My wife and I both ride Specialized Crosstrails and love them. Hers is a 2014 Sport disc and mine is a 2015 Expert Disc. They each have roughly 750-1000 miles on them. Im meticulous about maintenance and cleaning. Our chains get a good clean and lube every 100 or so miles or riding. 99% Colorado bike path and roads.
My question is this; how often should I think about replacing the chain on our bikes? My wife's is not shifting as crisply as it used to (could be lower components etc...) and Im trying to get my head around why? Thanks.

There are chain wear gauges you can buy, or you can measure 12 links from the center of the rivet to center of rivet. It should be 12". If it is 1/16" longer its time to replace the chain

I've been replacing my chain about every 800 -1100 miles. But, I often ride through muddy trails, type of stones and it's dust used in MD and PA creates a real mess. Along with occasionally going through streams and such, has been wearing out my chains easily. I've replaced the rear cassette with the Shimano HG400 and the SRAM PC 971 chain and it shifts really nice now.

Have you checked the chain with a chain checker yet?

The simple way I have done it is to use a 12" steel rule (I use the one out of combination square). Stretch the chain tight and line up the "12" on the center of a rivet . Then look at where the "0" falls. If it on the rivit, you ok, if it falls short of the rivet, order a new chain. I don't know if this would work on a 10 or 11 speed cassette, but it works fine on my 7 and 8 speeds (14/21 speeds and 16/24 speeds)

I have a chain checker in the tool box but I just change my chains between 750-1000 miles. And I clean my chain after every ride or two.

"My wife's is not shifting as crisply as it used to.."

If you haven't yet; adjust cables and lube der.

Still valid. Chains have gotten narrower but still has the same pitch.

My 2012 Trek 7.3fx currently has 16,899 miles on it. I scrape the gunk off the sprockets and jocky wheels and wipe down the chain when I lub it, but other than that don't do any special cleaning. I lub the chain every 200-300 miles or after riding in the rain or if it starts to get noisy. I change it when my gauge shows it has worn 1/16". Below is my chain and cassette usage from my log:

Factory Chain - 1385 miles on chain
KMC z52 - 2343 miles on chain
KMC z52 - 795 miles on chain (changed because it was noisy..think it had defective link)
SRAM PC850 - 3054 miles on chain
SRAM PC850 - 5401 miles on chain
SRAM PC850 - still going with 3922 miles on chain

Shimano HG31 (Factory) - 3725 miles on cassette
Shimano HG41 - 4415 miles on cassette
Shimano HG31 - Still going with 8757 miles on cassette

Jim

Great advice all, and thank you. In the interest of preventative maintenance I think I am going to replace both chains AND get the shifting adjusted at my LBS. What should I pay for a chain? Is one better than the next? Thanks.

If you replace the chain you may have to look at changing the cassette as well. Chains and cassettes wear together. I don't think I've ever replaced a chain without having to replace the cassette due to skipping.

Solid advice, but I will take this one step further and say that, "you should ALWAYS change the cassette when replacing the chain".

If you keep your drive train clean the wear on the cassette will be much less than the chain due to stress and its contact with the front chain ring in addition to the cassette. I will go 3-4 chain replacements before needing to replace the cassette or parts of it. Now I am a bit obsessive and will clean my chains after every ride and on occasion every two rides. I do this simply to prolong the life of the components. Don't get me wrong I like new parts but I also like my parts. And it feels better when I replace something because I wanted to and not because I had to.

Why? I can see no reason to replace a cassette that doesn't need it. A worn chain will wear out a new cassette in short order, but I have never heard of a worn cassette affecting the life of a new chain (assuming the cassette isn't worn out and skipping). And that certainly hasn't been my experience, see my chain and cassette usage in post 8 of this thread. The only reason I can see to replace the cassette with every chain replacement is if you wait too long to replace the chain and the worn out chain tears up the cassette.

Jim

I'm at the point where I just replace the chain and cassette together. If it gets noisy or starts to skip in one or more gears, then its time. I also just lube the chain with air tool oil when it starts to look dry. That's been about once per week since I usually ride every weekday for cyclecommuting. Finally, I just wipe the chain after every ride. I don't bother with the cleaning tool that I used to use anymore. Seems to work ok so far.

Just wiping the chain will not remove sand and dirt from inside the chain. That's the cause of the most wear on the drive train.

Just replace the chain with the same as equipped -- probably a KMC X8 with Missing Link quick link. Good chains. I use KMC Z72 with Missing Link on two 7-speed bikes. They cost $8-$10 depending on where I buy them.

I replace chains about every 1,000-1,500 miles, which may be more often than some folks would need. But I ride a lot of gritty rural chip seal "pavement" (awful stuff) and gravel.

I'd rather replace the chains more often to save the chainwheel and cassette/freewheel teeth. Not a big deal with my comfort hybrid that uses the inexpensive Shimano MegaRange freewheels. But my mountain bike has an older Shimano Exage aluminum triple chainring that I'd like to preserve as long as possible; although the cassette is a fairly easy to replace Uniglide. My road bike has an old Suntour GPX group that I'd like to preserve as long as possible -- replacements are scarce and expensive. So it's more cost effective to replace the chain often.

Regarding cleaning and lubing, for the past couple of years I've used those spinning brush chain cleaning doodads with reservoirs for cleaning fluid. I clean the chains outdoors on the bike. Those doodads make it quick and easy. Then I wipe down the rear rim to clean off the spatter if I'm going for a ride immediately; or wash the entire bike.

With quick links like the KMC Missing Link we can remove the chain fairly easily to clean it in a closed container of mineral spirits. Some folks get fancy and use ultrasonic cleaners. I did that years ago on my older road bike, but it was a messy hassle. Smells funky too. Not a great solution for folks in small apartments with odor-sensitive partners or roomies.

To lube, I've used Park CL-1 drip liquid and Tri-Flow aerosol spray. The Tri-Flow is much quicker and easier, although it slops onto the rear cogs and chainrings. But it works well and lasts several rides depending on conditions. The Park CL-1 lasts longer per application and persists even through rainy rides. But it's a pain in the neck to apply, like any drip lube, and slops all over the rear cogs and chainrings.

And that's always going to be the problem with cleaning and lubing a chain on the bike. It's quicker but a compromise. You'll need to clean at least the rear rim afterward (might not be necessary with disc brakes). And there are endless arguments about whether we're actually cleaning the chain or just forcing grit into the links and making a fine abrasive paste with fresh lube.

Or we can wipe down the chain and ignore the fine abrasive paste of lube and grit in between the plates that's constantly rubbing the teeth on our cassettes/freewheels and chain rings.

So recently I finally decided to try wax. Heard and read plenty about it from fans. Got some Gulf wax (paraffin) from the hardware store, melted it in a spare crock pot I'd never used, dipped the clean chain and it's worked great on the errand bike that gets ridden maybe 20-30 miles a month on short hops.

Encouraged, I tried paraffin on the road bike with new chain. Much quieter running due to the paraffin, and smoother shifting due to the better KMC Z72 chain (the original 1980s Suntour chain was clunky). So far I have about 100 miles on the freshly waxed road bike chain. Works great.

Supposedly wax isn't as persistent through rain. We'll see with the errand bike, which I do ride rain or shine. Won't affect the road bike unless I get caught in an unexpected storm.

While it's a bit more hassle in setup, overall it's no worse than ordinary cleaning and lubing -- just different. The waxed chain doesn't pick up much grit, even on gravel rides. The cassette/freewheel cogs and chainrings stay sparkling clean -- well, pretty much. Very little schmutz. No more chain tattoos on my shins and socks. No fine abrasive paste of chain oil and grit gradually wearing stuff down.

But, yeah, I might go back to chain oil on the errand bike if it turns out wax doesn't hold up to rain. We'll see.

Not really.. I change my Chain every 500miles of my Roam. Comparing its cassette to my other bikes, I can tell that i dont see any significant wearing on its cogs. Only scratches. Take note the gears and chainring already have over 4000miles on it.

I agree, cleaning up the chain regularly helps you a lot in prolonging your chain life.

I'm using KMC chains as well. The X8.99 chain is about 10 bucks on Amazon today on Prime Day. Otherwise, the X8.99 (the full nickel one) runs about $18, and the X8.93 (outer plates nickel) are about $11 bucks. I have a .99 on my Trek Verve and a .93 on my Trek 750. My other bikes are using either a brown KMC (like a Z8 or Z52/72 or similar) or a silver/brown Sram PC830. I admit that I bought the X8 chains for their good looks (bright silver/nickel). I think the X8.93 is likely KMC's best value, at only 11 dollars or so.

I love 7- and 8-speed stuff!

I'm trying an experiment with my X8 chains. Full mineral spirits degrease and NO other lube. I ride an average of between 20 and 50 miles a week, so I'm not piling the miles on my bikes, and the chains obviously stay super clean this way. Even if I take them off to clean them once a month, that's only 200 miles tops between rounds and I've read that there is enough residual lubrication inside the chain from mineral spirits to keep them sufficiently lubricated...at least if you don't put thousands of miles on between cleanings.

My 750 has its original Interactive Glide cassette, and it's worn and in need of replacing. I don't stand up to pedal anyway, but I wouldn't try much of that on the 750 due to having its original cassette still. I'll see how my chain experiment goes over the next year or so. If I trash the cassette, well, it's probably too worn already anyway.

Sure. However the other theory is that if you clean the chain with a solvent, then it will bring the road grime into the chain. I'm not sure which is worse. I have had the chain for a season (~5000 miles) without any issues in the past. So this lazy method seems to work for me so far. There was another thread where I got this idea from. I just forget which one...

Edit: Its not easy to completely clean the chain. I think the best you can get is solvent or soap and water with a scrub brush to clean the outside. Then use an ultrasonic cleaner once or twice to try and get the gunk out of the inside. Finally, let the chain dry overnight or use a low temp oven to dry faster.

Why do you change out your chain so often ? If I changed out my chain every 500 miles, I would be replacing a chain every month ! I've been a avid rider for 35 years, and I have always got 4000 to 6000 out of a chain, and basically I always needed a new cassette because a new chain would skip.

I have almost 8,000 miles on my Fuji Crosstown, I replaced the chain and cassette at around 4500 miles because the chain would start to skip once in a while on hard hill climbs. I clean my chain once a week, I'm a weekly maintenance type person, and always keep my bike clean.

To each his own, but I will ALWAYS change the cassette when replacing the chain.

I get about 9,000 miles from a chain.

Every 500/600 miles, Remove it, Degrease it, Wash, Dry, install, and relube.

I have to.. My usual rides are Hilly gravel roads like in the Ozark and some parts of Wyandotte, OK Mountain where I get 1000feet of elevation gain for every 10miles and i also doing a once a month century riding/touring. I know my chain always eat up dust and dirt. WIth my bike converted in to 1X of 42t chain ring, the chain always snakes in to the last 3 biggest gears of my cassette. Imagine the stretch.
Last March, I have to get rid my new chain after just using it for 60miles. The reason.. Oklahoma LandRun100.

CC-3.2 Chain Checker | Park Tool

I'm getting about 6 months/3500 miles to a chain on my road bike. I am not fastidious about keeping it clean and shiny, but I do lube and wipe it down regularly (monthly or about 500-600 miles), or when I ride in rain (rarely).

I replaced my cassette most recently after about 15,000 miles. No skipping, but just seemed like it was time. Shifting was a bit crisper once I changed it.

Ahh, okay then, you are very much the exception to the rule ! Wow, thats some serious riding, I can now see why you replace your chain so often. Do you use a "chain gauge" to determine when you need to replace it, or does your shifting start to suffer ? Still, with that type of riding, I would assume that your cassette would get worn pretty quick, (not after 500 miles, but I would think 1500 miles max?) especially in the 3 big gears you use so often.

Where I live its pretty flat, I'm almost always riding right at sea level, the only "elevation" I really encounter is the MUP overpasses and draw bridges, and thats no more than a whopping 100 feet max.