O ring chain vs non O ring chain 250r

[RIDE-RED 250r]

All I've ever used are O-ring & X-ring chains, and 90% of my riding is sand. If the sand eroded my O-rings, it wasn't obvious. The links never got any slop in them & the chains hold up just fine. Riding in sand, I'd be more concerned with sand sticking to a freshly lubed chain and causing premature sprocket wear, than I would be about O-ring wear. Either way, the wear is negligible. My last chain purchase was a DID gold X-ring, and I couldn't be happier. It's a great chain at a decent price.


Here's my order of preference:
1. X-ring
2. O-ring
3. Standard

That's the chain I have

[willreed03]

I have an oring chain on my 250R and a standard chain on my 350X and Tecate and I prefer the standard chain in my riding conditions. I ride in mainly very sandy, dry, dusty, gritty conditions with the occasional mud hole. The oring chain which uses orings to hold the grease on the rollers, and depending on the manufacturer you are either supposed to never lube the chain or merely clean it with something like WD40...read the manufacturers recommendations because each chain will say something different as does the owners manual for your machine. Now because these orings HOLD the grease in, once enough grit and sand gets pounded in there the orings will hold the grit in as well. I have experienced this first hand with my machines, we go riding, come back and I pop the standard chains off and clean them in some diesel and they are good to go no binding or sticking. However the oring chain will gradually get worse, sticking and binding to the point that you can literally feel the grittiness in the links because you can't really get all the grit out it merely compounds. However, when I first got the oring chain my initial thought was 'Wow this is a heavy duty chain I shouldn't ever have to replace it'. Unfortunately I'm about due for a new one with only having 2 seasons on it where as my standard chain is still good to go. I will be running a standard chain for the trails and dunes but for the ice I will be running an oring chain.

My opinion - run a standard chain in dry, dusty gritty conditions like sandy trails or dunes simply because they are easier to keep clean and operating smoothly. If you ride nice hardpacked trails, ice racing, flat track racing, run an oring because they do hold up much better under certain circumstances.

Just my two pennies...

[Dirtcrasher]

I won't run my 200X with an o-ring chain; I want as little drag as possible.

All the 350X's and 250R's got 100$ o ring chains.Well, maybe a bit cheaper because Jeff hooked me up

[xrider]

I agree fully. My 200x I run Non-oring chain for as little drag as possible. Picked up 1.5 HP on the dyno in that change alone.

I won't run my 200X with an o-ring chain; I want as little drag as possible.

All the 350X's and 250R's got 100$ o ring chains.Well, maybe a bit cheaper because Jeff hooked me up

[jadleybray]

Picked up 1.5 HP on the dyno in that change alone.

Your giving away secrets lol

[Micahdogg]

Like others have said...go o-ring for ease of maintenance. But a standard chain will put more power to the wheel(s). Just put your bike or trike or whatever on the stand, in neutral and spin the rear wheel. You can see and feel the drag of the o-ring chain. That said, I have a DID X ring on my 250R because I don't want to be constantly adjusting it. But if all I had was a regular chain, I would be totally fine with it. I would just have to check it more often.

[El Camexican]

Just put your bike or trike or whatever on the stand, in neutral and spin the rear wheel. You can see and feel the drag of the o-ring chain

Very true, but try spining the wheel again after 20 minutes of riding with an O-ring chain and the drag is all but gone.

[TimSr]

Very true, but try spining the wheel again after 20 minutes of riding with an O-ring chain and the drag is all but gone.

Exactly.

Your cheapest O-Ring chain - Bikemaster, Parts Unlimited, etc. will last 2-3 times longer than your best non o-ring chains in any conditions. Especially if you ride one of those Honda chain throwers and you run a standard chain, and you run some water, mud, and hill climbs, you better carry the tools to do some chain adjustments on the trail. Standard chains are good if you ride where its clean, dry and flat., like maybe your living room or something.

[muthey]

my experience with standard chains vs o-ring chains is something of a horror story. I had an 89 kawasaki zx600r that the original chain was replaced with a standard chain along with front and rear sprockets. In 6 months of normal riding and weekly lubrication and checks, the chain which was for a 750 bike stretched to it's limit and snapped at 80mph. Yes I know I was speeding, but what else do you do on a crotch rocket lol. the chain ended up shooting out and coming up the back of the bike inches from hitting my left shoulder and then sucking itself back in in turn shattering the stator cover and the sprocket cover. I repaired the covers and changed sprockets again, and changed to a o-ring chain for a 900 and ran the bike for another 20,000 miles with weekly maintenance with zero problems. I can understand that if you ride in the dunes why tear up an o-ring chain, but if you want a long lasting chain go o-ring.

[El Camexican]

I suspect the catastrophic failure of your chain had more to do with its quality that it not being O-ringed. I have a GSXR 1000 that I run a D.I.D. O-ring chain on and I have not had to adjust it between my last four tire changes. Not even the first time I used it (I set it just a little tight) and it has been down the ¼ mile with my 200# azz on it and seen the North side of 150mph many times in 100+ degree heat. It is an amazing chain. I’ve used a D.I.D. O-ring chain on everything but my drag bikes ever since my first experience with a $15 POS chain I bought for my YZ80 long ago when money was tight and I was ignorant. That cheap chain had my axle adjusters all the way out in a week! Then it was back to the store with a $50 bill to get a good chain.

I’ll add that nothing with burn out a new chain faster than draping it over a set of used sprockets , not worn, USED, as in even a little bit. A chain and both sprockets MUST be replaced all at the same time if you intend on getting a full life out of them. If not you are just wasting your money and risking breakage. If you must make frequent gearing changes using the same chain then make them at the rear only and use aluminum rear sprockets. At least that way your chain will have a fighting chance. Mixing front sprockets and chains is plain foolish.

For those of you not wanting to use an O-ring chain I highly recommend a Tsubaki as I was able to get over 100 ¼ mile passes out of them with minimal stretch, or if you really think your ride up to it try running a EK 630SHB. Let me know if you stretch it! There are other quality brands out there, but none are cheap. Chains are a “get what you pay for” product if ever there was one.