Chain Life

wheelbuckler

This is a kind of spin off from an earlier thread where I read that a one year old chain is considered to be quite old.

This got me wondering how often I should change my chain. I have an older bike thats had the same chain for about 18 months and its still working fine.

Also, does any other part of the drive system need replacing on a regular basis or is it a case of replace it when it breaks.

Jamey

The easy answer is that it needs replacing when it needs replacing.

And there are several ways to check whether it needs replacing. You can use a chain wear tool or you can use a ruler.

Read this:
http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

ride_whenever

There are two ways to do it, run drivetrain into the ground, replace chainrings, chain cassette and jockey wheels together. Or replace the chain as soon as it wears to try and prolong everything else.

stumpyjon

Chain life will depend on a lot of things, your riding style, local conditions, type of riding you do. I got about 500 miles out of my last chain (about 8 months of riding) but then I do have a habit of mashing gears and the local area has quite a bit of grit stone.

I left replacing it too late (over 1% stretch) and as a result had to replace my cassette and smallest chainring (gave me an excuse to upgrade the cassette to XT though ). Will be more careful infuture.

dav1

buy yourself a chain wear indicator, just got myself a park tool one on crc for 7 quid. Easy to use and no tape measures needed. in about 10 seconds you will know if your chain is worn.