First time chain replacement
 

I purchased a Trek Verve 3 a little over a year ago, have 3.200 miles on the chain and the chain wear tool indicates it is time for replacement.

The bike came with a KMC X9 chain.
Searching around I found these suggestions
• KMC X9.93 → better plating, longer life
• SRAM PC‑971 → very robust, good for heavier riders or mixed terrain

I am 87yoa, bike exclusively on a macadam bike trail, bike only when the trail is dry, bike mainly for the joy of it and to get some cardio-vascular exercise.

This is my first chain replacement, I have a master-link tool, and I would welcome any tips and tricks, cautionary advice, suggestions for chain choice, and especially advice on getting the right chain length.

sounds like the X9.93 is a good choice.
you'll have to set the length yourself, or get help doing so... i have always used the small/small method... many prefer to calculate the length, or use the big/big method.
Small/Small gives the chain ample slack, and reduces tension friction.
here's a vid about the Verve...
an article on chain length determination...
https://bike.bikegremlin.com/614/cha...h-derailleurs/

Small/Small sets the chain as loose as possible, while still maintaining tension on the chain.... the der's cage/rollers end up about level to the ground, and there is less tension on the chain, overall..

you can see if your present chain is the correct length, then just copy that length by counting the links... a worn out chain is going to be longer due to wear, and simply laying the chains next to each other isn't accurate enough.. COUNT THE LINKS, ok?

the "quick link" master links are simple and effective.
better to set the chain length a bit long, then cut again, if needed....... pushing the pins back in is difficult, never recommended, and they love to come back out at really bad moments... OUCH!

Good advice on that cut the length a bit long; it's easier to remove one more link than it is to put back a link you have removed!

just line up the new chain with the old one and cut it to the same length. Any variety of the X9 will do fine

Chain checkers tend to be conservative.
I like to measure a 3' section.
3/16" in 3' is replacement time.
I use the 1" & 37" marks to avoid the inaccuracy that might occur with a bent/poorly placed "hook".
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f8b42c6250.jpg

I like to size my chain this way. Put it on the largest ring & cog and make sure you have 1-2" of "slack".

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bad6267eaa.jpg


WHAT kind of chain tool? You don't want to be pushing pins on 9 & > speed chains, unless you use the proper connecting pin.
Quik links are much simpler.

+1. No need to use any chain sizing methods if the old chain length was working fine. Hang the old and new chains together by a nail or whatever works. Old chain will be slightly longer from wear than the new one. This makes finding the correct link to cut a no-brainer.

Either chain will do well KMC and SRAM both make excellent chains. You will also want to replace your cassette as well as they tend to wear together and 3k is a lot of mileage for both so I suspect the chain has been past due for replacement. Not always some people are really gentle and somehow get some extra life but usually at 3k it would be past due on both,

I also recommend giving everything a good cleaning off the bike if you can if not carefully clean it all on the bike. I typically use a citrus degreaser or a mix of Rock 'n' Roll Red cleaner and alcohol and just get it all over your drivetrain (being careful not to get anything on your braking surfaces but isopropyl alcohol) and an old toothbrush or the specific cleaning brushes do a really nice job and will help prevent getting old grit and grim in your brand new components wearing them out faster.

replacing a cassette after 3000 miles? Unless the chain is showing serious wear (this is a fair-weather bike ridden by an 87 y.o. man - unlikely), that seems excessive 🤔

I said it was a possibility and on lower end group sets it is pretty normal. I would say running 2 chains on the cassette could have eked out a little more milage maybe but 3k can be a lot and 3k with minimal maintenance could be a lot more. I don't mess around with chains and cassettes because I know customers will complain when it doesn't shift right and you tried to save them a little money and now they are having to pay extra for more parts that you didn't notice on first check in and you want to charge them labor and it gets messy. Solve the problem right away replace both have good shifting and you aren't spending a ton of money.

You said, "you will want to".
I think it's nuts an 87 YO on dry paved trails is going to wear out a cassette in 3K miles.

I don't think anything is nuts. The amount of things I have seen would probably shock some of you but is quite normal in my day to day bike life. Replacing chain and cassette is pretty common unless the chain is replaced early than sure but the more things wear the more things wear. Don't underestimate someone simply because of age.

I got through 4 chains and about 11k miles on my last cassette. And it wasn’t even playing up. I only did that because it was in for some other work anyway.

My LBS told me I should do the large chainring too. Which was 9 months old. No thanks.

Soinds like the OP has no cassette removal tools either so would have to pay someone to do it. Just do the chain. I always count the links (and remember to add 1 for the quicklink if the old chain didn’t have one)

Quicklink removal pliers are a very useful tool too. Like the Park Tool MLP-1.2

seems he states only his chain needs replacing
either chain indicated will work well
remove links from new chain until it matches the length of the chain you are replacing
ride on and enjoy

As @Crankycrank suggests, if you're not changing the gear ratios, use the old chain to determine the length of the new chain. And be prepared to replace rear sprockets as well. Worn sprockets, especially the smallest ones, may not mesh properly with a new chain. If you change the gear ratios when you replace the sprockets, you may also need to adjust the chain length, so if you have any plans to change your gearing, now is the time to do it.

Counting links helps if there is excessive stretch

If counting links makes a difference, the cassette will *definitely* need replacement. Just sayin'... :innocent:

there's no stretch in the world that will account for an extra link over the length of a chain :foo:

I have seen non-mechanically inclined people do crazy things and imagine someone using a tape measure to determine length...

Chain about 5' long
1/8"/foot =5/8".
Badly worn could go an inch.

bike drive chains don't "Stretch", ever... the pins and bushings wear.

and a half inch is not an uncommon amount of cumulative wear in an abused, un-lubed chain.
i've found nearly that much slop in a "new" Bell branded chain before.

that's why i always advise Counting the Links, not "side by side" comp.

I have been looking at Park Tool videos on this subject and this one confirms your post.


At the 1:01 mark, he demos how to confirm that the length of the old chain is correct using the big/big and small/small method and my current chain, even though worn, fits his description to a "T". At the 2:59 mark, he demos laying them out side by side. This looks too simple to be true but, hell, he's the Park Tool guy and it's safe to assume he knows whereof he speaks.

when you say working fine, I take that to mean despite showing wear with a chain-wear tool and needing replacing, the chain works, isn't skipping, isn't noisy, etc....correct?

It looks like a lot of folks agree with you on that one. I could have added - as an indication of how much strain the chain and cogs are under - that I weigh 180 lbs, the biking I do is a gentle downhill slope to a river, then loops along the river where it's flat, then back up the slope to home, and that standing on the pedals makes me a bit nervous and so I keep my butt firmly attached to the saddle...and check the tire PSI daily,

Speaking of costs, the LBS - who sole me the bike - is asking $37 for the chain and another $63 to install it. Gee, guys, how to drive customers away from your bike store. Then again, the cost of living inside the Beltway in Washington, DC is shockingly expensive and his rents are probably sky high.

Before I put this new chain on...

I degreased my old chain thoroughly at about the 800 mile point, and have been lubing it with Squirt since. I warm up the Squirt in a coffee cup of water at 160°F for about
30' before putting one drop of lube on each link, then rotating the pedals about 50 times backward, then 50 times forwards and leaving it to dry for 24 hours. It's gotten me 3.500 miles of use out of that chain.

I have always worried about the re-application of Squirt every 150 miles or thereabouts since, if I understand the directions correctly, you wipe the chain clean by running it through a rag then it's the drop-of-lube routing I mentioned just above.

Should I degrease the new chain and follow the same regimen with the Squirt?

FWIW, I never ride in the rain, have never been caught in a rainstorm, and wait until the trail is dry before biking. I am not going to wax it, but certainly open to experimenting with other lubricants.

Can't sufficiently express my gratitude to all who have chimed in on this thread!!