The only chain here that publishes its weight and its pin length
KMC K1 BMX chain, single speed, 100 links
KMC’s heavy-duty single-speed chain for BMX and track: 100 links, 411 g (14.5 oz), tall inner plates and reinforced riveting.
What you are getting
A single-speed 1/2” × 1/8” chain at 100 links, weighing a published 411 g (14.5 oz), with a 9.5 mm (0.37 in) pin length, nickel-plated in black and silver. KMC calls it the K1 and builds it for BMX freestyle and track. $21.91.
It is the only chain on this shelf that publishes everything
Most chains publish a speed count and a link count and stop. This one gives:
- 411 g (14.5 oz) — a measured weight
- 9.5 mm (0.37 in) pin length
- oversize outer plates and tall inner plates
- “mushroomed reinforced riveting”
- nickel plating, named as a finish rather than implied
The buying advice on this page is that speed count is the specification where a near miss fails completely. Beyond that, the figures above are what separate a chain that stretches from one that does not, and this is the only listing in the American survey for this shelf that provides them.
What tall plates are actually for
“OS outer and tall inner plates which provides the chain with unbeatable tensile strength and eliminates stretching and chain drop.”
A chain does not stretch in the metal; it wears at the pins and bushings until the pitch grows. Taller plates put more material around each pin, which is why the K1 is 411 g (14.5 oz) where the ZONKIE on this page is 340 g (12 oz) for sixteen more links.
The weight is the cost of the strength, and on a BMX that is the right trade.
100 links is short, and that is deliberate
Schwinn ships 112, HuGuWdy 114, ZONKIE 116. A hundred links suits a BMX or a track bike: one chainring, one sprocket, a short rear triangle and no derailleur cage to wrap.
It is not enough for a long-wheelbase cruiser or a mountain bike frame. Count the links on the chain you are replacing before ordering this one, because unlike the others here it has no spare length to shorten.
Single-speed only, in every sense
“Compatible with all single speed internal gear, BMX, track and fixed gear.”
1/8” wide, which is 3.18 mm. It will not run in a derailleur cassette, where the sprockets are spaced for 3/32” (2.38 mm) or narrower. The SRAM PC-830 further down this page is the derailleur chain in this group; the three chains already published on this shelf are all derailleur chains too.
Internal hub gears are the exception: those use a single sprocket and take a 1/8” chain, which is why a three-speed Sturmey-Archer hub and a BMX share a chain standard.
What is not published
No quick link. KMC’s own MissingLink is famous and this listing does not say whether one is included — on a riveted BMX chain the joining method is usually a pin, which needs a chain tool. The Ruby-Q chain kit moved off this shelf to the tools page is that tool.
No stated wear life, and no coating thickness behind “nickel plated”.
Availability
Read on the day this page was built: $22 at the American Amazon shop.
Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-10-06. The live price is at the top of the page.
