Struggled with chain noise on my old 9-speed, then switched chains and it was night and day

I was having this constant chain noise on my 2009 Trek 1.5 no matter how much I lubed and adjusted the derailleur. Tried a KMC Z99 chain for $28 instead of the Shimano one I always used, and the noise just vanished. The difference was in the inner plate shaping, I guess, but it's way smoother shifting now too. Anybody else seen a big change just from swapping chain brands?

2 comments

2 Comments

stellafisher4d ago

Bet that KMC chain was a 10-speed. Z99 is 9-speed only.

tessa_roberts14d ago

Haha well @stellafisher you caught me. I slapped a 10-speed KMC on a 9-speed drivetrain and called it a day. It shifted like garbage for a week before I realized my mistake. Classic case of "buy cheap, buy twice" but at least the Z99 is actually the right part.