When to replace the chain?

BigLee1

How do folks,
I`ve heard people replace their chains regularly but at what mileage? My road bike has done around 700 miles.

Any comments?

Cheers

Lee

linsen

I have had a bike for the last 14 years and never replaced the chain..

But that could be one of the reasons it's such a bad ride.....

My OH has done 3000 mile son his road bike now and chain replacement not on the cards. In fact I'm not sure he's even oiled it in the last 700 miles.... (obviously I may be doing him a disservice and when I go out he does it, instead of playing lego star wars on the children's nintendo DS.....)

BigLee1

I must admit that on my old mtb the chain is the original 10 year old item

singlespeedexplosif

at full moon

DavidTQ

BigLee1 wrote:

How do folks,
I`ve heard people replace their chains regularly but at what mileage? My road bike has done around 700 miles.

Any comments?

Cheers

Lee

You mileage will vary depending on servicing and useage, what you need is to measure chain stretch to determine when to replace the chain.

el_presidente

"Chain maintenance is one of the most controversial aspects of bicycle mechanics. Chain durability is affected by riding style, gear choice, whether the bicycle is ridden in rain or snow, type of soil in the local terrain, type of lubricant, lubrication techniques, and the sizes and condition of the bicycle's sprockets. ....... As a result, everybody's advice about chain maintenance is based on anecdotal "evidence" and experience. Experts disagree on this subject, sometimes bitterly."

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

"The standard way to measure chain wear is with a ruler or steel tape measure. This can be done without removing the chain from the bicycle. The normal technique is to measure a one-foot length, placing an inch mark of the ruler exactly in the middle of one rivet, then looking at the corresponding rivet 12 complete links away. On a new, unworn chain, this rivet will also line up exactly with an inch mark. With a worn chain, the rivet will be past the inch mark.
This gives a direct measurement of the wear to the chain, and an indirect measurement of the wear to the sprockets:


If the rivet is less than 1/16" past the mark, all is well.

If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, you should replace the chain, but the sprockets are probably undamaged.

If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point, without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip, but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear state of the sprockets.

If the rivet is past the 1/8" mark, a new chain will almost certainly skip on the worn sprockets, especially the smaller ones."

Belv

Once it starts slipping.