Having bought a previous chain off eBay that seemed fine I purchased another HG-53 9 speed chain.
I’m 99% certain it’s fake as the real one should have a connector pin and not a quick link.
Also the quick link is unbranded too and looks like a generic quick link I got from eBay.
Other than that I have to say the chain itself looks pretty good it even has the shamferred HG edges.
by Summerfa11
15 Comments
I’ll also add that on the back it says it has a quick link but on the legit packaging it doesn’t!
If the number of links check is not handwritten is prob fake
> I’m 99% certain it’s fake as the real one should have a connector pin and not a quick link.
Shimano has abandoned their connector pin experiment and gone back to quick links.
But, otherwise, yeah, you bought a frequently counterfeited product from a marketplace with zero accountability.
fake
look at the quick link
Before realizing that there are several photos i was about to reply no chain at all
I watched a YouTube vid that says genuine Shimano chains will have the link count checked off by hand using a pen on the packaging. If the box has a printed checkmark it’s counterfeit.
This was on James Pumphrey’s “Speeed” channel, he’s an automotive guy, but built a bike in one of his recent vids where the above was explained. Not sure how reliable this info is, but I have seen other people say the same thing in a couple of bike forums.
that simple CHN is sus, I have used similar chains on my road bikes – get 4000-5000km for that tiny money, they have worked, they have broke as well~
Looks fake to me, 9 speed Shimano doesn’t use a quick link either
To know for certain that it’s fake, you’d have to compare the packaging to every chain they’ve sold over the past 20 years.
Yea fake
It’s fake the check mark is printed in real shimano products are hand checked
Quicklink should be in a separate pouch. Very likely fake.
Fake they don’t advertise authentic on packaging
Been there. Totally fake.
The biggest sign is the bar code on the back, Shimano doesn’t print it on the packaging. They leave a white space for a bar code sticker.
Also, as someone said, the quick-link comes separately.
My 9 speed Shimano chains never come with a quick link only a connector pin. I never go cheap on chains especially 9s ones, they are already quite cheap.