Lord of the bicycle chains: A visit to Germany's only bicycle chain manufacturer

Strong, heavy, greasy: the bicycle chain is an anachronism on a high-tech bike. But without it, the mightiest calves are nothing, and even maximum lung volume is irrelevant - at least as far as bikes with derailleur gears are concerned, because nothing works without it. The concept of the drivetrain has remained unchanged for over 130 years. In 1885, it was used to develop the penny-farthing into a vehicle that could be ridden ergonomically and safely. And the Wippermann jr. chain factory in Hagen has been around since 1893. Main entrance in red brick, marble-panelled entrance, porter in the glass house. (Family) tradition is very important here. The company is now in its fifth generation of Wippermanns, even if none of the bosses are called that anymore. In addition to chains for industry, bicycle chains made in Germany have been manufactured here for over 130 years. The only German ones, mind you.

Born out of necessity

There is a story about the company's foundation: The son of entrepreneur Wilhelm Wippermann kept breaking the chain on his bicycle. That must work better! In the late heyday of industrialisation in Germany, Wippermann Jr. therefore laid the foundation for the production of a chain in the southern Ruhr area that would be able to withstand more than what was available at the time. Today we can say: far-sighted! The now uninhabited director's villa in the Gründerzeit style still stands on the huge site. Today it is at the very edge; back then it was the centre of the formerly much smaller site. It looks a little enchanted in the midst of the utility-orientated industrial halls that have been added here and there.

Industrial chains are largely manufactured here, a branch of business that was added in the sixties of the last century. Dorette Schierling, who is responsible for marketing in this area, shows us an industrial chain plate that probably weighs more than an entire bicycle chain. In the production halls, we can no longer stop marvelling: monotonously humming, but even more cracking and rumbling, often huge machines. Each one plays its part on the way from a piece of steel to a bicycle chain, seemingly without any system to the layman. Marcel Stiens, 32, is a developer and product manager for Wippermann Connex chains. He can explain to us how the production process works.

From wire to bolt and lug

First, the raw outer and inner flaps are created from millimetre-thin sheets. Just like when baking biscuits at Christmas, machines punch these so-called "eights" out of the material with a loud "pop". The only difference is that these biscuits are punched out with the pressure of 180 tonnes. Similarly, the rollers of the chain, i.e. the small barrels that later lie between the teeth of the sprocket. They are punched out of a steel strip a few millimetres thick and later rolled round. Finally, the raw material for the chain pin, which holds everything together, is delivered as kilometres of steel wire wound on huge spindles. Like the other material, it passes through a straightening machine that straightens the wire and is then cut to the required length.

Later, it is given the characteristic conical notch at the ends. Incidentally, almost all of the raw material comes from the surrounding area: metalworking is widespread in the Ruhr, Sauerland and Oberberg regions, so the distances to Wippermann are short.

Secrets of the chain experts

What we don't see here are the subtleties in production. Of course, no manufacturer likes to be kept in the dark when it comes to their own recipes. It's all about special hardening, customised coatings and the like. The essential elements are already available in their basic form: the roller, inner and outer plates and the pin. Since the successful Sachs-Sedis derailleur chain in the seventies, the holes in the inner plates have been moulded into collars facing inwards. The roller later sits on these collars. This makes shifting chains flexible for shifting operations on the cassettes in contrast to the rigid single chains. If you pick up a drivetrain for hub gears and one for derailleur gears, you will immediately notice the difference.

Each individual component of the chain is hardened. The individual parts are transported on a conveyor belt into an oven, which heats them to an incredible 900 degrees; they are then cooled in an oil bath and then "tempered", i.e. heated up again. The flaps are then de-oiled in large barrel-shaped centrifuges. In a kind of washing machine, together with water and small abrasive particles, they are later given their flattering smooth surface. Incidentally: "Coatings," explains the expert, "are always a compromise." You make a compromise if you want to achieve more corrosion protection because the respective area of application demands it. And certainly the taste of the customer, in this case the cyclist, also plays a role. A strikingly brass-plated, i.e. gold-coloured chain looks more attractive. However, a coating always tends to reduce the robustness of the chain - this has to be weighed up.

The geometry of the chain links

When it comes to shape, each manufacturer focusses on special contours - especially the outer plates. They are designed to make the chain particularly precise and easy to shift. In the case of the high-quality Connex chains, these outer plates are called Diamond Shape and Speed Wing. The Power Pin, as the pin is called at Connex, gets its special robustness from a special radial riveting process. In addition to hardening the surface, it also undergoes additional tempering. These are processes that are the result of many years of experience, but which manufacturers understandably do not like to show in detail. The relatively small machines ultimately marry the individual parts like mechanical wizards - especially when producing brass-plated, i.e. gold-coloured chains. The link plates and rollers sit on long spikes, on which they have previously threaded themselves in a kind of rotating bowl, and wobble down part by part to join a 118-link long queue as a valuable member.

The best-selling chains are the 11S0, the 11SE and the 11SX - the cheapest, the e-bike version and the most elaborate 11-speed chain from Connex. The latter have a stainless steel inner plate, which stands for maximum wear resistance.

Marathon? Unfortunately not yet for the bike

The recently introduced 12-speed chain also runs well, among other things for today's very popular single sprockets on gravel bikes. Not to forget: Rohloff riders have long favoured the 8-speed SX chain. "We have the advantage here that we can always transfer expertise from the industrial chain sector to bicycle chains," explains the product manager. And talks about every cyclist's dream: the "marathon chain". The highlight: this chain is largely self-lubricating. Its bushings contain lubricant that gradually leaks out at the desired point and thus has a significant life-extending effect.

"In the industrial chain sector, companies are already considering whether they would rather invest in such a high-quality chain than in a simple, inexpensive one. After all, if half the industrial plant has to be dismantled for maintenance or chain replacement, the costs of replacing the chain quickly add up," says Dorette Schierling, who is responsible for marketing industrial chains at Wippermann. So why not produce a "marathon chain" for bicycles too? "Difficult," explains the product manager. "Foreign bodies end up where they shouldn't be. In the worst case, even sand or salt." The lateral flexibility of derailleur chains inevitably requires these gaps through which foreign bodies can penetrate.

Torture chamber for the drive

Wippermann's test laboratory gathers experience in tough conditions. Among other things, the company's own chains are compared with those of other manufacturers in defined test set-ups and times. Better: tortured for days on end, because of course they have to run under harsh conditions such as the addition of sand under tension.

The company is convinced that the chain made in Germany from Hagen is one of the best on the market. Although a fixed service life cannot be guaranteed, this is mainly due to the fact that "the service life of a chain depends on so many factors that it is simply not realistic to come up with such figures," says Marcel Stiens. Also very important: you have to see the drivetrain as a system. The combination of "cassette from the entry-level quality range plus chain from the Connex high-end range" would result in the cassette wearing out much faster than the chain. It has to fit together.

If there are new drives on the market, the product management team and developers look at the products and, if necessary, develop the right chains for them. The Wippermann single sprockets, so-called narrow-width sprockets, for e-bike motor manufacturers among others, were also developed in this way. The company is now well positioned with several models for Bosch and Panasonic.

In general, the e-bike also brings growth in the chain sector. "Anyone who buys an expensive e-bike understands that the replacement chain also has to be of a higher quality than on an old bike without a boost," explains Stiens. Around 35 per cent of bicycle chains are exported. In Europe, this means to a large extent to the Netherlands and Great Britain. However, there are also sales offices and partner wholesalers in Lithuania, Malaysia, Thailand and the USA.

Wholesale instead of the Internet

For many years, Connex has been represented wherever chains are put through their paces: "We have service stations at around 30 German and international races and events," says the chain master. "Willingen, Lake Garda, the one-day classics ..." There is feedback from consumers - important for further development. This shows once again that you shouldn't assume that a traditional company with firm, long-established values and ideas can't also be young, modern and open. Even if internally the - often very positive - values of a family-run company are certainly influential. The company has already survived over 130 years with the "chain" concept. And everything is made in Germany and with suppliers from the region.

Wippermann in facts and figures

• Foundation: 1893 by Wilhelm Wippermann jr.
• Headquarters: Hagen-Delstern (southern Ruhr area)
• Number of employees: approx. 300, of which around 30 are in the bicycle chain area
• Floor space: approx. 47,000 square metres
• Products: Bicycle chains, 36 different models: 12-speed, 11-speed (best-seller), 10-speed, 9-speed, 8-speed, 7-speed, 1-speed chains and chainrings