Mutant Chains, Compatibility, and Cog Pitch

When I swapped my Athena drivetrain from my race bike to my touring bike, I ran into the problem that my chain was a little too short.

A month earlier I bought a new Campy chain, but I didn't save the left over bits when I cut it to size for the race bike. However, I did have several brand-new Wipperman Connex links.

So I thought, what the heck: why don't I mix the Wipperman and the Campagnolo chains?

Any you know what? It worked!

And why shouldn't it? Connex and Campagnolo 11 speed chains are basically the same thing. Lots of people use the Connex master link because you can disconnect a chain for cleaning without tools. So, what I did was stick a Campy rivet in one end of the Connex chain, and a master link on the other, and it fit right together:

I used the mutant bi-branded chain all summer. When I checked the chain wear, the Campy and the Connex proved to be equally worn. It looked weird, but it worked fine.


That got me thinking: what are some other cross-species chain compatibilities in the bike world?


For starters, I know from years of experience that SRAM, Shimano, and KMC drivetrains all accept each others' chains. SRAM, Shimano, and Microshift have almost identical spacing from one cog on the cassette to the next. This spacing is called "cog pitch" or "sprocket pitch." As drivetrain speeds increase, chains get thinner and cog pitch gets smaller.

For 11 speed drivetrains, SRAM and Shimano have a cog pitch of 3.72 and 3.69mm, respectively.
For Campagnolo and Miche, the pitch is 3.76mm

What this means is SRAM cassettes can work with Shimano and Campagnolo just fine, but the difference between Campy and Shimano is just enough to give a little skipping. But the difference is not so huge that it can't be done.

As for making more mutant chains like the one above, Shimano cannot mix with Campy or Connex because their outer chain width is just a smidge too large. The inner width, however, is pretty close.

That means you can run a Shimano 11-speed chain with a Campy cassette, or vise versa. The difference between all 11 speed road group chain and cog spacing is so small that any brand of 11 speed road chain will work with any other brand's stuff. 

Also, you can use wheels with a Shimano freehub body and SRAM cassette with a Campy drivetrain, and you probably won't notice shifting problems or experience premature wear. So, Campy users, that means you have a cornucopia of wheel options. 

Though– using a Campy cassette with a Shimano shifter could lead to some extra clicking.

As far as mixing shifters and derailleurs, that's where things get tricky. The short of it is that you can't mix brands around without some third party interjection, like the Hubbub or the Jtek Shiftmate. I've never used either system myself. The reason is that when you click through gears on the shifter, each brand will pull a different amount of cable. To make it even trickier, the pull on Shimano 11 speed shifters varies depending on what gear you're moving to. Basically, try to stick with one brand of  shifter and derailleur per bike.


But what about brakes?

Though I won't go into kooky disc brake stuff, it's been my experience that just about any road brake will work fine with 5-10 speed drivetrains, regardless of brand. Shimano messed with the leverage on their new brifters, so for 11 speed you have to use approved brakes.

But who needs brakes?

Interesting side fact: I use Shimano cantilevers with my Campy brake levers, and I get more stopping power than with Shimano levers. How about that?

If all this non-standardized chaos drives you crazy, you have 3 options.

1. Only ride old bikes with non-indexed shifters (pre-1985, about).
2. Ride singlespeed.
3. Complain to the ISO.

At least some people in Europe are trying!

And if you like looking at a bunch of fun charts, check out these guys: http://blog.artscyclery.com/science-behind-the-magic/science-behind-the-magic-drivetrain-compatibility/