Originally Posted by
Crankycrank
Everybody gets different mileage out of their chains but KMC are very good chains and will last as long or nearly as long as any other brand. I've owned 2 Wipperman chains which were also very good but don't recall them having noticeably more durability than the Shimano or KMC that I normally use. Not a lot of money lost by trying a Wipperman to find out for yourself but don't lose faith in KMC.
I understand, I'm sure KMC is no poorer than most out there, it's probably because I rode a bit too long without cleaning my chain, and same with those others. And as I said, I didn't deal with the factory lube so I had a chain attracting a lot of grime. The chain doesn't look too dirty, however when I touch it my hand comes away with plenty of dark black grease.
I haven't done a lot of riding on it, but obviously enough. Doesn't take much does it, if you do several good rides on a soiled chain, it seems you can quite quickly stretching it past the recommended point?
Park Tool says the ideal length of a chain is 12 inches for 12 links, and that if 12 links of your chain is stretched BEYOND 1/16ths of an inch past 12 inches, then you "should consider replacing your chain". Which implies that right on 12 and 1/16th of an inch is still ok.
My chain is a bit longer than the 1/16th inch mark, but not longer than the 1/8th inch mark, inbetween 1/8th of an inch and 1/16th of an inch. 12 links of my chain is about 12 and 3/32nd of an inch long. If you're right on 12 and 1/16th inches, apparently that's ok, as they say it's "more than" 12 and 1/16th inch.
So my chain is not very stretched, but it is a little past the too-long point.