O ring or X ring

[bakerboyz]

I know the stock chain is an O ring but what is an X ring chain and which is better?

Any suggestions on which brand?

[DaveEX7]

the x-ring is juss another name for how the links are... i think the o-ring is better cause thats what all my buds got for their new chains and they seem too like them

[crashinmatt]

the difference between the 2: the o-ring is a rubber ring that round, the x-ring is a rubber ring that is like a x. sound confusing? well, the x-ring is supposed to hold more lubricant inside the chain. supposed to last longer too. i think the x-ring may be better, but im not sure the tensile strength of the chain. but, either way, the o-ring, or x-ring, they r bith better than a regular chain, but more expensive.

[wheeltrax]

The X rings are better from what i hear because the rings that hold the oil in are in the shape of an X and they hold the oil in better then the o rings do. They also help hold the dirt out and have longer life then the O rings. I dont exactly know which one has a bigger tensile strength, but i am assuming that they are probably equal

[crashinmatt]

i was just questionin if the tensile strength was good. i know sidewinder makes a titanuim chain and its supposed to be the highest strength, so that would make a regular o-ring chain better than the x-ring? but i guess also the conditions u ride in would have a lot to do with how long it lasts too. sand i know eats chains, and so would mud, so the x-ring may last longer there.

[TRX_Thumper]

ive always had great luck with the EK500 o ring chain..costs $55-60...it lasts as long as i take care of it....keep cleaned and oiled..i had one on my 95 300ex and rode everyday and 100 miles on the weekend for 2 whole years...went through a top end lots of other stuff and chain still great..also used carbon steel front sprocket and a sprocket speacialties aluminum rear sprocket...but my next sprocket will be an x ring one..just to give it a try

[4TraxRider]

The X ring i longer lasting

[quadholic]

X ring claims to provide excellent low friction performance and it also has 1.5 to 2 times greater wear resistance than standard o-ring chains.

[d-14 rider 27]

everyone is right on here so far. quadholic is right as for the low firction, cuz you got very small areas against the chain plates. much like a seal, and then theres a kind of groove that makes more space for lubricant. i run x-ring chains on both my quads and in the crf quad i only adjusted it once for the last 1/4 of the season, i think the x-ring is a lot better chain. however if its not in your budget, an o-ring is still a dang good chain too. it all what your wallet allows. i cant see a x-ring lasting a whole lot longer than o-ring prolly 1 1/2 times as long.

[taker]

could you use a non o-ring chain or is that horrible..I have heard of some guys doing this..just wondering.....

[crashinmatt]

u can use them, they just dont last as long.

[Butters]

my dad has a none o-ring chain on his warrior and has to tighten it all the time. it is always loosing up.

[QuadRacer041]

i always use non o ring chains. the o and x rings rob alot of power. if you get 2 bikes one with non o and one with o ring put them up on stands, spin both sets of tires and feel how hard it is to spin the o ring chained bike.
unfortunatly the non o ring chain does wear faster but if you wanna go fast you gotta sacrifice a little.

[taker]

thanks..I wasn't sure..other than wearing a little faster, any other problems????

[QuadRacer041]

well, i dont want to jinx myself but i have never had a problem with a non o ring chain.

[stupid driver]

Originally posted by quad041
i always use non o ring chains. the o and x rings rob alot of power. if you get 2 bikes one with non o and one with o ring put them up on stands, spin both sets of tires and feel how hard it is to spin the o ring chained bike.
unfortunatly the non o ring chain does wear faster but if you wanna go fast you gotta sacrifice a little.

how can a chain make you go faster?

[Ralph]

instead of buying a chain why not buy as many exriders t-shirts as you can

[trx400ex]

lmao lrd, gt thunder has a dyno showing no advantage as far as power on o ring vs. non o ring

[QuadRacer041]

Originally posted by trx400ex
lmao lrd, gt thunder has a dyno showing no advantage as far as power on o ring vs. non o ring

well in my opinion, its kinda common sense. if it hard to spin the tires because of your chain your not gonna go as fast. if it takes less effort you will go faster.

dont beleive everything you ready.

The biggest and actually only difference is how the rubber seals are designed and work like what was said earlier in the thread.

quadholic got it right on the friction properties of the o-ring v/s x-ring and DID claims a min of 50% less friction from the x-ring. The design of the x-ring allows more sealing points with less contact area and therefore less friction and heat. Tensile strengths on any reasonable quality 520 size chain should be well suited to most all atv use, but then the problem isnt really use but rather abuse.

The main thing missing here is "brand" as there are many diff chain mfg's and they dont all have the same quality. I have seen tests that have shown very diff breaking points and useable life times on chains with similiar tensile strengths. There are almost as many diff ways to build a chain as there are diff mfg's and this makes a big diff in what we are concerned with most- chain life and failures that can cause an accident etc.

A couple of things to consider are the quality of the steel, pin diameters, solid v/s std seamed rollers, side plate thickness and tolerances. All chain is not the same and doesnt last the same either.

Though you or I cant accurately test our chains we can learn from the service and experience we get from them. There are some accepted opinions of the better manufacturers and this does vary slightly from industrial to MC chains but the better mfg's are noted on both.

I have had some experience with drag bikes and I dont remember seeing any of the pro's run anything but Tsubaki and a couple of DID here and there.

So from my experience in both industrial and MC chain I would have to say for MC chain I would put Tsubaki and DID on my list. I know there are other good ones out there but I just dont have the experience or info on them to make me comfortable with having my safety rely on their product cruising thru the trails at 65+ mph.

For the record the industrial peoples popular opinion is that both Diamiond (US) and Tsubaki (japan) are the top quality chain and DID(jap) and HKK(jap) follow down the list. Now keep in mind that this can get confusing cause the mfg's are producing product all over the world. Diamond has product made in Asia that isnt the same as there US product and Tsubaki's Taiwan product is not the same as there's made in Japan. Tsubaki even had issues after buying Acme chain(US) so they copied the mfg process and machinery they used in Japan for the updateing of the Acme plant, but from there own words they just dont get the same quality as in Japan. So unfortunately you need to know where your chain is comeing from also and I cant recomend the chains that I have seen come out of china that is unless you put a very low price on your own arse.

Roller Chain is a pretty big business and the motorcycle chain divisions are a very profitable part of that business for the manufacturers. Almost all the larger chain mfg's have a completely seperate supply network to bring there chain to our markets. Sadly this is a very inneffective and costly set up that raises prices to the end user (us) and the mfg's sell thru "exclusive" dealers only who then have very limited competition and are able to keep prices up.

For some reason (ok I know what that reason is but it just really ticks me off that so many of the people supplying our industry think we are idiots and will believe what ever they tell us) when you get into the atv market we get a large amount of smaller mfg's product and a bunch of re-labled stuff thrown down our throats. It seems that since we are forced into thinking that its normal to be paying over 5 times the price of a simialar sized industrial chain that everyone wants to get a piece of our market.

So for the most part your gonna get ripped so you may as well get the good stuff, and I think I paid like $5 more for the X-ring than the price someone quoted earlier for std chain.

Sorry for the length, would you believe I shortened it too. :)

[QuadRacer041]

lenny whats your take on the o ring or non or ring chains.

[bakerboyz]

Found a site with a good sketch of the different types of seals

http://www.ftmbiz.com/rk/oring.html

I'll be getting an xring. The standard chain would not last a long weekend without needing adjusting.

Or maybe I should loose some weight and reduce the stress on the chain? Nah I'll get the xring.

[Ralph]

THE X-RING CHAIN IS AN O-RING CHAIN!

i just bought one and its right infront of me and it has orings...

[crashinmatt]

Originally posted by Lrd Mx400ex
THE X-RING CHAIN IS AN O-RING CHAIN!

i just bought one and its right infront of me and it has orings...

Yes, but its the shape of the o-ring that separates them. if i lay them flat, instead of bein tubular design, it is like a x.

[Dave400ex]

Lenny what brand of X-Ring chain do you have, or would get? If the X-Ring is better then I want to get that but there is so many brands to choose from.

[Extremeracer167]

The DID ATV X-ring chain is suppopsed to be the best right now. High Tensil strength, and almost no drag. Ive actually been selling ALOT of the DID ATV X-ring chains to MX bike guys. They love them!! They are at a GREAT price also!

Ive ran my DID ATV X-ring chain since i put my longer swingarm and havent had to adjust it once. That has 2 nationals and 4 local races on it. Holding up JUST FINE!

lenny whats your take on the o ring or non or ring chains.

I like them both but if you are just looking at sealed o-ring or x-ring or whatever compared to non sealed there are advantages to both.

The problem with chain drivin offroad machines is the constant contamination of the lubricated chain parts by dirt etc. what happens is that when the dirt gets into the spaces between the plates it easily works it way into the id of the rollers and dirt and sand wear metal pretty fast. So when this happens your chain wears out prematurely.

The sealed chains try to keep the contaminates out by using the o-rings etc. but then this adds friction (less for x-ring) and the friction adds heat which is not a good thing if it gets too hot.

The other thing is that when a seal wears out or if dirt just finds it way into the inner parts you cant wash them out or re-lube it either.

As far as HP loss I dont believe it will be enough to be seriously noticed but in contradiction to the dyno results discussed earlier it does exist. There have been countless tests on machinery primarily electric motor driven that show a drop in efficency with the added friction of sealed chains, so if it loses efficency it must be using more HP to get the same results.

I will get into this more later I got to run now.

[d-14 rider 27]

heat can be a good thing on the o and x ring chains, when the rubber gets warm, it makes it more pliable, therefor maybe makin it turn better???? also we all know that heat expands things so as the o or x rings get hot, they get a tigher seal to keep the ***** outta there i might be talkin out my arse, but it sounds good in theory

[lilpoppy]

what kind of chain come stock? O, X rings or none? Are they pretty easy to break. I'm just woundering if i should get one before it ruines one of my weekends.

[Dave400ex]

I think stock is an O-Ring chain....

Lenny what brand of X-Ring chain do you have, or would get? If the X-Ring is better then I want to get that but there is so many brands to choose from.

I purchased the DID X-ring from C&D for a few reasons 1) I have confidence in Daido's (DID's mother co) quality, the price was competative with other less quality products and because anything branded Tsubaki in this market is way overpriced.


Ive ran my DID ATV X-ring chain since i put my longer swingarm and havent had to adjust it once. That has 2 nationals and 4 local races on it. Holding up JUST FINE! This chain should hold up very well from streching due to solid rollers and hardened pins plus they use premium steel.


i might be talkin out my arse, but it sounds good in theory Naw not out yer arse but you did miss one part to your theory LOL. The chain will create heat just from the friction of running over the sprockets etc and that should keep things warmed up well enough.

The extra heat generated by the friction of an x-ring is minimum and shouldnt be noticable, did anyone notice the extra heat or friction from their o-ring chains? I sure as he!! didnt.

So I guess where you may see the effects of all the little advancements is in the long run and hopefully from longer service from your chain.


what kind of chain come stock? O, X rings or none? Are they pretty easy to break. I'm just woundering if i should get one before it ruines one of my weekends. Most sport quads come with o-ring chain stk.

If your that worried about your chain (which should last a very long time) I was curious how many hundreds of sets of spare tires you carry with you :) Seriously i think you should be fine for a year or two of goos riding and maintenence from the OEM chain.


A point I wanted to make earlier was that the main strength and longevity of the chain has as much to do with the quality and design of the pins, rollers and side plates as the way you maintain your chain.

If anyone didnt get it earlier you need to clean off all the dirt and sand you roosted all over that chain before you ride next time. If you dont your just helping the dirt and crap get into the rollers and causing lots of trouble.

[Predator36]

O-Ring verses Non O-Ring.

O-rings do cause more friction when everything is clean and new. How much friction?? When the o-rings are lubed properly - Not much.

However once you get dirt in a non o-ring chain it has more friction than a o-ring chain.

Trade offs for power?? - forget it, you have better things to do.
Life of the Chain?? O-Ring chain is the hands down winner.

[QuadRacer041]

Originally posted by Predator36
O-Ring verses Non O-Ring.

O-rings do cause more friction when everything is clean and new. How much friction?? When the o-rings are lubed properly - Not much.

However once you get dirt in a non o-ring chain it has more friction than a o-ring chain.

Trade offs for power?? - forget it, you have better things to do.
Life of the Chain?? O-Ring chain is the hands down winner.


thats your opinion, i dont think that even a dirty non o ring chain has more friction then an o ring chain.
as for o ring being the hands down winner
:rolleyes: ..........i have about a year on my non o ring chain and i seems just fine. i have to snug it up every few rides but it only takes minutes.