I'm really jazzed over a new chain I got today!

Nashville Kat

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
It's a 415 chain- Tricycle/ Industrial from KMC corporation.

Pirates has some in silver I think- I queried there a couple weeks to make sure but didn't get an answer

He claims a quieter smoother running chain- I'm hoping for those and maybe less resistence to pedalling

At any rate- it's considerably LIGHTER in weight- I'm thinking maybe 20-25%
a substantial amount on one of the weightier items in a kit-

I tried a narrow 410 and sprocket a few years back and it derailled the first attempt- so I just went back to the kit chains

This chain makes up for that- it's just as WIDE- it's the same size otherwise- just a lot less metal on the links. It really just looks and feels a whole lot lighter- when I get the other off I'll compare the same length.

I got mine on e-bay- they have a ton of KMC 415 H chains- the H is for Heavy Duty- and while I think they are lighter and higher quality than kit chains- this Tricycle chain- listed as 415 only- no "H" behind it- is lighter still

I got basic gun metal grey for under $12 shipped. 110 links.
I was going to get a silver one from the Pirate and paint it anno- but since I never use a motor tensioner- I still have a bit of chainstay rub now and then
so I'm NOT gonna jazz it in color

The silver one's a little more at Pirates
http://www.piratecycles1.com/kmcin415ch.html

can't wait to get it on and try it out- I'll report back here then.

here's some pictures next to a kit chain
 

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Good Luck with your chain.

I try not to use the tensioner as a tensioner in my builds, I use it more as an idler or guide. I usually end up using a half-link to make the chain an exact fit.

I wish I could find 415 half-link chain, it would end my chain length problems forever.
 
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I got a 415 half link from the Pirate- I'd ordered it before I saw these chains- one of my questions was- Is the half link advertised with the chain the same one they sell otherwise?

i don't know- no answer-

but this one that arrived a few days ago looks really like neither chain- sort of a straight plate- but the size is really more like the smaller 415 trike chain I just got.

here's the plain black one on e-bay- delivery was a little slow, sending out, but not bad.
week and a half or two or something.
KMC 3/16" 415 TRIKE & INDUSTRIAL 110L BLACK | eBay

I'm just running it on China Girls with lightweight bikes and wheels on the street- don't know how it would hold up thrashing it off road-there's still the KMC 415 H, in between this and kit chain.

to me it bridges the gap between a motorcycle chain and a truer kind of bicycle motor chain- but the proof will be in how it works- It looks like it would pedal around the small motor sprocket especially, easier.
 
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The Bell Chain Breaker- I was going to post a thread- and thought earlier I'd add it under here-

YES! It will is the good news-
But you have to BREAK IT is the bad news-

I found this out by accident- when I used one I had that had gotten the center allignment pieces of metal broken off-

THEN the 415 fits in it and it works reasonably well- I've used it several times now-

but it won't handle a 415 chain when it's new- only when the center pieces are gone.

I'll post pictures here in a few minutes
and an EXPENSIVE motorcycle breaker NOT TO BOTHER WITH.
 
Here's a modified bell breaker- the metal guides in the middle come off easily with a pair of needle nose pliers- so at 6 or 7 dollars it's a great deal- at Wal-Mart EVERYWHERE!

on the other hand I bought this expensive motorcycle chain breaker for almost $25 a couple years back- it breaks the chain, but wants to bend it sideways- and it doesn't seem to hold the back plate to push the chain pin back in again- I had to hammer it and it doesn't want to finish it-

am I doing something wrong?- I've worked in bike shops aplenty over the years- and could break my racing chain at the right length on sight. But this thing is screwy-

the old Cyclo breakers back in the day looked like the Bells, but always came with an extra pin- cause those bend easily, especially if you haven't done it before

Don't force the pin- sometimes you can get it started better with pliers. I think you may have to get the pin in slightly to use the Bell to push it back in - the threads on the tool are very carefully of a length as to NOT WORK with the wider width-

DON'T PUSH THE PIN OUT THE FAR SIDE! I hate that!

this newer chain is actually slimmer looking from side to side- but just as wide inside- not as sloppy as the kit chains
 

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Thanks for the post, I found a Bell chain breaker at a store here called Alco it's sold for only $3.49. I read the cover on it and it said it works only with chain width of some size I can't remember. So I didn't know if it could break my 415 chain. It looks very similar to the one you post, of course with the center piece attached.
 
The vendor on ebay lists this new chain at 440 grams of weight- and that's with 110 links

The same vendor also sells the KMC 415H chain and lists the weight as 800 grams- and that's for only 98 links.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KMC-K415H-3...Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item415a8ef8c2

I'm sure the 415H is still even lighter than a kit chain- I'm thinking maybe 1000 grams for 110 links possibly of a normal China girl kit chain-

at any rate, it appears that this chain is about half the weight of a kit chain- it feels like it too.

and look at the center part in the picture in the O.P.- theres a gap and a lot more slop-

the proof will be in use- unfortunately I'm pretty burned out and riding a lot oitherwise- it may take a couple of weeks to get this on and try it-

I really don't think it's going to be anything but BETTER!
 
Nashville Kat said:
Here's a modified bell breaker- the metal guides in the middle come off easily with a pair of needle nose pliers- so at 6 or 7 dollars it's a great deal- at Wal-Mart EVERYWHERE!

on the other hand I bought this expensive motorcycle chain breaker for almost $25 a couple years back- it breaks the chain, but wants to bend it sideways- and it doesn't seem to hold the back plate to push the chain pin back in again- I had to hammer it and it doesn't want to finish it-

am I doing something wrong?- I've worked in bike shops aplenty over the years- and could break my racing chain at the right length on sight. But this thing is screwy-

the old Cyclo breakers back in the day looked like the Bells, but always came with an extra pin- cause those bend easily, especially if you haven't done it before

Don't force the pin- sometimes you can get it started better with pliers. I think you may have to get the pin in slightly to use the Bell to push it back in - the threads on the tool are very carefully of a length as to NOT WORK with the wider width-

DON'T PUSH THE PIN OUT THE FAR SIDE! I hate that!

this newer chain is actually slimmer looking from side to side- but just as wide inside- not as sloppy as the kit chains
Click to expand...

Hey Nash,

I bought the Bell chain breaker like the one you have and broke off the center pieces. When I tried to break the chain, the needle kept slipping off of the chain and cannot push the rod through the chain. Is there a trick to getting the rod out using this cheap tool?
 
I really like those K415H chains made by KMC too. I bought a 98 link last week and my second one (needed more chain to lengthen) will be here in a day or two both priced at $11-$12 shipped. I have never had one of these chains break. I snapped my original chain breaker which was meant for less heavy duty bicycle chains. I found that at Harbor Freight you can get a beast of a chain breaker for like $9 but the pin is the same size as the chain pins. A little bit of filing with an inexpensive metal file and the pin is just right on the chain breaker. Just thought I'd add my 2 cents
 
Well the KMC 415 is shipped with 110 links while the 415H only comes with 98- I never use a motor chain tensioner so 98 would probably be enough- I'm sure the 110 links will be plenty- and its lighter weight-

Don't know what to tell you about the pin- they are all the same basically there- you have to get it positioned correctly- they used to include extra pins- they do bend easily, especially if you haven;t done it much- don't force it- the pin has to be right on the chain stud- it should give without too much force.
 
I run the 415H KMC. It's really awesome stuff, unless I ever make the dive into #41, I'll always be running 415H. Though, I do want to find someone who makes annodized 415H.
 
OK- WARNING WARNIUNG-

I'm going to amend some of this- I just installed the 415 Trike chain on one cruiser-
It looks great- seemed to weigh maybe 1/2 to 2/3 for the same length of kit chain-

BUT CAREFUL OF THE NUMBER OF LINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 415 trike/industrial like mine ships with 110 links- I think I have 9 links left over after cutting the chain- AND I don't use any tensioner- The 415 Trike chain MAY be long enough for your application- not sure how many links usually in kit chain-

But the 415H heavy duty chain usually only ships with 98 links- probably not enough for most people here.

And I DON'T RECOMMEND the Bell breaker except in a pinch- I used it again tonight- but got the initial part of the split going with that expensive thing pictured above and then used the Bell after the pin was off one side plate-
the expensive tool just bends the back plate backwards with the pin stuck in it, because it doesn't have a backing plate to hold it

To put the other chain back together, I used CHANNEL LOCKS to push the pin through the middle of the chain and THEN it fits in the Bell breaker for final push-
Large pliers may get it started enough, but the channel locks push the chain back in square.

Gonna test it out in the next couple days- report back then.
 
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OK- Got it out today- the 415 trike/industrial on my 50cc huffy cruiser-

Results: very satisfactory- it's a little loose when I pull the pedal chain tight, and I'm now going to install that 3 piece alloy crank I've had for awhile- so that's all another issue- no problems though I took it easy for that reason

It DOES SEEM QUIETER

Is there less rolling resistence- I could tell peddling, but I have a REALLY light granny gear- 36 x 22 on the pedals- so I can't tell- the bike rolls just as good or better with the 700C wheels

If it's quieter though, I think there's less resistence- so the dif is mostly as far as the motor's concerned I guess- It purred along today in 60 degree weather.

So for less than $12 dollars I'm glad to save half the weight of the kit chain and have a quieter bike. I'd say it's worth it.
 
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