Bicycle Mechanics - When to replace chain?

Hello bicycling friends,

I realize my question may sound "so basic" to most of you....
Anyway here goes...
When is the recommended time or miles to replace a chain?
The reason I ask is I thought I heard a bike shop owner
suggest replacing chain at 500 miles or 1000 miles ...
but I am not sure exactly which one he said?

I have spent quite a bit of time reading through many of
the posts here having to due with "chains".
I can't seem to find anything...however, it is possible that
I've overlooked the answer to my question.

I would appreciate it if some of you "experienced" ones could
please help me out. I just completed 400 miles yesterday on
my new bike, and just want to take care of it.

Thanks in advance,
Trek'n Teresa :)

Trek'N Teresa,

Nice to meet another Trekker. I am by no means a pro, but I would suggest you concentrate more on keeping it clean and lubed. I don't think there is a hard and fast rule about replacing it but keeping it clean is another thing. Ride in the wet, clean & lube, ride in the dry and dusty, clean & lube. I highly suggest a good chain cleaning tool and from experience know that 1000's of miles is not unlikely if properly cared for! You probably saw at least a couple posts referring to "chain stretch" so measure it if you think it has stretched and replace it if it has. Don't worry about fixing what ain't broken, just clean & lube it!!

Teresa,

It's not mileage but how and where you ride that make the difference. A clean chain (see above) stays in good shape longer than a sandy or non-lubricated one.

When should you change?
Sheldon and quite a few others measures "stretch" http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

The mechanics at my repair shop use another simpler technique: place the chain on the large chainring and pull gently the chain via the midpoint. If it is so stretched you can see air between the pulled chain and the chainring, then it is overstretched and should be changed. Otherwise, it's ok.
BTW, I have also heard that trick quite a few times from other French-speaking sources, be it from Québec or from France.

Regards,

There are 2 ways you can approach this. 1. Never replace it and replace your chain and rear gears at the same time when they begin to skip. 2. Measure your chain and replace it when the gauge says to replace it.

From a financial standpoint I dont think it makes a difference which way you do it. If you choose method 1. it's probably going to wear your chainrings sooner.

As noted a properly maintained chain will last longer.

I have a Trek 720 hybrid, a beater which I use for around town trips. The chain had been on for I don't know how many years. It had at least 3,000 miles on it. When I took the chain off, I put a ruler to it, and believe it or not, the chain had stretched one inch. It's my understanding when a chain stretches an eighth inch or more in one foot, it's time to replace it. I put on a new Sram chain with a power link, but kept the old gears. I was amazed when I didn't experience any skipping.

Rear cogs will wear with a worn chain, but the front chainrings are affected much less.
It makes economic sense to use a low-priced, mid-range chain from SRAM, rather than to buy very expensive one and try to use it for longer. Replacing worn cogs can get very expensive.

When I took the chain off, I put a ruler to it, and believe it or not, the chain had stretched one inch. It's my understanding when a chain stretches an eighth inch or more in one foot, it's time to replace it.
There are an whole number of links in one foot. That means if you lay a ruler so Zero is at the center of one rivet, the one foot mark should also fall in the center of a rivet. If you were stretched by exactly one inch, you were probably not stretched at all- just measuring incorrectly. How many links did you have in your 13 inch measurement? If I recall, there should be 24 links in 1 foot.

When you hear about a chain being elongated an eighth of an inch, the reference is to this "whole number of links per foot". Generally this equals about 1%. So a ruler is actually not a bad way to measure wear.

Other methods require a bit of money such as buying a new chain and compare them (never hurts to have a spare chain around) or a chain wear gauge. Park also has a chain wear gauge for about $25 with a "consumer model" coming out later this year for less than $10 (or so it says on www.biketoolsetc.com).

If you were really stretched a full inch, then a new chain would have almost certainly skipped on the cogs you have.

Unless of course, you knew that and you were just kidding with me <aw shucks>. :)

- Jeff

If you got lots a play in your chain you better change It..one shouldn't wait till they got miles of play cause it might be to late then?
The idea Is to replace chain before everything else wears out like your front chain ring and your rear cogs
replace chain especially if you are really giving it full throttle all the time
that is one way Of making your bike last a bit longer?

Good morning,
I wanted to say "thanks" to everyone; you all have
been helpful and I appreciate your responses.

I ride on trails which are usually very sandy and dusty.
(This summer has been very dry in our area)
I usually try to clean my chain approx every 2-3 weeks, and
this is done without the aid of a chain cleaning tool.
Hmmmm (thinking) I really should get one sometime.

Again- Thanks so much. :)

~ Trek'n Teresa ~

Hello bicycling friends,

I realize my question may sound "so basic" to most of you....
Anyway here goes...
When is the recommended time or miles to replace a chain?
The reason I ask is I thought I heard a bike shop owner
suggest replacing chain at 500 miles or 1000 miles ...
but I am not sure exactly which one he said?

I have spent quite a bit of time reading through many of
the posts here having to due with "chains".
I can't seem to find anything...however, it is possible that
I've overlooked the answer to my question.

I would appreciate it if some of you "experienced" ones could
please help me out. I just completed 400 miles yesterday on
my new bike, and just want to take care of it.

Thanks in advance,
Trek'n Teresa :)

A good read on bicycle chains, including function and maintenance, can be found at this url: http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

I ride on trails which are usually very sandy and dusty.
I usually try to clean my chain approx every 2-3 weeks, and
this is done without the aid of a chain cleaning tool.
If you ride primarily off-road, you may want to consider cleaning the chain after each ride as a part of your post-ride clean up. You don't need to overdo it. Just use a rag to wipe down the chain, then relubricate. Since your conditions are dusty and sandy, you should try a dry lube. Again with the lube, don't overdo it since too much grease will attract all the dust and sand.

If you do this regularly, you do not really need a chain cleaning tool. They are convenient, but IMHO, they only really needed when the chain is a real mess (like mud and grime is caked on the chain). They do not make sense to me unless you fail to maintain your chain on a regular basis or ride in really adverse conditions.

Enjoy your next ride.

- Jeff

Hello bicycling friends,

...
When is the recommended time or miles to replace a chain?
The reason I ask is I thought I heard a bike shop owner
suggest replacing chain at 500 miles or 1000 miles ...
but I am not sure exactly which one he said?
...

Thanks in advance,
Trek'n Teresa :)

Sounds like that owner wanted to sell some chains. Probably the 40 or 50 dollar ones to boot.

The more force you put on a chain the more it stretches. Racers can go a good 2000 miles on most chains. My suggestion is to measure it every so often with the 12 links=12 inches method or the park chain tool and keep it clean. Replace when stretched, when there is excessive play, or skipping or poor functioning.

;) I noticed there were 3 more replies, giving me some good advice and I want to thank Don Cook, Jeff (Toki), and also to Bicycle Brian.

"Thanks guys" :)

I will definately try to get in the habit of cleaning my chain on a more regular basis, and also lubricating it frequently, and checking it for "stretch"

So far, it is not skipping and seems to be fuctioning properly.

I have got a little over 6700 miles on my original chain in 23 months. I am pretty good about keeping it clean and I lubicate it whenever it looks shiny - about every 300 miles or so. I am geting ready to have it replaced now, even though it appears to be working just fine, and I am told that I should also replace the casette. Should I replace the chain rings too?