Connex Link - 11-speed (steel)

I've used both the 10-speed and 11-speed now on a few bikes for a few thousand miles.They've never come off unintentionally or caused any problems.However, when it's time for to rewax my chain, it's easy to squeeze in a vertical direction and remove the chain.

I recently converted from typical grease/oil-based bicycle drivetrain lubrication to waxThis implies swapping the chains much more frequently for cleaning / rewaxing and I'm not sure I'd do it if these quick links weren't available.It is so easy to take a chain on or off with just your hands, no tools required.Also, I had a mild concern about perhaps having a failure in the link or its installation in a sprint or similar - I'm not a huge person but I generate about 1000W in a sprint - and I can say I have done more than a hundred sprints on chains with these links - including a couple race victories in real life - now with zero chain breaks. That's a pretty good sample size.

I clean my bike weekly; averaging about 200 miles per week. Ride all tarmac, but since I ride in the morning often had dew on roads and morning sprinklers so my bike gets fairly dirty. I hated using the Park Tool chain cleaner because degreaser gets everywhere with a lot of times overspray getting on rotors and harder to clean cassette and front chainrings. Gave this quick link a shot on my 11s Ultegra R8000 groupset and have been very happy with the ease and ability to disconnect and reconnect the chain without a tool or having to replace the quick link. I have a 52/36 | 11-30 setup and have no noise, shifting or issues with the quick link. I put down over 1000 watts on sprints and hold 600 watts on hills. The quick link has not failed and I have now about 600 miles on it.

Fiddley to install. I nearly tried to return them after spending an hour trying to get them installed on my bike. Honestly I followed the directions that were included with them, but they just didn't fit well. Then - I took the chain off and played with them and my chain on my kitchen table and figured out how they worked. The key for me was to hold them together in the middle between my index finger and thumb, then swivel them downwards. Perfect! The connex link worked correctly. No tight chain links. No tools needed. My chain is a new Shimano HG701 11 speed, new Shimano XT CS-M770 9 speed cassette and new Dixna La cranks and chainrings. Also no noise going around my 11 tooth small cog either. I wax my chains and these links are worth the money!

The reviewers that complain about SKIP on 11t likely have the link installed upside down. How do I know? I made that mistake. The less curvy side should be towards the cogs.As a chain waxer, I remove the chain every few weeks and having a reusable link is beneficial. I keep a spare one of these in my seat bag. Worth the extra $$ because you can reuse it many times.

The 11 speed was the thing until 12 speed came along. Now it’s a matter of time until the 11 speed parts will begin to fade to the hard to get world. This connection link seems stronger that the chain so I use it for several chain changes. Easy to install and remove by hand. Be sure to orient it correctly. Other “quick links”are supposed to be one time use but lots of riders reuse them. Risky and sometimes ok but this Connex link is no doubt strong enough to give confidence in multiple uses. Never heard of one of these breaking. They are not absolutely necessary since you can clean the chain while on the bike and can easily just break the old chain off to put a new one on with the one time links. I still like the ability to add or remove by hand with the reusable link. Also pretty expensive now. But still good to pick up a couple to extend this convenience 11 speed use until the end of those days. These may still be available for a while or maybe not. Such is progress.

Don’t have much positive to say about it. It works being able fo easily remove but if it removes a gear of your drivetrain and rusts faster than any other part of a fully waxed drivetrain; it’s not very usable and extremely expensive for what you get.