Chain wear!

Thomson0
Thomson0 Posts: 49
edited August 2012 in Workshop
I noticed the chain slipping on my Allez last night but it was so wet when I came in I just put it away . Tonight I have checked the chain with a chain wear checker and it's grubbed, both end of the checker fell straight through! The chain is a shimano Dura ace ( before anyone says about fancy chains it was bought because it was in a sale and I was tempted by the idea that I could justify it) it's only done 900 miles and has been degreased, cleaned and relubed every 100 miles without fail. Surely it should have lasted longer than this. Btw the chainrings and cassette apear to still be in good condition (Ultegra).

Thomson0

Comments

  • wishitwasallflat
    wishitwasallflat Posts: 2,927
    My last KMC chain did 1756 rough road winter miles so I would be dissapointed in that milage from any chain let alone DA!
  • thescouselander
    thescouselander Posts: 549
    Yeah, I've come to the conclusion Shimano chains are a bit rubbish - its KMC for me from now on.
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,414
    if the chain slips, maybe it's the cassette that is screwed - 900 miles is nothing, a chain should last much longer
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • Mike03776
    Mike03776 Posts: 40
    Yeah KMC's shelf life are second to none.
  • mmacavity
    mmacavity Posts: 781
    http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html
  • bianchiblue
    bianchiblue Posts: 344
    That is premature!

    If your rings or cassette are worn you will wear the chain VERY quickly. Also if you run it with dirt/grimey paste it will degrade quickly, but sounds like you have worn rings/sprockets.

    What lube do you use? Chains need something reasonabley viscous... WD40/GT85 etc are no good for chains, too thin.
  • cube123
    cube123 Posts: 4
    My chain just begining to slip after 4800 miles (cn-6600 ultegra),my m8s dura-ace was knacked at 1500 ish .
  • Bozman
    Bozman Posts: 2,518
    It should last longer than that, use a metal rule instead of a hit and miss chain wear checker. I used those chains for years and you'll get over 3000 miles out of one, i've swapped to KMC now because of the constant recommendations on here but there's squat all between them ....... i do like the quick link though so i'll stick with them.

    As far as maintenance goes - after every ride, i blast the chain with WD40 to remove the crap and then i coat it with 3 in 1 or similar and remove the excess with a rag.
  • Mike03776
    Mike03776 Posts: 40
    Bozman wrote:

    As far as maintenance goes - after every ride, i blast the chain with WD40 to remove the crap and then i coat it with 3 in 1 or similar and remove the excess with a rag.

    You'd be a lot better off using degreaser, WD40 isn't good for you bike.
  • bockers
    bockers Posts: 146
    WD40 is NOT a lube.

    KMCs advice is not to bathe the cahin in de-greaser as it can be difficult to get lub into the vital pivot points again. Without lub in those areas the chain will wear very quickly.

    Also an overlubed chain is just as bad as it will attrack dirt and that mixed with oild is the perfect grinding paste.

    Sage advice can be found on their website :-
    http://www.kmcchain.eu/?en/maintenance/
  • Bozman
    Bozman Posts: 2,518
    Who said that WD40 was a lube? You stated it but nobody said it was, it sounds like you've got some WD40 issues.

    Why is WD40 bad for your bike? Is it going to melt the carbon or turn it to dust? is it going to rust or pit the metal work? Is it going to rot the rubber and leather?

    I use WD40 as a mild degreaser to clean my chain which is then wiped clean and then sprayed with a lubricant.
  • bockers
    bockers Posts: 146
    Blimey Bozman, easy tiger, chill :D I did not say that you thought it a lubricant. It was just a statement, loads of people think it is a great chain lube, which it isn't. Just re-staing that.
  • Bozman
    Bozman Posts: 2,518
    bockers wrote:
    Blimey Bozman, easy tiger, chill :D I did not say that you thought it a lubricant. It was just a statement, loads of people think it is a great chain lube, which it isn't. Just re-staing that.

    Sorry, I'll get off my high horse, i've just had sh**e ride in the rain topped off with a filthy bike(chain) to clean, topical.
  • bockers
    bockers Posts: 146
    Know the feeling I needed to do another 40 miles to get a 600 mile month and it is hammering it down here today. fed up with cleaning my summer bike after nearly every ride this "summer". BBC weather forecasts are shockingly innacurate too :(
  • hulla the hulla
    hulla the hulla Posts: 338
    News just in ! Chain wear - BBC at fault shocker !

    (just kidding around)
    A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it

    Canyon Aeroad 7.0 summer missile
    Trek 2.1 winter hack
  • hulla the hulla
    hulla the hulla Posts: 338
    hulla the hulla wrote:
    News just in ! Chain wear - BBC at fault shocker !

    (just kidding around)

    I got 4k out of my old 105 (to be fair I changed it early as I bought new wheels with a new ultegra cassette) and so far 1500 and still going strong from my ultegra chain - as mentioned before, regular maintenance is key
    A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it

    Canyon Aeroad 7.0 summer missile
    Trek 2.1 winter hack
  • marcusjb
    marcusjb Posts: 2,412
    The fancier the chain, the less mileage I get. When I built up my latest bike, I got a £40-50 fancy light SRAM chain with hollow pins etc. - it didn't last ever so well (I don't keep super detailed logs on component replacement - but somewhere around 2500km).

    These days I use the lowest end KMC chains for whichever number of gears (we have everything here from single gear to 8, 9 and 10 speed and then a tandem that is just awaiting new chains to be delivered (takes 3 chains to replace everything on a tandem! £££)).

    On the audax bike, I typically get 4-500km out of a chain. I do tend to change chains ealier rather than later to avoid wearing out chainrings/cassettes).

    As others have said, maintenance is key (though I can't claim to be a super-diligent bike cleaner by any definition!).

    This year, with the weather, has been hard on chains and components in general.

    But I do believe the fancier the chain, the less life you get out of it. So, unless you're made of money, stick with £20 chains and avoid the £50+ chains
    Stuff about riding a bike a long way
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    I usually use Ultegra chains (most often 1/3rd off on Ribble/PBK) and have always had 1,500 miles out of them before there's any real wear at all. Tend to get 4,000+ if I'm happy to junk the cassette as well.

    If your chain was from the generation with the Shimano quick link then you'll probably find that the quick link is shot but the rest of the chain is fine. Shimano had to dump them pretty quickly and go back to pin connectors.

    Re WD40. I'm with Bozman. It's a great way of getting grime off a chain/cassette (better than any degreaser I've used). You just need to make sure to rinse/wipe off the excess and apply a decent lube after cleaning.
  • wishitwasallflat
    wishitwasallflat Posts: 2,927
    bockers wrote:
    KMCs advice is not to bathe the cahin in de-greaser as it can be difficult to get lub into the vital pivot points again. Without lub in those areas the chain will wear very quickly.

    I know KMC make chains and I do appreciate the irony of an ordinary punter like me questioning them - but surely the dirt gets in to the pivot points and the original factory lube must get dirty and degrade? As a result I just don't understand this - cleaning chains and then carefully dropping lube onto each pivot point makes sense to me and feel right - just wiping down the outside plates and leaving the inner bits as thye left the factory doesn't.

    FWIW - My chains so far have lasted 1500 miles getting cleaned (chain cleaner and degreaser - dry in the oven - lube pivot points - wipe of excess) ever 100 miles or so (always after v wet rides).

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