorded that some counties use excessive quantities of road salt in a typical winter. Most forms of chain lubricant are simply overwhelmed by road salt and anyone that goes through a winter without seeing 'brown-ness' (from rust) creeping out of their chain at some point is doing pretty well.

cheers

There certainly is less use of road salt in Cornwall, again this winter we have only had a handful of frosts so in general corrosion is less of a problem for all road vehicle parts*. I grew up in Suffolk and remember that the infrequent rain seemed to be caustic to bike parts back then, but not the chain so much as long as you kept it oiled with dad's car engine oil.

On the other hand the rain can be heavy enough down here to strip a chain of lube completely in a few miles, particularly when combined with the presence of a gritty slurry on the country lanes in some places around my local area, probably related to the mining history. This stuff can also cause issues with shifting due to getting in the under BB cable guide and best protection IME is a deep front mudflap. If you do not clean and re-lube a chain exposed to those conditions when you get home then it will start rusting internally and even seize, summer or winter, road salt or not.

*Unless you happen to live right on the coast e.g. in a fishing village where air full of sea spray can result in an ever present coating of concentrated saline solution which has a disastrous effect on all ferrous metal objects- it used to be common to see advanced perforating all over body shell corrosion on very late examples of vehicles kept in such places. Probably the worst environment for a bike chain that I have ever seen is the sandy shared use path along the top of the beach from Marazion to Penzance on a wet and windy day.
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Halfords Clarks 8 speed chains & other cheap chains

Post by Mick F »

We've had plenty frosts this winter and the roads are frequently salted. Probably more this winter than the last few.

Back in the 1980s when we lived in W Scotland, the roads were filthy almost 12months of the year. All it needed was a bit of rain (frequently!) and the roads were dirty and grimy again. Having been brought up in Wigan in the 1950s and 60s, the roads could be dirty there, but not a patch on what the roads were like in rural W Scotland. When they were dry, all was well, but as soon as they were damp, they were dirty and grimy.

Down here, the roads are clean even when wet ............... even in the towns and cities.
Mick F. Cornwall
Post Reply