Originally Posted by
Mr. Underbridge
That's what I was afraid of. I know there's no hard expiration date - but what I want to avoid is having to also buy another cassette because it's started to wear, which I'd discover when the new chain starts to skip and wear on the old cassette.
I know I'm shooting in the dark here a bit, but other than chain skip and "stretch", is there anything I can do to inspect the chain for wear? Or can I be reasonably confident in a chain that's not sticking, rusty or obviously physically compromised if it has less than 1/16" stretch?
Or should I just stop whining, err on the side of caution, and forget about getting another 25% out of the chain's lifespan?
That's where the 1/16" number comes from. Over decades of experiences with millions of people trying out different combinations and wear-limits. Ultimately at the end of this cumulative journey, 1/16" has been chosen as a good combination of cost and durability. As long as it's lubricated, spins smoothly without grinding, you can use 1/16" as the final indicator.