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Going to get a 10 speed road cassette for my DH wheels and will get a new chain too. What's the best chain? Ideally with a split link so no Shimano..
Would an MTB-specific chain be stronger than a road chain?
The best sram you can afford?
Shimano with a sram link.
Sram mountain bike specific chain. Get the most expensive that doesn't have hollow pins or perforated side plates. The cheaper, heavier chains are the strongest, up to a point!
No chain obviously:
Any KMC or SRAM chain, in fact KMC because you can re-use the powerlinks which is handy if you need to do a between-runs fix on something that needs the chain off.
Weight isn't really a concern, tiny savings over-all on a heavy bike, it will last ages too, it's not like you're sat there for hours on end spinning away.
Shimano with a sram link.
+1
Road cassette I'd use a road chain, they're a smidgen (0.1mm actualy)narrower.
+1 for KMC, and I'm not sure they distinguish between road/mtb, which probably proves the narrowness is irelavent.
I still think 6 speed (or even fewer) would be better for DH than 10 speed. You're going to be changing gears a lot with an 11-23. Just get an SLX 11-36 cassette, bin the biggest sprockets and fit a longer limit screw, fill the empty space on the freehub with singlespeed spacers. You'd still get 11-22, but you could shift it in 2 presses not 3-4.
Thanks for the feedback. What about this: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-ultegra-6700-10sp-cassette-chain/rp-prod126504
Seems like a decent price with a well reviewed chain. Could go 105 with the same chain for £5 less.