Cheers to whomever updated the title to include the Wiggle delivery.
I probably should've learned that lesson by now!

I just got a discount code to get one online too (I price matched yesterday) so I guess if someone wanted it I could give it them for a quick way to order online at Evans and get it delivered to store if there's no immediate stock locally.

can these chains be used for any type of geared bike? I have very basic knowledge of bike maintenance, the chain on my bike when I peddle slips or Jolt's intermittently when i peddle, I have to leave in same gear position, can't remember what number, this stop's the slipping. Just wanting to know if I replaced with new chain it would cure the problem? Thanks in advance.

I had limited knowledge until a few days ago.

Slipping could be any number of reasons, apparently, but two culprits are the chain stretching or the teeth on the rear cassette (the thing with lots of cogs) wearing away.
Both need to be changed in order to keep wear to a minimum, plus a stretched chain doesn't work so well on a new cassette.
The way to know what chain you need is to count the cogs on the rear wheel. Mine had 8, and this is for an 8 speed mountain bike so it fits. Might work for 7 too, not sure.
I chose this one too because it's easy to unclip if you need to take it off.

Cassettes are about £11-£15 but you need to make sure you're getting one that fits your bike. As I understand Shimano and SRAM are fairly interchangeable. But then you also need a tool to remove the cassette as it's a lock nut. This is an example of the two tools.
Nothing is particularly expensive and I guess worth the effort having simple tool but some places will refit parts for a donation. I know that is the case in Birmingham and Brighton.

​The perils of freehubs/freewheels...

An OK price I prefer kmc chains though as they work on sram, shimano and campagliA and also come with a quick link ..

8 speed is a getting to the point of redundant for the majority of new bikes 10 speed has been the standard forhe last few years, being taken over by 11 speed and soon to be 12 with the sram eagle

I'm sure 8 & 9 speed will continue for the foreseeable, it's just likely product offerings will remain limited to the lower specs in the shimano artillery, as the boundaries are pushed into bigger cassettes with ever more levels of gears, SRAMs eagle option of a 12 speed cassette is that expensive us mear mortals would have to save forever to buy.
I'm currently running a 2x10, 3x10 and a 1x11 on my bikes
The KMC x93-10 are great quality for 10 speed and at the £16 mark, pretty much the defacto choice. The main difference on all these chains is width, the more gears/cogs on the cassette the narrower the chain to operate

I've only ever snapped SRAM chains (3 of them, and I weigh ~9 stone), always used KMC on my bikes since, with the exception of the odd Shimano one. Definitely lots of old 8 speed kit still around.

12 is also reserved for mtb at the moment. Not sure why though, road were the first to get 11.

Worth nothing, as it's hasn't been explicitly said, 8 speed chains will work with 9 speed systems, the internal sizes (of the chain) are exactly the same,

+1 for snapping Sram chains too, I've only ever snapped one chain in my time, Shimano or KMC it wasn't and I would never ride a differing chain.

The only other thing to watch for is chain length, as that is a consideration as well but unless you have an odd setup it should be ok.

You can get a chain wear tool off eBay for a quid which measures the chain stretch (it's just a simple piece of metal/plastic) - like this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-tools-chain-wear-indicator/rp-prod10219 . If the chain is stretched it will shift poorly and hammer the rest of your drivetrain. Since I've started easing up/lowering torque during shifts I haven't done any major wear to any of my bikes over thousands of miles.

As to the person who criticised freehubs/wheels, I can only imagine this a poor trolling attempt as the alternative is hardly 'safer' or the smarter choice.

Thanks for all your advice, really useful.
Especially the general tips @whatyadoinsucka.

I am now leaning to taking it back and getting a KTC but I think I'll do some testing instead.
I'm a heavier guy (15 stone) who puts a lot of pressure on his bike with some awful gear changes on the way. Plus I sprint a decent amount.
Cheers @plewis00. Also I'd go easier but heck, that's just not me :wink: CHAAAARGE!!!!

Shimano equivalent from halfords for £5.29

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/gears-drivetrain-cables/shimano-cn-hg40-6-7-and-8-speed-116-link-bike-chain-with-connecting-link

I've broken a few chains and it's nearly always as i'm in the wrong gear offroad after a long descent then a climb and I downshift too late, or the last one I'd stopped and thought I could power up a climb ,since then Ive noticed a mate whilst stationery lift his back wheel off and shift down to a better gear, it's a great tip and I've not snapped one since

By the time you have worn the chain out on an 8 speed bike the bike is going to be worth less than the replacement chain!

Don't think this is particularly cheap tbh, I bought an 8 speed SRAM PC830 chain for £5 earlier this year from chain reaction cycles. The PC850 is £6.99 here http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sram-pc850-8-speed-chain/rp-prod21295
The PC830 is still £4.99 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sram-pc830-7-8-speed-chain/rp-prod26313
For those asking about fit, you can only use an 8 speed on 8 speed or lower bikes. If you have 8 speed then a 7 speed chain "should" also work but you "may" have issues with it catching and increased chain rub on the front mech. An 8 speed chain may work on 9 speed but it's not advisable for 10 speed and above.

I carry a chain tool and a repair link when I am racing or out on my MTB.If you do
miles you should look at changing your chain once or twice as year but this will probably apply to commuters on road or hybrid bikes.Rear cassettes are easy to change with a chain wrench (about £10) and cassette specific spline socket (about £5 or so).

Although chain wear is known as stretch, it isn't really "stretching" so putting lots of torque etc really shouldn't affect it it (you need a lot of force to "stretch steel". So it isn't the chain getting longer as such, it is the rollers / pins wearing out between the links (these are the weakest link in the chain). As the pins wear down, the rollers floating on top of them can move more so the space between 2 links gets effectively longer, this is then what wears the cassette and chainrings as the chain no longer sits neatly between the teeth.
Pin and roller wear is more dependent on how much dirt and abrasive grit gets inito your chain than anothing else. And miles obviously.
I've got 1500+ miles out of cheap chains though used on commuter bikes and never cleaned, it's well worth buying one of those chain wear tools, then you can just replace the chain at the right time rather than the cassette and possibly chan rings.

If you just let the chain and casette wear down completely, you will probably get 3000 + miles out of it before it becomes unrideable, but then you will definitely looking at new cassette and chainrings.

Even on a cheapish bike the chainset is going to be £25 plus.

Just thought I'd say I kept with the two SRAM parts and installed them earlier.
Apparently I went from a S830 cassette and chain to S850 ones so at least I'll find out whether brand upgrades are worth it.

@SFconvert
Cheers, I'll keep an eye on my chainset. I just had a gander and the teeth are pretty pointed...good god! :smiley:
I went to an amazing place in Brighton called Cranks which let me use their tools for a donation, I got an adjustment lesson too....clearly I'm going back!