I think 1700 is pretty crappy myself. I get more than that on my commuter bike which sees the worst of it.
Edit: That's around 3k kms on one $10 chain. Granted that chain weighs about 100g more and I only have 7 speeds but you do the math and decide if it's worth it.
Last edited by I_bRAD; 08-15-07 at 08:17 PM.