Insane Chains founder, Eric Wettlaufer, once joked that the only thing on a bicycle that had yet to be customized was the humble chain. He has since been on a mission to rectify that, developing an alternative to a regular looking bicycle chain. To be clear, it is not a new proprietary chain; rather, the bike chain customization involves a plastic “cap” that snaps right over your existing bicycle chain… here’s how to pimp out your drivetrain.
Insane Chains
First up, Insane Chains will only work with single-speed bikes. That’s because the plastic caps that cover the plates would interfere with the shifting process, and likely would not fit through a derailleur. If you want a colorful chain for your multi-geared bike, check out KMC’s offering. No tools are required to install the caps and there’s no need to take anything apart or remove the chain; the caps just snap right on.
The caps utilize the two rivets (protruding pins) on each link of your chain to lock the plastic cap into place. From what we can see the Insane Chains plastic caps do not come into contact with the chainring teeth. However, they do clip onto the outer edge of the pins. We’ll leave it to you to decide whether or not this will interfere with the smooth running of the drivetrain.
Pricing & Availability
Insane Chains are available in no fewer than 27 different color combinations. The plastic caps are sold in different size batches (number of caps) to serve different sized bikes. A set will cost you anything in the region of $15 to $49.50.
