Chain stretch

wondering how much my chain has been stretched, gave it thorough clean too.

12" = 12 links or something?

12" = 12 links or something?
Say... That's a nice bike..
Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)
Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)
0
Posts
the pins are 1/2 inch apart on a new chain.
Put the 1" mark of your tape level with the centre of a pin, then check where the 13" mark is. A used chain will have got a bit longer, so the centre of a pin will be just past the 13" mark.
A ruler gives a more reliable result than a chain checker. These include roller movement in what they measure, and as that varies between brands of chain as well as wear, the checkers generally err on the side of caution and will show a chain as being more worn than it actually is. It has been known for an unused chain to show as worn out.
If it's 1/8" past the 13" mark, the cassette will be worn enough that a new chain will slip if you stomp on the pedals. At this point you've got to change the cassette as well as put a new chain on. You can just leave the chain on and keep riding, but that will also wear the chainrings.
If it's less than 1/16" past, the cassette will be pretty much undamaged. You can put new chains on the same cassette repeatedly provided you keep on changing chains before 1/16" wear.
In between 1/16 and 1/8", the cassette will be worn enough that a new chain will wear a bit faster than normal until it's caught up with the state of wear of the cassette. The end result is that you'll need a new cassette after 3 or 4 chains.
On 9 speed, I've found that a chain can reach 1/8" stretch after as little as 1000 miles, and that if you just keep on riding you'll start getting transmission problems and have to change chain and cassette after about 7500 miles.
How fast a chain wears depends on riding conditions (wet/dry, mud, the local type of grit), what your chain cleaning regime is, how many speeds the chain is etc. In extreme cases a chain can reach 1/8" in a single ride (MTB).
What is best to do depends on the kit you buy. If you use an 11-34 10-speed cassette that cost £120, it's worth protecting it by changing chains early. On the other hand if you are using an 8-speed cassette that cost you £15, there's not much point in buying lots of £10 chains trying to keep it in good nick.
Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)
2010 Cube Agree SL
Think how stupid the average person is.......
half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
Spot on, a decent ruler with imperial measurements is far more accurate than a go / no-go tool.
Also it is no good thinking in metric as the chain has an Imperial half inch pitch.
Is that true, I am in the office so can not verify. However my understanding is that the plates actually stretch little, it is the rollers and rivets which are subject to distortion/wear, and this is what the chain wear tool measures.
From the man himself Sheldon, may he rest in piece:
"Cyclists often speak of chain "stretch", as if the side plates of an old chain were pulled out of shape by the repeated stresses of pedaling. This is not actually how chains elongate. The major cause of chain "stretch" is wearing away of the metal where the rivet rotates inside of the bushing (or the "bushing" part of the inside plate) as the chain links flex and straighten as the chain goes onto and off of the sprockets. If you take apart an old, worn out chain, you can easily see the little notches worn into the sides of the rivets by the inside edges of the bushings. "
By all means use one if you like to change your chain more often than you need to but I am not going to. They cost nearly as much as a chain anyway but I am sure we all have a ruler somewhere.
Well you stick to your method using a tape measure and I'll stick with mine using the Park chain wear tool and I bet your bike will have a knackered cassette and chain rings before mine :roll: .
Cost of chain wear tool £8. Replacement costs for a chain £8 to £40, cassette £40-60, chain rings or crank £££££. How much does a decent tape measure or metal rule cost, £6 - £10?
Think how stupid the average person is.......
half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
They do or they don't :? ? You contradict yourself here.
Errr ............. my chain wear tool doesn't show a replacement new chain to be worn :roll:
Think how stupid the average person is.......
half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
Evidence. When was this? Make of chain wear tool and that of chain please. Was the chain wear tool being used correctly?
Think how stupid the average person is.......
half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html
That about puts it to bed then, learn how to use a ruler correctly
http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html
Oh and don't use WD40 as a chain lube
Keep using your chain checkers guys, the inaccuracy amounts to probably 1/24 of the wear measured and could be ignored.
This does not alter the fact that careful measurement with a ruler is the most acurate and the final point for me as a Yorkshire Tyke. The ruler is cheaper and can be used for other tasks too.
Thought I would replace the chain on my old MTB before doing the C2C as I couldn't remember the last time it was changed. Couldn't understand how when I held the old and new up next to each other the links definitely went out of sync but by the end the links lined up. Realised it had stretched a full link (1/2 inch). I knew that this amount of stretch could wear the cassette so I took it out on a test. Amazingly everything seemed OK.
200 yards away from the start at Whitehaven the chain started jumping and I was forced to do the route sticking to the first 5 gears and couldn't stand on the pedals without it jumping.
I had considered taking the old chain just in case but was determined to travel light so left it.
Plenty of lessons there I think.
:? :?