Chain life expectancy
 

The grip shifter on my Dahon Speed P8 got real tight recently. Prior I was having an annoying tick in first and second gear from the chain and no adjusting one way or another removed it.

So I opted for a cable change thinking the cable had sprung in the SRAM Grip Shifter. Pushed the cable out and it was fine however I COULD NOT feed the new cable through so I took it apart. There's a flat spring in there that was out somehow or another and I figure that's what my problem was.

Got a new cable on and while my shifter was now back to normal I just could not get the rear derailleur dialed in. I got the shifts good but it was still noisy in a couple places. Mostly 1 and 2. Wildly adjusting things moved the noise to 7 and made it way difficult to get into 8th.

Changed the chain today and the noise is gone and I have real smooth, trouble free, noiseless shifting and riding again.

Visual inspection of the old chain confirmed that the noise was happening on the upper jockey wheel in about 3 different chain links.

Took the old chain down and laid it next to the new one to measure it out and I bet I didn't get 10 links down the chain before it was apparent that the old one was stretched. A lot.

A check of the bike computer shows only about 1000 km. However most of this is done on some pretty stupidly steep hills between work and home. I'm no buck fifty rider either. I go 190.

So are the stock chains cheap or something? Did me cranking on the hills stretch it out? How long do these chains normally last?

And yes I clean the chain, a lot. At least once a week. Chain machine and dry teflon lube or Break Free. Whatever is on hand.

John

What does Chain machine do? If you leave dirt inside the chain, and lube over it, you are destroying chain very fast.

Either ride dirty chain, or take chain off, put it in a bucket with solvent and thoroughly clean all the dirt out. When it is squeaky clean, then dry it completely, THEN lubricate.

edit: read this on topic: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

edit2: you clean chain every week? probably what happened is you poured lubricant over dirt, helping dirt get inside chain, grinding it from inside, which is the best, fastest way to destroy a chain. And while stock chains are cheap, they work just fine.

sounds like you just need some maintenance and oil to lube those mechanical parts.

every time after i ride my bike in the rain, i've to re-lube it, else it does exactly what you describes.

Unless you thoroughly clean yours before re-lubing, you are destroying your chain too.

The Speed P8 has a single front chainring. If you use the full range of gears, you're going to stretch the chain out faster than with a double or triple, because the chain is spending less time in a straight / direct line.

A fanatically maintained chain on a double or triple might last 2,000 miles. A poorly maintained chain on a single... 1,000 miles?

Separately, I had a lot of gearing issues with my Dahon D7; IMO the lower-end Dahons just don't have great components. P8 might be a little better but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't stay dialed in or smooth for very long. I don't think Dahon cheaps out on the chain, but it's not top of the line either btw.

If you don't have one, get a chain wear indicator and use it frequently: http://www.parktool.com/products/det...=5&item=CC%2D3

The other thing that is worth mentioning is that if your chain is stretched out enough, your cassette & chainrings might be worn out as well. If it / they are, it will likely eat your new chain in short order.

As usual, Sheldon's site can tell you how to check.

I find that my folder gets a really dirty chain faster than my other full sized bikes, despite it having fenders. I think the it just gets blasted with spray from both wheels easier due to its height off the ground.

Has anyone actually done a study that demonstrates that cleaning a chain is beneficial for increasing its life?

The only report I've read of a controlled comparison was one where the cyclist marked his chain to be able to identify each half. He then periodically removed and separated the chain, carefully cleaned one half, reassembled, and added lubricant to the entire chain. After a few thousand miles it was found that the half that had gotten the periodic cleanings was more elongated than the uncleaned half.

no study, but my sram 9sp winter chain only lasted about 1000 miles before it stretched out to 12-1/16, the heavy phil wood lube didn't hold up as good as the road brime and sand.

I know that if you keep a sram 9sp chain clean and lubed, it should last at least 2500miles.

MTB applications also get shorter chain life.

Wow cleaning the chain every week? Never thought about trying to do it that often, I bet the first responder is right, lube over the dirt will do it in pretty quickly.

No question that a chain operated in dirty conditions will wear out faster than one that's operated where it stays clean. A chain kept sealed and constantly oiled (like a car timing chain) should last for hundreds of thousands of miles.

What's not so clear is whether it actually helps to periodically clean a chain that's operated in dirty conditions. As long as it's kept well-lubricated, any grit particles will be pushed to the outside of the chain rather quickly. I'd expect most of the wear happens when the dirt is first introduced to the interior of the chain and therefore any periodic cleaning would come too late to reduce the rate of wear.

I used to clean my chain anally every week or so by shaking in kerosene. It hardly made a difference.

Then one day I rode the Fleche-Opperman trial, 425km in one day, and most of it in rain and wet roads of course. Before the ride, I couldn't detect chain 'stretch'. After the ride, the chain was completely worn! ONE long wet ride!!

So with that experience I have found the secret to long chain life for myself:

After EVERY wet ride, immediately use compressor to blow chain dry and re-lube. Other than that just relube occasionally perhaps every week, and I do about 500km a week. I haven't taken the chain off to wash it since starting this routine. Just blow it before applying lube.

So now my chain is on 7500km and still fine. :thumb:

I didn't know chains stretched. I assumed they last as long as the bike as long as you keep it clean.

'Stretch' is a misnomer really - what actually happens is the pins wear the plate holes elongated and the chain length increases.

after wet ride: lube, let sit for 15mins, wipe down, repeat twice, or until the chain no longer leaves black streaks over your shop towels. you know your chain is clean, at least on the outside, when it no longer leaves black marks. or you can use a chain cleaning device before lubing and wiping if it's really dirty.

all parts wear out eventually. it just doesn't seem like that since it's so gradual and the parts that wear out, wear out together so it is hard to notice unless you take a measuring device to it.