Originally Posted by
stapfam
...
Life of a chain depends on 3 things. Quality of the chain- how often you clean and oil it and how much use it has had. Quality is obvious. Cleaning and re-oiling the chain will extend its life. And ride offroad and it will wear out quicker ...
Make that "
5 things"
For a given amount of torque on the cranks and a given gear ratio, the smaller the chainring and cog, the greater the linear stress on the chain. Fewer rollers grab the cog at any time, and these are taking a heavier total load, so the problem probably goes up quadratically. The other huge factor is whether you slog the higher gears (hard on the chain and your knees) or spin in lower gears.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069