hello. first, please forgive my english. i speak five languages, all poorly.

for many years, i ride old 7 speed, suntour 6 speed, also campagnolo 5 speeds. those chains last even to 5 000km before they stretch. +5mm too long, and i replaced, to save cassette life. in good ride weather, i got two months from a chain, no problem.

now i am now riding a specialized roadracing bike with shimano 9 speed gruppo. even after i try several lubes, triflow, ice wax, etc, each time applying every 500km at least, the new narrow chains stretch +5mm after only 2 000km to be replaced.

i am no giant, at 69kg, and i am no giro d'italia champion as i average 25 - 26kmh over time. but i ride sometimes 2 500km each month in summer, this means i replace the chain as much as every 3 weeks!

is 2 000km, (1 200 miles in america) good for the narrow chain? or am i doing something wrong? if you discussed this before, can you direct me to the thread?

thank you!

Consider This:

https://www.yarchive.net/bike/chain_wear.html

Jobst Brandt uses practical sense based on "fact"

Thanks for the link (so to speak). As usual, Mr. Brandt's advice and analysis make sense.

He's wrong about one thing, though.
Using a ruler without an inch scale (although all my rulers have that), is not at all hard. You just hold a ruler to the chain, and check how far off 25.4 cm it is.
If it's up to 25.5, that's 1/25th of an inch. 25.6 is 1/13th of an inch.
1/13 and 1/16 are not too far apart. And 25.7 cm means 1/8th of an inch.
Easy!

My bike is almost brand new, so it has no chain wear to speak of (110 km so far).

thank you for the information. much of this i know from experience. i say "stretch," but i know it is "wear." i ride road only, no VTT. i clean chain with enviro-safe cleaner, but while is on bike. i do not remove chain except to replace, or i would have it off every week!

i have a big alloy rule, from a drafting table i purchase many years ago. it marks english down one edge and metric down the other, and is easy to use on the chains. also, when i remove the chain, i line it up with the new one, to see how much longer it becomes.

i find that until 2 000km, it is minimal, but if i go too long past that, the chain has already worn the sprokets on the cassette.

so, the next question is: how many kms (or miles) should be reasonable for average life of narrow 9 speed chain? 2003, i log 23 800km, replaced chain 13 times!

My experience with the same set up as yours Vitt was that my chains lasted 12,000 to 15,000 miles (about 19000km to 24,000km) on the average...EXCEPT when I used wax based lubes and the chains average life fell to 5,000 miles (about 8,000km). I also keep my chains really clean so that may play some role in that chain life. Newer bike now use thinner chains so the component manufactures can squeeze more and thinner gears into the same basic space as your old 6 speed; those thinner chains (and gears) do not last as long as the older wider chains. The average life of one of those thinner chains is about 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Welcome to the modern age.

Your shorter chain life may be due to two reasons: 1) your not cleaning the chain and gears as much as you should; and/or 2) your using wax based lubes.

Wow! That much difference in wear going to wax based lubes? So Froze what did you use before (and I presume you've gone back to it)? I'm getting about 3500 miles out of 9spd chains with wax based lube and I'm not convinced it is working that well. I swear by wax based lube for my mountain bike though but those are different conditions altogether.

Vittoria one other thing to consider...if your cassette and chainrings are worn your new chains will wear much more quickly until they "fit" the worn rings. I'm not sure where I read this but I believe it was Sheldon Brown's web site:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

Good luck with this.

Wax-based lubes do not hold up well under wet conditions, but they should be adequate in dry weather. With less visible gunk buildup, bike owners may tend to clean wax-lubed chains less often than others, and this in turn could account for much of the difference in observed lifespan.

I like Sram chains with a powerlink, which enables you to take the chain off without a chain tool. Periodically, I take the chain off and put it in a plastic container filled with degreaser, which you can get in big bottles at any discount store. Let the chain soak for a while, then get in there with a toothbrush and scrub away all the grime. Keeping your chain clean is the key to reducing gear wear.

I'm the same, pop the power link, chuck it in a tupperware container with a good slug of citrus, shake it around and let it soak, rinse it and put it back on and lube it with Finishline cross country.

I can't tell you if you are doing anything wrong. I can only tell you my experience. Maybe you can find something useful there.

The whole chain is 5 mm longer? How much longer are 12 links? I replace my chains when 12 links become 1/32 inch or .8 mm longer. I typically get over 4000 miles from a 9 speed Dura Ace chain before 12 links become 1/32 inch longer. I don't know if the Dura Ace chain is better than the Ultegra, but it's only a couple of dollars more so I get it.

Are you riding near sand or loose dust? You should get more than 1200 miles from the chain!! Try to lube/clean it more often. Every 500 Km may not be enough. I lube my chain about every 100 miles or 160 Km. I don't ride in wet conditions. My chain stays very clean, too, because I use a wax-based lubricant called White Lightning. In my opinion it is the best if used properly.
Tom

I can't tell from your post whether you are actually getting 3,000 to 5,000 miles from a thinner (9 speed?) chain, or if you are repeating something you heard. If you are actually getting this kind of mileage by frequent cleaning and avoiding wax-based lubricants, then consider that I get the same mileage and rarely clean my chain because I use a wax-based lubricant.
Tom

I know guys that get 8000mi out of shimano DA chains and they aren't even elongated 1/16" in a foot.I know others that can hardly get 1-2000mi. YMWV.

I am certain the gear-mashers stretch their chains alot faster than spinners such as I do.

Consider this:


https://www.yarchive.net/bike/chain_wear.html

Thanks for the link, wildjim. I never trusted those chain wear tools at the LBS because they don't measure the distance between the pins. In my previous post, I should have said 24 pins, not 12. I replace my chains when a 12 inch length (24 pins) becomes 1/32 inch longer. Senior moment, I guess
Tom