Fake kmc chains on ebay?!
Discussion
Hi all hope everyone is good i generally lurk in the vehicle related sections so hi to all the cyclists in here, I've been a decade plus using kmc X9 chains and always found them to be bombproof.. not so much this one I've just done a mere 160 miles on i genuinely can't believe the evilbay allow this crap to prosper.. so from one extremely peeved cyclist to another get your chains from a reputable bike shop! Chinese counterfeit junk 
Funnily enough I set out this morning to source a couple of chains for drivetrain maintenance this weekend and immediately discounted checking Amazon or eBay because of exactly this issue.
Seen an interview on YouTube with a bike shop owner about the issue with Shimano chains a while back. The fakes were even in boxes with the same barcode which worked through his tills.
Seen an interview on YouTube with a bike shop owner about the issue with Shimano chains a while back. The fakes were even in boxes with the same barcode which worked through his tills.
DegsyE39 said:
Cracked in 4 places! And the hat named seller has told me to foxtrot oscar! In the end i bought a shimano 9spd from tredz.. never had these issues with crc 
Do you have a Decathlon branch anywhere near you? I've been buying my chains from them for a while now, on and off. The boxes are own-brand Decathlon, but the chain itself, in the inner bag, is clearly a KMC product. I've bought 9, 10, and 11 speed chains and no quality issues. The only caveat? Open the box and check that the quick-link is present. The boxes aren't tape sealed and the quick-links are in an easily removed separate poly bag. I don't know that the same is true of all their various chains, but Decathlon often package branded products in their own packaging. Same thing with Tektro brake rotors. OK, they're not the most desirable brands in every case, but you can easily pay more and get less, or pay less and end up with a load of trouble by buying from less reputable outlets.ETA:
I just checked their website. I can walk into my local Decathlon store and buy a KMC X9 chain for £15.99... https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/bike-chain-9-speed-k...
The listing even says it's a KMC product. Zooming in on their photos of the 11-speed version shows the same KMC markings on the outer plates. Who is going to turn their nose up at a KMC 11-speed chain for £17.99... https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/11-speed-bike-chain/... ?
Edited by yellowjack on Thursday 11th January 13:18
If you search 'kmc chain' on ebay, you get a lot of dodgy looking stuff captioned 'for KMC' with the logo pixeled out in the images.
I bought a 'kmc chain' on ebay not long ago, it seems fine. Packaging looks the same as chains I bought 3 years ago which have done OK.
Anything that's FOR Shimano or FOR kmc is probably not actually shimano or KMC.
These people sail close to the wind but they often stop short of directly claiming it's a big name product when it's not.
I bought a 'kmc chain' on ebay not long ago, it seems fine. Packaging looks the same as chains I bought 3 years ago which have done OK.
Anything that's FOR Shimano or FOR kmc is probably not actually shimano or KMC.
These people sail close to the wind but they often stop short of directly claiming it's a big name product when it's not.
budgie smuggler said:
You're right and it's just as bad, maybe worse on amazon.
True. I remember buying some KMC quick links on Amazon about 5/6 years ago ... fine when first installed but they wore extremely quickly (I hadn't even had a chance to remove the link and clean the chain) causing a really rough drivetrain. Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff