I’d like to be able to buy a new Zwift Ride chain from the Zwift store. I know that it is a “proprietary” part and will be replaced for free if it breaks, but I want to be able to buy a spare chain. Also, I live in a place where it’s not possible to dispose of toxic chemicals, so I could remove the chain and clean it elsewhere if I had a spare.
This forum thread (link not allowed; title is “Chain lube and maintenance for Zwift Ride frame / bike“) has a lot of information about chain maintenance for the Zwift Ride. Some of the posts contradict other posts and there doesn’t seem to be a consensus. So, I had the current versions of Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT summarize that thread and they all produced similar, but slightly different answers. So, what I’d like is:
The ability to buy a Zwift Ride chain directly from Zwift.
Specific recommendations for maintaining the Zwift Ride chain. Those recommendations should include all the details for recommended products and tools, not generic techniques.
I couldn’t include the Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT answers because they included links, which are not allowed in this forum. If you want to reproduce them I used this prompt, with the “LINK” replaced with the URL to the “Chain lube and maintenance for Zwift Ride frame / bike“ post.
“Please summarize the recommendation in this forum thread: LINK. Provide a detailed maintenance routine that can be done without generating any waste chemical fluids. If a new chain needs to be purchased, include a link to an e-commerce site where it is available.”
According to Zwift, yes, the chain is proprietary. This quote is from an email conversation I had with Zwift Support about this issue in January: “At the moment, the Zwift Ride chain isn’t available as a standalone item for purchase through our online store or other retailers. It’s treated as a proprietary replacement part, so the only way we can provide a new chain is by processing it as a replacement directly through Zwift.”
I’m not a lawyer and I don’t know if Zwift would do this, but I know some companies refuse to support their products once third-party parts are installed. The simple solution for this would be for Zwift to officially declare third-party replacement chains are allowed in a Zwift Ride.
OK, let’s add “is it proprietary or not” to the list of inconsistent Zwift Ride chain maintenance messages that need to be resolved by an authoritative Zwift employee. The message you linked to was written in 2024, so maybe they changed the policy since then.
Zwift’s confusing/erroneous response about the “proprietary” chain is likely just due to them not having it as a standard purchaseable spare part.
Please listen to Paul - it is NOT a proprietary part, it’s just a normal chain that you can easily buy. Paul has already linked you to a post by an authoritative Zwift employee confirming this.
I’ve sent an email to the Zwift Support person who asked me to create a forum topic on this issue and who told me the chain is a proprietary part. I asked for an official answer and for it to be added to this thread.
Zwift Support is known for providing incorrect or contradictory answers. @shooj who’s answer was posted above is one of the few who knows their stuff. If you’re lucky maybe they’ll chime in again, otherwise you’re probably not going to get what you want.
“Regarding the question about whether the Zwift Ride chain is proprietary or if third-party chains can be used, the official guidance specifies the chain’s specifications but does not explicitly require using only Zwift-branded chains. This means compatible third-party chains with the same specifications (98 links, 1/2" pitch, 3/32") could potentially be used.
To provide you with a definitive official policy and clear up any conflicting information, I will escalate this internally for review. We will also look into adding an official clarification to the forum thread you created to help the community.”
