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Replacing chain after 1350 miles

Old 11-05-15, 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
I'm curious whether anyone has compared the results they get with a typical chain checker versus the ruler method in terms of how long a chain lasts.

I've always used the tools because I'm lazy and it's slightly easier. I wait until the 1% mark to replace and that typically gets me about 2500 miles out of a chain. My current chain is at about 2600 miles so I've been keeping an eye on it. It's past the 0.75% mark but still well short of 1% according to the chain checker. So I felt like it's doing pretty well. Tonight I decided to pull out a ruler and give it a look. It's like new, right at 12 inches!

I pretty much only clean and oil the chain as much as I need to in order to keep it quiet. This result has me wondering if I've been wasting chains.
There is an alternative method to typical chain checker or the ruler method, that doesn't waste chains.
See: https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...l#post18265059
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Old 11-11-15, 06:31 PM
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That seems really low. I didn't replace my chain until 4500 miles and it still had another 1000 or so miles on it but did so since I'm leaving on a 5,000 mile trip next year.
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Old 11-12-15, 12:46 PM
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Holy crap, a 5K mile bike trip?? Gonna carry a spare chain or three with ya?
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Old 11-12-15, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
just remember 0.200" new and 0.240" replace
Very interesting method, but something does not march. After 2200 km, the measurements for my chain are:

1. Between 0.222" and 0.228" with that method, which would indicate some 50% worn chain.

2. The distance over 10 pins, measured with a roller, is 254 mm (let's say it could be 0.1 mm more and I can't visually observe such small as 0.1 mm value). It suggest that my chain is not worn - almost not at all.

Giving the fact that I ride mainly on flats, never in the rain, with average cadence 85 (always above 80), with rare sprints and I deeply cleaned and greased the chain 4 times over 2200 km, I'm tented to say that method 2 shows the correct result and method 1 might not be reliable.

All the best,
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Old 11-14-15, 11:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Giant Doofus
I needed to clean and lube my chain today. I normally do this at home, but since I was in the co-op at the time I decided to go ahead and use the Park tool chain checker. It failed the .5% measurement and very nearly failed the .75% one! I was really surprised because the chain only has 1350 miles on it. I ride in the rain quite a bit, but I'm pretty good about wiping the chain down and keeping it properly lubed.

I'm on a 2015 Bianchi Volpe with a 3x10 Tiagra drivetrain. Any recommendations for a new chain that might hold up better?
You're lucky! My chains are lucky to make 500 and I use SRAM 870.
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Old 11-15-15, 03:01 PM
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
My Felt's original chain (possibly a 105 5700 chain, not sure) went only about 2K miles at which point it was very worn.

I put a KMC X10L-Ti chain on it and it has over 6,000 miles now with no discernible stretch. I've been very amazed at how well it's held up. I use the bike for commuting, but have barely had it in the rain at all this year just due to the fact that we haven't had much rain, or the days/times I commute ended up having little to no rainfall. I wasn't trying to avoid it or anything.

This was my original chain after only 2K miles. At least 3/32" stretch, more than 0.75% nearly 1%.

I've taken a close look at the above photos, and I'm pretty sure that your chain has only been extended approximately 1.5/32, not 3/32 as you have determined. My reference points are the center of the link at 10-31.5/32, and the center of the link at 0-30/32, making for a stretch of 1.5/32 over ten inches (yes, I know it should be measured over twelve inches, not ten, but for these purposes ten is close enough).

This chain has not yet made it to the 1/16" threshold and probably has another 500 miles left in it with no danger to harming the sprockets.

If anyone disagrees with me I'd like to know, because I'd like to have full confidence when I replace my next chain. Thanks.
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Old 11-15-15, 04:07 PM
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I was under the impression that the measurement was to be made center-to-center-- when I measure a new(ish) chain, a 12" steel rule is precisely centered on the two hollowed pin ends. So the stretch on the pictured chain is about 1/2 the width of the pin end, or perhaps 1/16", as CompleteStreets suggests. My last chain was bad-- a good bit past 3/32", and I didn't need a ruler to tell me it was time to replace. The chain was noisy, and shifts at the ends of the cassette were getting sloppy.

I'm standing more and working at lower cadences to work on leg strength, so it will be interesting to see how long this Tiagra chain survives.
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Old 11-15-15, 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by zacster
That doesn't sound right to me either. You shouldn't have to replace a chain on a new bike in the first year.
I'm on my third chain in ten months with my first road bike.
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Old 11-15-15, 05:25 PM
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I finally got around to swapping out the chain today. I made it to 1530 miles. I was amazed on the ride home from the co-op at how quiet the ride was. i hadn't even realized that the chain had begun making noise. I put a KMC X10.93 on it. The package promises it will be "extremely durable." Here's hoping.
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Old 11-15-15, 05:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Buffalo Buff
I'm on my third chain in ten months with my first road bike.
That makes some sense if you are putting on something like 750-1000 miles/month. What is your actual mileage?

J.
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Old 11-15-15, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnJ80
That makes some sense if you are putting on something like 750-1000 miles/month. What is your actual mileage?

J.
I'm doing about 200 miles per week with the occasional century, and I've done three tours this year (About 4k miles added up), so my mileage is not very typical. I'd imagine I'll break 10k miles by the time my bike is a year old....but I don't use a bike computer so I wouldn't know for sure.
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Old 11-15-15, 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Giant Doofus
I finally got around to swapping out the chain today. I made it to 1530 miles. I was amazed on the ride home from the co-op at how quiet the ride was. i hadn't even realized that the chain had begun making noise. I put a KMC X10.93 on it. The package promises it will be "extremely durable." Here's hoping.
I can make any chain absolutely quiet regardless of wear:
1. Ultrasonic cleaning.
2. Dry with heatgun, and dip it in Tri-Flow.
3. Let Tri-Flow dry overnight.
4. Wipe down and re-install on bike.
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Old 11-15-15, 11:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Buffalo Buff
I'm doing about 200 miles per week with the occasional century, and I've done three tours this year (About 4k miles added up), so my mileage is not very typical. I'd imagine I'll break 10k miles by the time my bike is a year old....but I don't use a bike computer so I wouldn't know for sure.
2000 miles per chain is reasonable but probably at the lower end of the range. If you are touring and have heavier loads, that would probably contribute to increased chain wear especially if cadence is lower and lubrication is more infrequent.

J.
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Old 11-16-15, 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Giant Doofus
I finally got around to swapping out the chain today. I made it to 1530 miles. I was amazed on the ride home from the co-op at how quiet the ride was. i hadn't even realized that the chain had begun making noise. I put a KMC X10.93 on it. The package promises it will be "extremely durable." Here's hoping.
Keep it oiled!

I had a SRAM chain last a terribly short time, and I don't know if it's something about SRAM chains or if I abused the chain somehow. My sample size certainly isn't significant. KMC chains are almost always the cheapest, and they're good chains, so they are what I usually buy. I recently got a good price on a Shimano chain, so I bought one.
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Old 11-17-15, 12:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Giant Doofus
I'm on a 2015 Bianchi Volpe with a 3x10 Tiagra drivetrain. Any recommendations for a new chain that might hold up better?
My standard commuter bikes use SRAM PC830 or PC951 chains. If I use the same bike all year roughly 40 minutes each day 5 days a week, I am going to need a new chain every 3 months. It is not about miles, it is about HOW you ride. I sprint from every stop out of the saddle to get up to traffic speed. This is what stretches my chains.

If you want a long lasting chain, see if a Campy chain will work on your setup. I had a Campy Chorus 11 speed chain last 5 YEARS! It was on a fine road bike that I rode like I stole it. Thousands of miles. No bull. But don't drop the soap! It's gonna cost you.
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Old 11-17-15, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by CompleteStreets
I've taken a close look at the above photos, and I'm pretty sure that your chain has only been extended approximately 1.5/32, not 3/32 as you have determined. My reference points are the center of the link at 10-31.5/32, and the center of the link at 0-30/32, making for a stretch of 1.5/32 over ten inches (yes, I know it should be measured over twelve inches, not ten, but for these purposes ten is close enough).

This chain has not yet made it to the 1/16" threshold and probably has another 500 miles left in it with no danger to harming the sprockets.

If anyone disagrees with me I'd like to know, because I'd like to have full confidence when I replace my next chain. Thanks.
I loaded that image of my chain into my CAD program and scaled it. It was stretched 2.5/32 or 5/64", or 0.65%, pretty close to that 0.75% threshold. Oh well, to my eyes it looked like 3/32" or 0.78% which is why I replaced it. I'm getting a Pedro's chain checker soon (similar to the Shimano tool that measures from the same side of rollers) so I won't have to go by eye anymore.

Originally Posted by JoeyBike
My standard commuter bikes use SRAM PC830 or PC951 chains. If I use the same bike all year roughly 40 minutes each day 5 days a week, I am going to need a new chain every 3 months. It is not about miles, it is about HOW you ride. I sprint from every stop out of the saddle to get up to traffic speed. This is what stretches my chains.

If you want a long lasting chain, see if a Campy chain will work on your setup. I had a Campy Chorus 11 speed chain last 5 YEARS! It was on a fine road bike that I rode like I stole it. Thousands of miles. No bull. But don't drop the soap! It's gonna cost you.
I thought my original chain was a Shimano 105 but I now believe it was a SRAM chain. Junk. My KMC chain has lasted 3 times as long or more.
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Old 11-17-15, 01:17 PM
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
I thought my original chain was a Shimano 105 but I now believe it was a SRAM chain. Junk. My KMC chain has lasted 3 times as long or more.
Thanks for the info. I'll give KMS a try next time.
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Old 11-19-15, 05:19 PM
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Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94
I loaded that image of my chain into my CAD program and scaled it. It was stretched 2.5/32 or 5/64", or 0.65%, pretty close to that 0.75% threshold. Oh well, to my eyes it looked like 3/32" or 0.78% which is why I replaced it. I'm getting a Pedro's chain checker soon (similar to the Shimano tool that measures from the same side of rollers) so I won't have to go by eye anymore.



I thought my original chain was a Shimano 105 but I now believe it was a SRAM chain. Junk. My KMC chain has lasted 3 times as long or more.
I still disagree with you. It looks like somewhere between 1.5/32 and 2/32. Just eyeballing the center of the links makes this pretty clear to me. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
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