chain wear

simpo1961

Reading this
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/w ... lems-25530

?I was suprised to see it ws suggesting that chains need replacing every 1500- 2,000 miles which would be around every 3 months or so. How many of you are actually doing this? Iving been checking with a chain checker and it seems to last a lot longer than that. So what actually causes the wear? the amount of power going through it or the amount of grit and crud?
Would a racer wear out a chain in less miles than a commuter all other things equall?

kettrinboy

theres loads of threads on this on here but here goes, the chain on my 2006 Scott CR1 a Shimano Ultegra 6600 has done nearly 7000 miles is about 1% worn but has hardly ever got wet and is regularly lubed so perhaps thats helped its longevity , the SRAM PC950 chain i run on my hybrid has done 3700 miles is used all through winter and regularly gets covered in cack and is 1.5% worn ie measures 12.187 inches over 24 links , when a chain reaches 1% wear doesnt mean its imminently going to break it just wears sprockets and chainrings faster though ,so i,m going to replace the whole chainset on this bike when this chain is done as they will be shagged as well, i,d say regular cleaning and lubing and trying to avoid long periods of wet riding makes chains last longer,as for racers wearing chains faster, a racer would put more power through a chain but a commuter would do more miles in the wet probably so hard to say on that one.

balthazar

0.5% elongation due to wear, measured with a ruler, is the appropriate limit for chain replacement. Beyond that threshold, a worn chain will cause accelerating sprocket wear, and cassettes are expensive components. If you intend to wear out the sprockets anyway, then you can maintain the same worn chain for as long at it still meshes ok. In general, you can expect to wear out at least 3 chains per cassette, with the last one lasting longer as it and the sprockets destroy each other.

A ruler is the right tool for measuring chain wear: all the devices sold for this purpose that I've seen, are flawed in that they compound roller clearance (with varies between chains) with genuine pin wear. For instance, they may give different results on brand new chains. A steel ruler is cheap, available, and more accurate. An extra sixteenth of an inch over a twelve inch run of chain is an easy limit to see.

There are too many variables to determine whether a racer or commuter wears out chains fastest. I'd guess there's not much in it.

ugo.santalucia

I guess it's all down to how expensive your cassette is. If you invested in a Dura Ace titanium cassette, maybe you wish to make it last a little longer, if you have a bog standard 105 cassette, then the cost of replacing regularly your chain is not worth the money and the hassle.

daccordimark

Well put ugo.santalucia, my chains cost 14GBP and cassettes 34GBP so it's one chain per cassette for me. Replacing every 1500 miles would be a waste of money.

John.T

balthazar wrote:

0.5% elongation due to wear, measured with a ruler, is the appropriate limit for chain replacement. Beyond that threshold, a worn chain will cause accelerating sprocket wear, and cassettes are expensive components. If you intend to wear out the sprockets anyway, then you can maintain the same worn chain for as long at it still meshes ok. In general, you can expect to wear out at least 3 chains per cassette, with the last one lasting longer as it and the sprockets destroy each other.

A ruler is the right tool for measuring chain wear: all the devices sold for this purpose that I've seen, are flawed in that they compound roller clearance (with varies between chains) with genuine pin wear. For instance, they may give different results on brand new chains. A steel ruler is cheap, available, and more accurate. An extra sixteenth of an inch over a twelve inch run of chain is an easy limit to see.

+1. Especialy the ruler bit.

keef66

I use a Park chain wear checker, and just replaced the chain at 1% wear. The new chain works fine with the original cassette. I've got 105 on my bike. If it was just the cassette that wears out I would go with the 1 chain : 1 cassette strategy. However, I am also concerned about wearing out the chainrings which I think are alloy, and cost quite a bit more to replace than the cassette.

If I do switch to a 1 chain : 1 cassette strategy, and replace both when something breaks, jumps or slips, how many times can I do this before the chainrings are also worn out??

rake

i stupidly bought a chain checker knowing full well a ruler gives a more usefull reading. im still searching myself for why, i havent used it and dont intend to. if anyone wants one i can do a good price. think its a park tool.

nomoreexcuses

The real effect of a worn chain remains hidden until its too late; it wears sprockets, ruining cassettes. This is why a new chain doesn't match a older cassette, often enough. They've let the chain wear too much.

There is a tough coating on cassettes that get's worn away. The trick is to change your chain often enough to prolong the cassette's life.

Cycling is not a cheap lark, as i finding out. Chains cost nearly as much as cassettes.

APIII

I use chorus chains on all my bikes and have done for some time. I changed the chain, cassette and chainrings on my cross/winter bike at the weekend as the chain was +1%. I probably only had 2000 miles on it, whereas normally I'd get double that on my road bike, so I assume the weather conditions played a significant part.

rokkala

So is there any guide on when chainrings should be replaced?

keef66

Mine will stay as long as they still work.

John.T

APIII wrote:

I use chorus chains on all my bikes and have done for some time. I changed the chain, cassette and chainrings on my cross/winter bike at the weekend as the chain was +1%. I probably only had 2000 miles on it, whereas normally I'd get double that on my road bike, so I assume the weather conditions played a significant part.

But you would probably have got away with only changing the chain. I get up to 3 chains per cassette and have only changed the 34 ring (which I use most of the time) after 3 winters, about 6000 miles.

POHB

Rokkala wrote:

So is there any guide on when chainrings should be replaced?

Well, you can wait until you get really bad chain suck or slip. Of course, this may happen when you're trying to accelerate out of the way of a truck. Are you feeling lucky?