Originally Posted by
gunterw
Sorry... my typo... measured the chain wear by removing the chain from the bike and measuring across 50 inches (50" *0.50% = 1/4" of stretch).
That's dreadful chain life and I also wonder if you measured the "stretch" correctly. The standard way is over 24 pins (center-to-center or left edge to left edge) which should be 12.0" on a new chain and 12-1/16" after 0.5% elongation. Did you measure your 50" of chain using exact reference points at both ends?
I've got over 3000 miles on a mid-level Shimano chain and it measures just under 12-1/16" over 24 pins which is about typical.