How long should a chain last?

aclivity

I've snapped the chain on my Brompton; it's just over 10 months old and I have done 836 miles commuting on it, and probably another 100 or so at weekends. Is a chain a consumable, or is that too short for a modern bike chain to last?

I have commuted most days since September last year, my commute is 2.5 ~ 3.5 miles each way, the first half mile is road, then 1.5 miles of canal towpath, then the rest by road. The towpath gets a bit (a lot) muddy, and I don't always wipe mud off immediately. In fact I don't ever wipe mud off immediately. Does that sound like enough hardship for a chain to cause it to break?

CiB

I just swapped an Ultegra chain after just shy of 1700 miles; the norm is anything from 1000-3000 miles apparently. It had stretched and the quality of the gear change had deteriorated noticeably as the chain became ever slacker in its lateral movements. Not had one snap though.

pangolin

A chain is consumable. That is shorter than I would expect one to last, but given that it's often covered in mud it's about right. If you use it dirty / muddy it just acts like sandpaper gradually wearing everything down.

Do you have a garden you can clean it in? Somewhere really convenient? It's hard to get into the habit of cleaning it (even very quickly) if it's not something you can do virtually on your way in.

davis

Yes it's a consumable item. Yes it should last longer than that (a few thousand miles isn't a bad guess). Yes, you should clean it (let's say weekly or fortnightly with an oily rag) and lube it afterwards. All that aside, the chain probably should last longer than that. I don't know how gritty it got though.

Why a Brompton for that commute?

optimisticbiker

My last chain went almost a year - about 5000miles. What actually broke, a pin or a link? Chains do need to be kept lubricated else wear from the sprockets will eventually cause a weakness in the sideplate. You don't say how often you do clean and lube the chain... and what you lube it with... but I suspect the mud didn't help!

daxplusplus

Thats a very, very low mileage for a chain to snap. Mine snapped after approx 2-3000 miles through all weathers and I'd consider that pretty unimpressive mileage for a chain. I don't clean my chain very often but do keep it well oiled/waxed. I'll clean it if there is a build up of crud - hot water, degreaser and relube.

gabriel959

Some last longer than others.

Have a look here - it is a very comprehensive review ...

http://www.tour-magazin.de/services/qtr ... 4.html#/44

aclivity

Thanks for the quick responses. Yes, I know I should clean it more often, I'll have to get into the habit - I tried leaving a rag by the front door so I could give it a wipe before bringing into the house, but the OH tidied it away!

davis wrote:

Why a Brompton for that commute?

I commute to the station, then get the train into Manchester. Depending on which train I get, it's either a 300 yard walk or a 1 mile ride to my office, and sometimes I get off a stop early for a bit of a extra ride if it's nice out.

roger_merriman

I tend to go though chains quite quickly, on the Single speed or rather they keep stretching, a lot of dirty paths and it chews though them in no time, being the commute bike I might clean the chain off once a week or so.

The MTB which is cleaned after every ride has wear but is still in good nick.

mudcow007

the one on my mtb is made of cheese im sure of it, its a 9 speed shimano LX chain

within 2 weeks of barely riding it, it snapped (not where i joined the chain) fixed that, it broke again

i think its broke 3 or 4 times so far all at different points

daxplusplus

gabriel959 wrote:

http://www.tour-magazin.de/services/qtr/epaper_4_2011/page44.html#/44

Like the link (bit of an eye opener .. didn't realise chains had such short lives) but it states that you shouldn't use any kind of cleaner on the chain itself (fine to use on cogs) .. not sure how your supposed to get the crud off the chain if you can't use any kind of cleaner?

roger_merriman

mudcow007 wrote:

the one on my mtb is made of cheese im sure of it, its a 9 speed shimano LX chain

within 2 weeks of barely riding it, it snapped (not where i joined the chain) fixed that, it broke again

i think its broke 3 or 4 times so far all at different points

my MTB is still on the orginal chain, it's a few years old now.

But it's

A) cleaned every time,

is only used off road so while it may be muddy it doesn't rack up a lot of miles.

pangolin

DaxPlusPlus wrote:

gabriel959 wrote:

http://www.tour-magazin.de/services/qtr/epaper_4_2011/page44.html#/44

Like the link (bit of an eye opener .. didn't realise chains had such short lives) but it states that you shouldn't use any kind of cleaner on the chain itself (fine to use on cogs) .. not sure how your supposed to get the crud off the chain if you can't use any kind of cleaner?

I just stamp on mine till all the mud comes off. Wear wellies though so no damage. Can do it while on the bike but it's a bit easier if you take it off first.

Or use the old bubblegum trick - stick it in the freezer till the dirt is frozen. Then back to stamping.

roger_merriman

pangolin wrote:

DaxPlusPlus wrote:

gabriel959 wrote:

http://www.tour-magazin.de/services/qtr/epaper_4_2011/page44.html#/44

Like the link (bit of an eye opener .. didn't realise chains had such short lives) but it states that you shouldn't use any kind of cleaner on the chain itself (fine to use on cogs) .. not sure how your supposed to get the crud off the chain if you can't use any kind of cleaner?

I just stamp on mine till all the mud comes off. Wear wellies though so no damage. Can do it while on the bike but it's a bit easier if you take it off first.

Or use the old bubblegum trick - stick it in the freezer till the dirt is frozen. Then back to stamping.

with the MTB I just use the garden hose, it's normally just mud so it comes off quickly.

The SS commuter is more difficult since it tends to get gummed up.

keyser__soze

gabriel959 wrote:

Some last longer than others.

Have a look here - it is a very comprehensive review ...

http://www.tour-magazin.de/services/qtr ... 4.html#/44

What an excellent link. Wish I'd read it before purchasing a couple of KMC chains, one to replace a 5701 105 on the commuter that's done 2500 miles since last October and isn't close to 0.75 stretched yet, even when using the pretty useless Park chain gauge I picked up that measures roller wear more than anything else. Should've just stuck with another 105!

rhext

Definitely a consumable. I've had a relatively new one break putting pressure on it to get up a particularly steep section offroad. SRAM powerlinks are standard trail spares if you're out mountain-biking, because even well-maintained and relatively unworn chains to go occasionally. In fact SRAM powerlinks are actually a good permanent repair if the chain snaps before it's worn enough to need replacing anyway.

mudcovered

pangolin wrote:

A chain is consumable. That is shorter than I would expect one to last, but given that it's often covered in mud it's about right. If you use it dirty / muddy it just acts like sandpaper gradually wearing everything down.

Do you have a garden you can clean it in? Somewhere really convenient? It's hard to get into the habit of cleaning it (even very quickly) if it's not something you can do virtually on your way in.

Its possible to do indoors if necessary (as long as you don't care how dirty the floor gets. ). A wipe down with an oily rag when you get in after a wet ride followed by a re-lube should keep things running smoothly. I keep a rag for doing this hooked over the rack that I hang the bikes up on in my kitchen. I'll admit to skipping this occasionally and my CX & MTB bikes get much longer exposure to mud than you describe. Both have chains that could be described as worn but they are still intact and working after over 5000 miles. So yes while 900miles isn't a lot there isn't anything you can reasonably do except get it replaced and try to look after the next one a bit better.

Mike

SimonAH

Wipe, lube shuffle wipe lube, yeah wipe lube shuffle wipe lube.

Doncha know?

That's the sound of a man working on his chaiaaaan maaan yea, Doncha know that's the sound of a man workin' on his

Chain
Man. 8)

mudcow007

SimonAH wrote:

Wipe, lube shuffle wipe lube, yeah wipe lube shuffle wipe lube.

Doncha know?

That's the sound of a man working on his chaiaaaan maaan yea, Doncha know that's the sound of a man workin' on his

Chain
Man. 8)

all day long their singing oh ah oh ah.........

gbsahne001

Last one snapped at about 3500, just as I was thinking that I should probably change it.

iclestu

All these snappping chains? Gets me a little worried. All i do is wait till it starts slipping then replace cassette and chain. Thought of it breaking on me is a little scary!

Tho, i seriously doubt i got the power output to break even and old chain....

vorsprung

I've had two chains that snapped. First was a 9 speed that had been on a racing bike in the garage during the winter, unused, sitting there and hadn't been cleaned properly before. So it rusted. A couple of weeks into summer I gave it some on a hill and it snapped.

Second was a Campag C10 which had done about 10,000 miles and just decided one night that enough was enough. Frankly I don't blame it.

All the other chains I've used have been replaced due to stretch long before rust can weaken them or they are totally worn out.

The 1/8" chains on my all weather commuting bike last about 3000km before they are so stretched that I have to remove a link to keep them working. Single speed or Alfine drive systems are ok with a little bit of this abuse. I usually replace them shortly after having to do this

The 10 speed chain on my best bike seems to also last around 3000km but after this distance, which would be on average on drier cleaner roads, it will need immediate replacement. Derrailuer systems don't like stretched chains.

You can measure chains for stretch with a ruler or tape measure, Sheldon Brown explains how here
http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

asquithea

This topic just prompted me to change the chain on my Alfine 8. Turned out to be ludicrously easy - can't think why I was putting it off.

I got the bike in Sept. 2010, but since my run to work is short and I don't cycle every day, I doubt it did more than 1500 miles before the chain really needed replacing. Being a hub geared bike, the stretch caused obvious slack.

Replaced with a KMC Z610 HX, which seems to be more robustly built, and will hopefully last a bit longer.

pastryboy

I use the KMC brown 1/8 chains that cost about £2.50 a time on my fixed gear. They never seem to resist stretching whilst the sprocket and chainring wear away instead.

asquithea

pastryboy wrote:

I use the KMC brown 1/8 chains that cost about £2.50 a time on my fixed gear. They never seem to resist stretching whilst the sprocket and chainring wear away instead.

Puzzled over this one, but I'm not sure what you mean (other than you get cheap chains). I thought most gear wear came from stretched chains?

pastryboy

I have a chain wear indicator but my chain always seems to be under the 0.75 despite there being very noticeable wear on the teeth of the cog/chainring. Not sure why that is.

mick_cornick

Hope this helps.

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

iclestu

I blame this chain entirely* for my chain developing an annoying 'intermittent' stiff link.

*really - I SHOULD blame liberal sprayings of GT-85 to 'disperse water' and inadequate wiping away etc before adding more chain lube then not being able to lay my hands on a rag to wipe off excess. The real killer tho was just saying 'f3ck it' and going for a 30 mile ride without so much as wiping it - result: a horrific slimey mess with all that mud and gunk around. Buuuuuut, if i blamed this, that would make it MY fault :?

TheEnglishman

My Brompton seems to eat chains and rear sprockets. I don't know how many miles I do but I guess it's supposed to be done with the big front ring and small back ring.

But changing the sprocket isn't too tricky once you know how. Although the spacers are a bit fiddly to figure out - perhaps this is where I'm going wrong.

Sharkyssurfers

ok confused.com here!!, i am looking at changing my chain as it now on/past 100% mark on the guage, i have a shimano 105 group set (triple) 10 speed, and not sure which chain to go for the 5600 or 5701 or another brand, also would i have to do anything apart from fettling and changing the chain rings to convert to a double?

iclestu

Sharkyssurfers wrote:

ok confused.com here!!, i am looking at changing my chain as it now on/past 100% mark on the guage, i have a shimano 105 group set (triple) 10 speed, and not sure which chain to go for the 5600 or 5701 or another brand, also would i have to do anything apart from fettling and changing the chain rings to convert to a double?

I am no expert - far from it - but would you not need another left shifter too? (there certainly seems to be a triples distinction when buying them)