Life of a chain
 

How long should a Chain last? I have a trek 8.3 bought it in January. I am 57 years old and a newbie so it's not like I have ridden thousands of miles on it and in fact took a 2 month hiatus due to health. At any rate I got a group on for a local LBS and he called me today and said he replaced the chain. Now my concern isn't with his honesty but I feel a chain shouldn't stretch that fast. Are chains on new bikes inferior compared to after markets? Thought's ?? Thanks

Chains age by miles, not by months. And riding conditions do play a big role. And the more gears in the rear the thinner the chain and the faster they wear. But it sounds short. My all-year, all-weather commuter probably go 3000 miles on one chain.

Maybe your mechanic used one of the bespoke chain stretch rulers, which some people don't like much.

I don't notice much difference WRT chain brand. Frequency and diligence when cleaning and lubing seems to be far more important.

Wrote here about how the chain wears and how one can easily measure wear.
As well as consequences of not changing the chain in time:

When to replace the chain on a bicycle? - Cycle Gremlin

Chains are pretty much a commodity item, and the OEM chains used by manufacturers are the same as ones sold at
retail, although the price they pay is a small fraction of what the retail is when you buy it bulk by the mile.
The likelihood your chain was "worn out" is small, but your mileage may be more than you think. Probably not the
3000 miles or so a reasonably cared for chain should last. That is what I get anyway, like dabac. Be aware that (some)
new chains have a functionally nice lube on them but it is very sticky and a dirt magnet. Consider at least a heavy
external wipedown with a solvent (mineral spirits) soaked cloth to remove as much of this as possible.

One of the easiest maintenance tasks to learn is how to measure a chain for wear, all you need is a 12" ruler. Plenty of videos, how-to articles available. Then you'll know for sure if your chain needs replacing without worrying about a shop selling you unneeded parts. I would also highly recommend learning to do your own bike maintenance and repairs. Saves a ton of money, you'll know what to check for to keep your bike in top working condition, you can do emergency repairs if something breaks on a ride which can save you a walk home or the dreaded call of shame to get a ride from someone you know and the time spent dropping off and picking up your bike from a shop is often more than most maintenance tasks require not to mention being without your bike for 1-? days.

Can you measure the old chain?
Did you ever lubricate the chain?

I also expect your mechanic used a commercial "chain checker" which, as dabac noted, tend to give erroneously high wear reading.

Using my experience as a data point, I'm relatively light at 150 and older at 74 but I ride a lot and, as my forum name suggests, climb a lot. I get 6000 to 7000 miles on a chain before it measures over 1/16" elongation over 12" (24 pins). I do keep the chain relatively clean and relube it at 300 to 500 mile intervals and immediately after getting caught in the rain. So, unless you are heavy, ride a lot more than you said or are completely negligent of chain care, your chain should still be in good shape.

If you're an infrequent customer who doesn't do their own maintenance, it's very possible that the chain wasn't completely worn out, but the shop figured now was a good time to replace it. It's $10-15 plus labor, not a bad deal.

Normally when a bike shop changes something you get the old part /component back, if so measure it, put it on again does it lift of the large crank maybe its not stretched length wise, but the rollers are worn.

Maybe in Malaysia. The "normal" thing is to throw away the old part since why the hell would the customer want it back?

+1 Normally the shop will discard worn components unless the customer specifically asks to have them returned. Even then they could give you a badly worn chain from someone else's bike to convince you you really did need a new one.

Some not terribly honest auto repair shops keep sets of worn out brake pads around to convince customers they needed new pads without telling them the pads aren't from their car.

the two shops I (infrequently) use typically put all worn parts in a plastic bag for the customer to inspect or discard as they choose.

doesn't apply to bar tape, tires, or tubes...

Well, I'd certainly never heard of giving the old crap back unless the customer specifically requested it. Seems like a cleaner story to say that the old stuff needed replacing, so we did, and get rid of the evidence.

Although if the shop is limited in the volume/weight of garbage they can throw away, perhaps offering customers the opportunity to haul away their own trash is a way to lighten that load. :lol:

I always ask for the part back.. I do this especially for auto repairs.

If there is a core charge for an auto repair then I ask to be shown the part.

It keeps the shop honest. On a bike it is easy to tell if a part has been replaced but 99% of the people out there wouldn't know how to tell if an alternator was replaced in their car. A bottom bracket on a bike is a good example.


This is a great practice. I wish shops in my area would do this.




-Tim-

A chain kept out of the elements in an Oil bath can last quite a while, But, That is Not how Bicycle chains are used ..

Got a DS? 8.3 DS | Trek Bikes

Dirt is not going to help your chain wear life-span , Clean and Lubed, will .. what wears is under the Roller of the chain .
Did you ever Clean and lubricate your Chain? :foo:



'/,

When I first started biking, I didn't really know better. I had a mountain bike that I used on the local trails, with nothing more than a blast of WD-40 every 6mo or so. After about 3year/<500mi the chain was utterly shot. My road bike got dedicated chain oil on a roughly monthly basis. That chain lasted ~5000mi.

If you did nothing more than ride the bike twice a week, and never oiled the chain, then it's entirely possible it's worn.

It varies. My rain bike gets hammered on chains. I think I got 2000 miles on the last one, and should have replaced it in half that time.

Lube will also make some difference. Did you ride all summer without lubing the chain?

I've had some troubles with cassette and chainring wear from being late with chain replacement, so my new road bike gets them early (I think). I've kept the old chain, and may choose to put it back on, later if I choose to wear it down some more, but probably not.

That's the policy of a LBS I used to work at - always keep the part and then ask the customer if they want it back. 99% of them say to throw them away, but it's a good precaution - there are tricky, difficult people.

Or there are people who have been cheated in the past and don't want it to happen again.

However, as I mentioned above, if you get the worn parts back there is no assurance they are indeed your old parts unless you know exactly what you had. I expect most riders can't identify the make and model of their old chain so showing them any beat-up chain will convince them it needed to be replaced.

I appreciate all the responses. The guy did use one of those chain checkers and he said the chain was stretched. When I picked the bike up today I asked how the chain would wear so fast and was told it all depends on conditions etc. He said he knew a bike chain wearing in a week that was ridden on the beach. Most of my riding has been on asphalt. The only thing I can think of is that I'm not a little skinny fella ( not a horse either) so when I pedal up hill it might really put a strain on the chain. I will say one thing I took it for a little ride when I got it back and it does seem to pedal and shift better. If you guys are getting 3000 miles+ out of a chain then I am doing something wrong or I got a junk bike.

or you can pick their pockets when they enter the shop, lol.

without a minimal ammount of trust, no trade or commerce can be done.

i'd never do business with someone i suspect would want to trick me.

charging for parts or work that hasn't been done is a very bad, very short sighted policy imo.

It was oiled. They did mention that letting the chain go could damage other parts which I know is kind of a no brainer..