Connex11sX 11-Speed Chain - 118 Links

I was hesitant to purchase such an expensive chain for my commute bike, which runs a mix of Ultegra and 105 11-speed. A mix because, as I wear out the 105 components it came built with, I am upgrading to Ultegra for its hopefully more sturdy build. See, I put 40 miles a day round trip on my commuter, 4-5 days per week depending upon how lazy I get. That adds up quickly, and being a big guy I tend to erode cassettes and stretch chains on a regular basis. I replace my chain about twice a year once the chain gauge makes it clear, as it the noisy shifts and chain slap do not indicate. The cassettes go just as quickly and usually get swapped about the same time.I regularly clean and wax treat my chain using a 20-year old jar of Performance paraffin lube. Up until the Wipperman I was using the Dura-Ace chains, since the price difference was not that great. I also used the KMC master links made for 11-speed chains, which are supposed to be one time use, but I found them to work fine at least 4-5 times before I ended up losing them during the chain clean. The wax was only applied after a new chain started to get noisy. If you have not switched to waxing your chain, I suggest giving it a go. The difference is impressive, going from noisy to almost silent when peddling. Bit messy, but not all that difficult or expensive.Back to the Wipperman. This thing was pretty, making the Dura-Ace chain look down right rough straight out of the box. Feels smoother, although that may be rationalizing on my part having spent this much on a chain. Having stainless inner links is what I assume makes the Wipperman so pricey. Supposed to be better at handling water, although I have yet to experience rust on any of my chains with decent maintenance, and I live and ride in a humid area. What sold me on the Wipperman was the Connex link that is supposed to be reusable. Itself it costs about 1/2 the chain, so I justified the purchase based on the cost of the Connex link. Seemed reasonable in my mind...especially once I read the horror stories of chain links (replaceable?) breaking while riding.Installing the chain is pretty simple. Measure out the length of your old chain, checking two more times to be safe, then use a chain breaker to shorten the new chain down, and connect using the Connex link. I suggest going to the Wipperman website and downloading the instructions for the proper orientation of the link, as the included sheet has too small a print for my aging eyes to decipher. Once you see it, you will get it I should add.In the one month of use so far, I find the chain smooth and mostly quiet. Not as quiet as a fully waxed chain, but the addition of some Boeshield T-9 solved that. Once I perform my monthly maintenance of cleaning and waxing, I expect it will be just as quiet. Long term, I will report on later. I will keep track of my mileage and see how long it lasts before requiring replacement.Recommended.25 December 2018 update:I managed to get about 2,500 miles out of the chain before it stretched too much, both via chain chain gauge (cheap Nashbar clone of Park Tool’s lower end model) and eventual slipping on new cassette. I regularly maintained cleaning in mineral spirits, skipping previous Simple Green in sonicator after discovering rust on pins (probably from getting a bit too lax in letting it air dry). A quick soak in some aqueous rust agent fixed that, followed by a quick dip in isopropanol. That aside, I regularly hot waxed it after an hour or so soak in mineral spirits. Also went to using White Lightning (in place of Boeshield) on it between waxing, which helped reduce maintenance time.Other than the slight rust issue, the chain worked great. The link is still going strong with the much less expensive Connex 11S0 model, and the usual Ultegra chains. Which brings me to a “but,” in my recommendation.I still think it is a great chain, but I will no longer be ordering the 11SX model. Yes, it lasted a bit longer than some of the Shimano chains I have used, but at significant price. I can not longer justify the cost, given that I can get more distance out of two Shimano or Connex 11S0 chains together. I have decided on the 11S0 chains, since it also includes the same reusable link for half the price. What I now do is rotate four total mixed 11S0 and Dura-Ace chains on and off the bike, as needed. This roughly works out to once a month, depending upon weather and the number of days I commute. Once the wax wears off and the chain gets noisy, I remove the current chain and replace it with an already waxed chain and link. The previous chain then gets a long soak in mineral spirits until another swap, after setting the clean chain aside to dry (no rust so far). Then I do a big wax session with several cleaned chains.So, the 11SX is still nice (and pretty, if a chain can be that), but just not economical for me. The ideal setup would be multiple 11SX chains in the same rotation, of course!

Received the order quickly. Item was as advertised, good service.

I’ve had these chains on three bikes and the master link is the star of the show. The chain degreases easily, the master link is infinitely re-usable, it shifts great on my GRX 810, 105, Force1 and Rival1. If you don’t remove the chain from your bike often then these probably aren’t worth it. I can’t say that they are any better than other chains, but I do tend to get about 4K miles on them

The one and only bike chain you should consider putting on your two wheel steed. That coupled with the simplicity of the Wippermann Quick Connect link makes this the best chain on the market

I get at least twice the milage out of this chain versus the regular Shimano ones. Shifts cleanly and Quicklink means that the chain can be removed and reinstalled very easily.

Makes taking chain off a pleasant experience. Great for people who wax their chain and want to take it off or just have a spare in your saddle bag in the even your chain breaks. I have one on my chain all the time and one in my bag for emergencies.

My Bicycle came with a KMC Chain...broke 3 times over the Winter months. This high quality Chain hasn't broke and is dirt simple to install/remove due to the tool-less link mechanism.

I did not order this chain through Amazon. However, after 300-400 miles of use, my Wippermann Connex 11sX 11 speed chain snapped, causing a crash. An outer link (not the connecting link) just sheared open. There was no unusual use and no warning. After a stop, when I stood on the right pedal to start up, a link sheared open, the chain flew off and the crank spun wildly.