Chain at 0.75% after 1000 miles

lettingthedaysgoby

As the thread title really. It's 105 11 speed - is this a normal rate of wear? It seems a rather low mileage to me.

It's been looked after as best I can - regularly cleaned and lubed etc, I try to avoid cross chaining as much as possible and so on.

Could there be something I've done/not done, or have I just been unlucky?

shortfall

Was it a new cassette you ran it on? Might be stating the obvious but if you put a new chain on a worn cassette it'll probably sh@g it in no time.

lettingthedaysgoby

Shortfall wrote:

Was it a new cassette you ran it on? Might be stating the obvious but if you put a new chain on a worn cassette it'll probably sh@g it in no time.

Yes, this is from brand new.

cooldad

Stop measuring chains.

Ride until it feels nasty then replace as necessary.

shortfall

Seems an excessive amount of wear to me but without knowing your riding style or the conditions and parcors you ride it's hard to say. As a comparison I use Chorus cassettes and chains and rotate 3 chains one one cassette. Each chain has done 2.5k so far without getting anywhere near the .75 mark on my checker. I'm 17ish stone and run a standard chainset with a 12/29 cassette and ride a lot of hills albeit in dry conditions where possible. I clean the drivetrain once a week with wd40, wipe down and relube with ep90 car gear oil. Hope this helps.

Edit. Not sure Cooldads advice above is the best idea although it may work for him.

sungod

use a ruler instead of a chain gauge

Sutton_Rider

Was it a cheapo chain?

cycleclinic

It can and does happen. chain lube used has a impact on chain life. during winter I have killed chains and a cassette in 800 miles. On my MTB I have murdered a drivetrain in one race.

So use a better lube. cleaning your chain I think is one of the worst things you can do to it. It stripps out all the goodness and relubing may not get good lube to where it is needed. If your chain gets black then it will wear very quickly. the black paste of death it is called. I import and use rock n roll lubes because of this. it is one of the few lubes that does not create the paste of death for your chain and cassette.

Others can add what lubes they have used avoid the paste of death. I have not had personal experience of any that have avoided it.

crankycrank

thecycleclinic wrote:

cleaning your chain I think is one of the worst things you can do to it. It stripps out all the goodness and relubing may not get good lube to where it is needed.

I have to disagree with this. I'm actually anal enough to have taken apart some links of worn chains that I have cleaned and lubed a few times during it's life just to see for myself if they are dry inside the links and they were not. In my own experience I haven't come across too many lubes that can't penetrate into the deepest, darkest parts of any bike chain. Even 90+ weight gear oil will seep into a chain in less than 24hrs. If you think about it, if a penetrating lubricant can't find it's way inside your chain parts how would any cleaners be able to and wash out any remaining dirty lube?

6wheels

I'm the same as crankycrank, always wash twice with WS or petrol and soak in a 50/50 petrol/ep90 mix. After draining off for an hour or so, the chain feels like new.

Since I've been running X1 on my winter bike, the chain stays a lot cleaner so always give the inside of the front mech a thorough clean.

Steel ruler for checking chain as mentioned.

lettingthedaysgoby

I've been using Muc Off lube as I was given a bottle of it when I first got the bike...

cycleclinic

muc of is renowned for creating the black paste of death.

Crankycrank. I am only a bike mechanic who see many bikes and and tried lots of stuff. Cleaning your chain can do more harm than good, it depends on the lube you use and if your cleaning regime gets rids of all the grit in the rollers. I strongly suspect chain washers dont and soaking your chain in petrol may not either. also if you have to go to such extreme lengths with a chain it means the lube you are using is too heavy and has got too grimy. also 90 weight gear oil is too thick for chains. it will work of course but there are better formulations.

the best chain lubes whatever the brand, stay clean. if the lube (like all oils and muc off do) attracts dirt and turns black quickly then stop using it. use a chain lube that keeps the chain clean. oils are actually the worst thing for a open chain. Great for enclosed chains like your timing chain in your car engine or a fully enclosed bike chain but on open chains you have to clean far too often for my liking.

With the bikes I keep on top off, the chains are clean. I can run my finger over them and my hand is clean. Yet the chain the lubricated. My 29er's are examples of this. I keep the chains clean/spotless on these but I dont clean it. the lube I uses cleans it for me. My other bikes get the same lube but I relube less often so they get a bit dirtier. on that point I must relube the commutor bikes chain before I go home today.

the Op's problem though is using muc off lubes they are terrible and that is the reason why I have never sold a bottle. I have been given free samples many times and they have gone straight in the bin.

crankycrank

thecycleclinic, yes I agree with you totally that gear oil and many other oils are not great for lubing a chain but I just used these as examples of how most lubes even thick gear oil, can find their way into all parts of a chain. We both agree that dirt is not a good thing and as to what is the best/worst lube to use I'll stay out of that Pandora's box. To the OP, as others have mentioned, use a ruler to measure your chain as many chain measuring tools are very pessimistic and your chain may be fine. I just used a friends tool (sold as a US discount store brand) and it read between .75 and 1% wear while my ruler and also a digital caliper measured hardly any wear.

lettingthedaysgoby

Any recommended brand then?

If I use a ruler, what am I measuring?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

{X-files theme tune] Are chain wear tool manufacturers getting a small commission for each new cassette/chain bought in shops, but ruler manufacturers are not?[/X-files theme tune] :shock: :twisted:

crankycrank

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

If I use a ruler, what am I measuring?

Scroll about halfway down this page http://www.bike.bikegremlin.com/2015/12 ... n-bicycle/ "How to measure chain wear" Oddly the picture shows measuring the bottom section of chain which won't work so well as you have to apply tension to the chain which can be done by just pushing down on the pedal to hold the chain taught and measure the top chain section. Many other articles/videos are also available from a Google search.

mfin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5okJdYrANt8

cycleclinic

The ruler method I have found to be optimistic. I have killed expensive cassettes with the ruler method. If you are running 105 cassettes and KMC chains these are cheap enough that you have no need to measure. change when everything start to misshift a bit. If you use epxensive campagnolo record cassettes then use campagnolo vernier method. If using a tool (Park Tool CC2) I tend to change my KMC chain at 1% wear if I want to preserve the cassette. If I leave it longer the cassette becomes worn. The ruler however show almost no wear o the chain but there is wear too much on cog. The cheap tools I have tried a few are not very good and all the tool hate seems to come from folk who have bought a cheap wear indicator and find it does not indicate wear very well at all.

lettingthedaysgoby

Well, just changed it, got a 105 chain for 16 quid so can't complain.

Newbie question though - as it comes out the packet the chain feels like it's pre lubed, is this correct? Or do I still need to add some?

First.Aspect

Folks - stop press news. Chains are simple. You can see all the moving parts.

Unless you are trying to use an oxymoronic dry lube, there isn't any danger of you not re-greasing them if you have dared to clean one.

I think some people confuse the noise you get after using petrol (or something light) with grit having been washed in somehow, whereas all that's happening is that the grit that remains isn't covered in oil (temporarily) and so sounds worse.

By not washing a chain (or more correctly washing only with an oil) all you are doing is washing it with something less mobile, less effectively. Sure, you never get a dry noisy chain that way, so you might feel better about it.

Chain "stretch" isn't related in any way to the dirt you see on the outside, its due to the side plates biting into and deforming the pins. If you are stretching your chains very quickly, could be you are just a masher.

Really, the main issue with chain stretch is that you also chew through a lot of cassettes, but an old, "stretched" chain and cassette combo can run fine for a very very long time, regardless of what your Park tool thingy says.

Where chain wear gets more of a concern is where repeated twisting and/or true wear from the black paste of death impairs shifting or could even cause a link to pop apart.

Although I just cant see the roller-pin interface being relevant to anything other than noise, I would guess that anything grinding away at the side plate/pin area or the roller/side plate area could be a problem. So, I do agree at least that keeping a chain clean (whether using more lube to clean it, or a light solvent) will stave off that particular issue somewhat.

But honestly, "cleaning a chain damages it" is right up there in the pantheon of cycling myths, along with "carbon fibre dissolves".

First.Aspect

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

If I use a ruler, what am I measuring?

:shock:

shortfall

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

Any recommended brand then?

If I use a ruler, what am I measuring?

https://learn.performancebike.com/bikes ... chain-wear

There's some info in the above link and elsewhere if you Google it.