Is the KMC X10sl GOLD chain worth the money?

[weaverdcivw]

To me that looks like a chain that's not cleaned properly

Agreed, my first thoughts were dang that chain needs to be cleaned! Probably looks pretty slick in person, I'd assume it'd be hard to make look good in a picture.

[2ndgen]

To me that looks like a chain that's not cleaned properly

You have to see it in person. It's undeniably black.
Because I always keep my chains clean, I found it sticking
out too much against the rest of the bike's color scheme.
I can keep this one clean and it still stays black & toned down.

I have both the X10SL (gold) and the X10SL-DLC (black) and am very pleased with them: look great, function just as good as DA and weigh a good bit less on my scale than the DA I replaced. Plus, with some patient shopping online, I was able to buy the gold for the same price as a DA chain and snagged the blingy black for $85.

Agreed.
I'm super pleased with it.
I managed to get my Black DLC for $83./shipped.
It's cool how one upgrade could make such a big difference.

[lcoolb]

Oh, i believe you when you say it looks good in person, was just saying that in jest.
Have been using the gold X10SL on my gold accented bike for a while. Looked great! Have no experience with DA, but compared to standard Record chains it's not so much of an upgrade. Have gone back to those now, since i can get them a lot cheaper than KMCs. Weight is the same.

[2ndgen]

Oh, i believe you when you say it looks good in person, was just saying that in jest.
Have been using the gold X10SL on my gold accented bike for a while. Looked great! Have no experience with DA, but compared to standard Record chains it's not so much of an upgrade. Have gone back to those now, since i can get them a lot cheaper than KMCs. Weight is the same.

Actually, my first thought when I saw it in the pictures on my bike was that it did look like just a dirty chain!
But I'll hopefully have some pics today with the bike out in the sun. My DA chain was great, but the KMC I must
say is better. As soon as it went on I noticed an improvement in smoothness and it wasn't even broken in yet.

On my next bike, I don't think I'll be going with black parts. I think I'm going to go with anodized colors.

[quaman26]

To me that looks like a chain that's not cleaned properly

You have to see it in person. It's undeniably black.
Because I always keep my chains clean, I found it sticking
out too much against the rest of the bike's color scheme.
I can keep this one clean and it still stays black & toned down.

I have both the X10SL (gold) and the X10SL-DLC (black) and am very pleased with them: look great, function just as good as DA and weigh a good bit less on my scale than the DA I replaced. Plus, with some patient shopping online, I was able to buy the gold for the same price as a DA chain and snagged the blingy black for $85.

Agreed.
I'm super pleased with it.
I managed to get my Black DLC for $83./shipped.
It's cool how one upgrade could make such a big difference.

Where were you able to get the Black DLC for $83 ? The places I have been too always sells them for ~120-130. Please advise. Thanks

[53x12]

"Where were you able to get the Black DLC for $83 ? The places I have been too always sells them for ~120-130. Please advise. Thanks."

eBay. Buy now for $93-96 shipped and less if you get on the right auction.

[xnavalav8r]

I have been running the KMC X10SL Gold chains on my bikes exclusively for a couple of years. I've never had a failure. However, yesterday, my 8 year old son broke his while downshifting on a climb on his mtn bike. He's 4 ft 2 inches tall and weighs 65 pounds. I couldn't believe it. Yes, he was shifting under a load, but it's not like he puts down a lot of power. Considering the many thousands of miles I have on these chains I can only assume that this was bound to happen eventually. Even the best components experience occasional failures. So, despite this single failure, I wholeheartedly recommend this chain.

[strobbekoen]

In my opinion the best chains are campagnolo and connex wipperman.
and i think gold chains are ugly

[PharmerBob]

I've had one for a few weeks. Several friends tell me they now have "chain envy". I got it because I needed a shorter chain when switching to a compact crank. S far I like it, it shifts very well and is quieter on my SRAM Red cassette.

Rob

[audiojan]

The KMC X10SL is by far the best chain I've ever used. Have one on every single bike we have (4 for me and 5 for my wife). Yes, it's light, but it shifts better than any other chain (tried Dura-Ace, Record, Connex, etc.), it's much more quite and most importantly, it's durability is excellent, I'm getting about 4-6k miles before it needs to be replaced.

[mjduct]

I've had good luck with the KMC 10 and 11 speeders.

and they are easier to swap out than the campy ones that require a special tool!

[Rick]

IMO, the gold is worth it!

[bm0p700f]

Well I am doing the experiment now. I have a KM 10-93 silver chain on now and I will see how long it lasts. Then I will try an higher grade KMC and then a campag record. I suspect the 10-93 will last long enough.

[emike]

I read some time ago an article that KCM updated their SL line. Has anyone tried it?

[bikerjulio]

Don't know about an update, but I did buy a couple of 11 spd KMC chains back in November, one was an SL, and they are the quietest drivetrains I've ever not heard.