PC 48 connector link won't work with KMC Z chain?

Just got some KMC narrow Z chain and am trying to reuse my old SRAM
connector from my PC48 chain. Cleaned the link real well and have
spent almost an hour trying to get it to lock. It finally dawned on
me that maybe the inner side plates of the KMC chain are heavier duty?
I'm pretty sure all 8 speed Z chain is 7.1 mm is the SRAM 8 speed
different?

wrote in message . ..
Just got some KMC narrow Z chain and am trying to reuse my old SRAM
connector from my PC48 chain. Cleaned the link real well and have
spent almost an hour trying to get it to lock. It finally dawned on
me that maybe the inner side plates of the KMC chain are heavier duty?
I'm pretty sure all 8 speed Z chain is 7.1 mm is the SRAM 8 speed
different?

Dear DSR,

I measured a PC48 chain.

Narrow links are 0.165" wide (4.19mm).

Wide links are 0.255" (6.48mm) at the belly.

Pin width on wide links and connector is 0.282" (7.16mm).

In a recent thread, Dianne_1234 mentioned this link:

http://www.geocities.com/kwanseng/weight.html#chains

It lists HKK Z chain at 7.62mm "for SunTour AccuShift 6s."

If this HKK Z is what you're using, it looks too wide
(7.62mm) to work with your PC48 connector (7.16mm).

A pair of dial calipers, borrowed or otherwise, will
settle the question.

But remember, many posts have complained about easy-connect
links not living up to their name.

Good luck,

Carl Fogel

wrote in message . ..
Just got some KMC narrow Z chain and am trying to reuse my old SRAM
connector from my PC48 chain. Cleaned the link real well and have
spent almost an hour trying to get it to lock. It finally dawned on
me that maybe the inner side plates of the KMC chain are heavier duty?
I'm pretty sure all 8 speed Z chain is 7.1 mm is the SRAM 8 speed
different?

Dear DSR,

I should have looked on the web instead of
playing with my toys. SRAM says no, your
connector won't work with other chains:

http://www.sram.com/tech_info/faq_display.asp?faq_id=15

"Lastly, the PowerLinks may ONLY be used with the corresponding SRAM
PowerChains. The tolerances of other chains, made by other
manufacturers (Shimano, KMC, etc.), will not mate properly with the
PowerLink system."

Sorry,

Carl Fogel

On 10 Jan 2004 23:12:24 -0800, (Carl Fogel)
wrote:

wrote in message . ..
Just got some KMC narrow Z chain and am trying to reuse my old SRAM
connector from my PC48 chain. Cleaned the link real well and have
spent almost an hour trying to get it to lock. It finally dawned on
me that maybe the inner side plates of the KMC chain are heavier duty?
I'm pretty sure all 8 speed Z chain is 7.1 mm is the SRAM 8 speed
different?

Dear DSR,

I should have looked on the web instead of
playing with my toys. SRAM says no, your
connector won't work with other chains:

http://www.sram.com/tech_info/faq_display.asp?faq_id=15

"Lastly, the PowerLinks may ONLY be used with the corresponding SRAM
PowerChains. The tolerances of other chains, made by other
manufacturers (Shimano, KMC, etc.), will not mate properly with the
PowerLink system."

Sorry,

Carl Fogel

These are both narrow 8 speed chain. The KMC chain is stamped narrow
at one end of the link and KMC at the other. The big Z in the middle
makes me think it is probably 7.1 millimeter on the outside dimension.

Saw several posts earlier that said links from 8 speed chain work with
any 8 speed chain. Makes sense that tolerances would dictate
otherwise.

Carl Fogel wrote:

I should have looked on the web instead of=20
playing with my toys. SRAM says no, your
connector won't work with other chains:
=20
http://www.sram.com/tech_info/faq_di...sp?faq_id=3D15
=20
"Lastly, the PowerLinks may ONLY be used with the corresponding SRAM
PowerChains. The tolerances of other chains, made by other
manufacturers (Shimano, KMC, etc.), will not mate properly with the
PowerLink system."

Did I ever tell you my Kraft(TM) Macaroni and Cheese story?

When my kids were at home, an I was still eating carbs, a favorite meal=20
in our house was Kraft(TM) Macaroni and Cheese.

If you look at the instructions on the box, they say, in essence:

=95Boil the water

=95Cook the pasta

=95Add the flavor packet and...

=951/4 cup Kraft(TM) Parkay Margarine.

Well we used to make it as directed, except for the last step. We=20
didn't have any Kraft(TM) Parkay Margine.

Instead, we used butter. Believe it or not, it came out OK despite our=20
failure to follow the directions

Sheldon "Don't Believe Everything You Read" Brown
+-------------------------------------------+
| If Stupidity got us into this mess, |
| then why can't it get us out? |
| -- Will Rogers |
+-------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Sheldon Brown wrote:
Carl Fogel wrote:

I should have looked on the web instead of playing with my toys. SRAM
says no, your
connector won't work with other chains:

http://www.sram.com/tech_info/faq_display.asp?faq_id=15

"Lastly, the PowerLinks may ONLY be used with the corresponding SRAM
PowerChains. The tolerances of other chains, made by other
manufacturers (Shimano, KMC, etc.), will not mate properly with the
PowerLink system."


Did I ever tell you my Kraft(TM) Macaroni and Cheese story?

When my kids were at home, an I was still eating carbs, a favorite meal
in our house was Kraft(TM) Macaroni and Cheese.

If you look at the instructions on the box, they say, in essence:

•Boil the water

•Cook the pasta

•Add the flavor packet and...

•1/4 cup Kraft(TM) Parkay Margarine.

Well we used to make it as directed, except for the last step. We
didn't have any Kraft(TM) Parkay Margine.

Instead, we used butter. Believe it or not, it came out OK despite our
failure to follow the directions

We currently have a packet of "toddler wipes" which says "For best
results, use with Sainsbury's Nappy Sacks". The phrase WTF? brings to mind.

(Carl Fogel) wrote in message . com...
cut

But remember, many posts have complained about easy-connect
links not living up to their name.

Good luck,

Carl Fogel

I can't remeber anyone complaining about the "easy-connect", its the
disconnecting that sometimes causes pain. Particularly half way up a
steep hill in freezing, driving rain after a your chain has snapped...
(trusty chain tool to the rescue in this case, carried since I snapped
a chain on the same hill a couple of months earlier - I still don't
believe the repeated assertions that 9s chains are just as strong as
others).

Andrew Webster

We currently have a packet of "toddler wipes" which says "For best
results, use with Sainsbury's Nappy Sacks". The phrase WTF? brings to
mind.

On my last trip to France, I was in a large group that had ridden quite a
distance (on a hot day) to watch the TDF pass through a feed station.
Afterward we were to get on a bus for a 2+ hour trip to our next hotel, all
sweaty & sticky... not the best way to travel.

So I went into the local store, sought out the relevant section and
purchased a pack of diaper wipes. I most certainly didn't use them as
indicated on their directions! But I will tell you that diaper wipes make
an excellent way to freshen up when you don't have a shower available.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 09:46:51 -0500, Sheldon Brown
may have said:

Well we used to make [Kraft "Macaroni" & "Cheese"] as directed, except
for the last step. We didn't have any Kraft(TM) Parkay Margine.

Instead, we used butter. Believe it or not, it came out OK despite our
failure to follow the directions

Your substitution probably had two effects; it most likely increased
the level of fats in the end product, and may have caused it to have
some actual food value.

A couple of nutritionists of my acquaintance have cited KM&C more than
once as the canonical example of the nutrition-free "food". It fills
the stomach and pads the waist, but does little or nothing else.

If you used to eat it a lot, and dropped it when you ditched the
carbs, then ditching the carbs was a good move anyway, IMHO.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 03:31:12 GMT, may have said:

Just got some KMC narrow Z chain and am trying to reuse my old SRAM
connector from my PC48 chain. Cleaned the link real well and have
spent almost an hour trying to get it to lock. It finally dawned on
me that maybe the inner side plates of the KMC chain are heavier duty?
I'm pretty sure all 8 speed Z chain is 7.1 mm is the SRAM 8 speed
different?

Is the Powerlink silver in color? I have one of those on a KMC Z
chain right now, and didn't have any trouble getting it latched. I'd
take a magnifier and see if the groove on the pin is lining up with
the latching flanges of the Powerlink's side plates.

Hmmm. One additional thought; I recall a chain (maybe a KMC, but I
can't say for sure) that had a raised center on the inner link side
plates, possibly to aid in shifting; I had to latch the PowerLink with
the chain bent into a U (with the Powerlink as the bottom of it) in
order to get the two parts to drop close enough to the inner links'
ends to allow it to latch.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.