*Note – YBN chains come with a master link and neither master link nor chain are directional. Included master link is silver regardless of chain colour.
*** Additional Note lead time for Silca Hot Melt Prep and Rex Black Diamond is approximately 1 week as chains are prepped once ordered ***
** Note for Full Race Optimisation Prep see separate ZFC Fully Optimised Race Chain product here ***
You may have heard me mention your chain is your bikes hardest working part. Well that it is indeed, and by orders of magnitude over anything else. At around 20,000 link articulations a minute whilst riding along, your chain is the absolute last part you should ever skimp on.
It is not uncommon for cyclists to look for a fairly cost effective chain as they keep wearing through chains so fast and wish to save some money. Often this works out much worse. Cheaper chains are made of cheaper steel, and lack the surface hardening & low friction treatments of premium chains. As such, the wear rate of budget chains if often so fast it rips past recommended replacement mark, taking the cassette, and sometimes chain rings with it. Frequently buying a new chain and cassette (and maybe chain rings) is a lot more expensive vs a premium chain that will last 2 or 3 times longer and with just a bit of periodic attention allow you to replace chain at 0.5 wear mark negating the need to replace cassette and keeping chain rings as fresh as a daisy. Budget chains are almost always going to work out to be a false economy. And they are higher friction. And as they start wearing out your drive train parts – eating out steel components isn’t low friction running either that is for sure!
In summary – for the win win situation of low friction AND saving $, do not skimp on your chain. Get the best chain ZFC has found to date, I do not know of a single customer who has gone back to their previous chains after trying YBN’s top of the line SLA chain.
Also – as testing and investigations have found over the years – a lot of chains have coatings which can actually tend to repel hydrocarbon based lubricants. This can have some chains feeling dryer more quickly on some lubricants vs others. The YBN’s patented Nickel PTFE coating gets along very well with hydrocarbon based lubricants – which of course includes wax. YBN & MSW are like peaches and cream. The worlds best chain lubricant and the world’s best chain are attracted to each other like Romeo and Juliet – except in this story the ending is always a happy ever after!
YBN SLA chains have every level of low friction and durability tech packed into them.
- DHA Chromium Carbide hardened pins and rollers (the parts really under abrasive friction pressure and full rider load – a lot of chains do not have any extra treatment here aside from being heat treated steel),
- Titanium Nitride (Gold or Black chains) on inner and outer plates. A lot of chains either have no plating’s, or have nickel plating just on outer plates.
- Patented Nickel PTFE Low friction coating. Most chains do have some form of low friction coating but this can vary a lot depending on brand and level. Ie it may be just on inner plate. Or next level it will be inner plate and roller. Or inner plate and roller and pin. Do you know what your current chain has? The YBN SLA has every level covered.
The YBN SLA chains are fully compatible with Shimano, Sram and Campagnolo 10 speed drivetrains (Road and MTB).
If I believed there was a higher performing chain – I would stock that instead. Fully compatible with all drivetrain systems – SRAM, Shimano, Campagnolo, and all narrow wide systems for cx / mtb.
If you prioritise one mechanical part to be a top level part – make it your chain. It is why ZFC is so chain and lube focussed – it is the area that contributes the most by far to your friction and your wallet. If I was to have one mantra it would be never skimp on performance re chains, lube and tires – they are what determines to the largest extent if your bike will ride like a cheetah or a tractor.
YBN has created the lightest and most technically advanced 10 and 11 speed chains in the world, period. They are not only fully compatible with Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo drive trains, they absolutely rock on all of them. We stock 3 levels of YBN to best suit your needs. The SLA Gold and Black as standard also come with hollow pins and laser cut outs on inner and outer plates to make them one of the lightest on the market.
All YBN SLA have the best tech available across all working parts – Chromium Carbide hardened pins AND rollers (almost all other top chains chromium treat pin only), and patented Nickel PTFE low friction coating across all parts. Silver chains are nickel plated while Gold / Black chains are Titanium Nitride Plated. Nickel plating is superior to no plating, Titanium Nitride is a little bit superior to Nickel Plating.
They are simply the best chains ZFC & MSW have found, and their coatings also happen to get along really well with Wax (some chains coatings can be a little “lipophobic” which means the repel hydrocarbons, so hydrocarbon based lubricants may feel a little drier faster. In a lovely peaches and cream match made in heaven joining – YBN SLA and MSW are just it and a bit.
**Race optimised chains may require a 2 week lead time to prep – you will be notified within 24 hours of order if chosen colour is out of stock and given option of different colour or lead time to prep chosen colour race chain. Every endeavour is made to stay on top of stocks for all options.
Lastly click on the image below for the 10 Speed Masterlink Compatibility Chart
