Chain

The purpose of the present invention is to suppress a decrease in the drive efficiency of a sprocket and the occurrence of slack in a chain. Specifically, the chain is provided with a plurality of inner link plates, a plurality of outer link plates, and a plurality of pins, and is characterized in that at least one of the plurality of inner link plates, the plurality of outer link plates, or the plurality of pins has a configuration in which a surface-hardened layer is formed on a portion or the entirety of a sliding surface with other components. The surface-hardened layer contains any one of a Cr carbide, a Ti carbide, a V carbide, an Nb carbide, a Cr nitride, a Ti nitride, a V nitride, and an Nb nitride. 本发明的目的在于，抑制链轮的驱动效率的下降和链条上的松弛的产生。具体而言，为一种具备多个内链节板、多个外链节板、多个销的链条，其特征在于，至少多个内链节板、多个外链节板或多个销中的任一包含下述构成，即，在与其他零件的滑动面的一部分或整体上具有表面硬化层，所述表面硬化层包含Cr碳化物、Ti碳化物、V碳化物、Nb碳化物、Cr氮化物、Ti氮化物、V氮化物及Nb氮化物中的任意1种。