longevity of 10 vs 11 speed chains
 

I had heard 10 speed chains last longer than 11 speed, I just read an article that the 11 speeds chains are built to tighter spec and tend to start less stretched and therefore should last longer.

I have bikes with 10 and 11 speed drivetrains, but I don't ride the 11 speed enough to gather useful data

Anyone have real world experience with this?
Anyone running 11sp chain on a 10 sp system?

I clean my chains regularly and only lube them after cleaning. I don't have a lot of experience with 10 speed chains, as I've only had three bikes with that set up. I have however, not noticed any difference, in "size" of chain wear. I have noticed that some chains last longer than others (I have pretty good luck with Ultegra) I quit buying 10 speed chains and run 11 speed chains on everything. I normally swap chains between 1500-2000 miles (whenever the get to .75 wear) and have cassettes with over 10,000 with no skipping.

All 11 speed chains as far as I can tell are recommended to be replaced at 0.5%, where as 10 (and under) speed chains are recommended to be replaced at 0.75%. In my personal experience, I tend to get 1500-1800 miles out of an 11 speed chain before it hits 0.5%, and I am meticulous with cleaning and lubing. I skipped a generation so I never rode 10 speed, but my 9 speed chains used to get easily 4,000-5,000 miles before hitting 0.75%.

I can tell no difference in life or durability in 9, 10, or 11. For that matter, I broke more 6 and 7 speed chains back in the 80s than I ever did with new chains (zero failures).

People tend to expect the newer, narrower chains to wear out faster. People also don't have a good understanding of how chain wear and chain stretch happens, and don't account for the fact that, while old chains were indeed thick, they were also made of cheese. People made a big fuss about how 10 speed chains didn't last as long as 9 speed, and 9 was worse than 8, and so on. In reality, there's no appreciable difference between them as far as I can tell. Manufacturers do actually account for wear when developing new chains. The whole discussion isn't helped by the wildly varying reports people give for chain life; I am very skeptical that most people are as good at tracking component life as they think they are.

Tracking component life is EASY. Strava does it all for you. Enter a new component, the date you installed it on, and you're set. One quick glance will tell you EXACTLY how many miles each component on each bike has on it. :thumb:

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+1 -- Except I use Garmin Connect to do it. It seems a little less fussy about handling things like this. Plus I can always go check out my graveyard of retired equipment and see exactly how long all of my chains have lasted

I can do that on Strava too. I use Garmin Connect for tracking my fitness, but gear seems a bit more complicated. I have Garmin upload everything to Strava and Endomondo, the all have things I like as far as tracking my history.

To each his own I guess. It's great to have so many choices.

I've been riding for decades and I ride between 7500 and 8000 miles per year -- now, on 11 speed. I have NEVER replaced a chain because of chain wear. (I have replaced the chain when replacing a worn out chainring set or cassette. Just never for the sake of chain wear.)

I'm not an expert but I would assume the worn out cassettes were caused by worn (stretched) chains

I should have been clearer: I've never had a chain measure far enough out of spec to justify replacement on its own.

(And chains don't stretch. Their pins/bushings wear, giving the illusion of "stretch.")

Although it seems like common sense that newer, narrower chains would wear out faster, I've seen tests/studies that disprove that assumption. Apparently the manufacturers upped their design/material game with each generation to keep the chains relatively durable.

Makes perfect sense. The last thing companies like Shimano would want is for their new technology to be seen as a downgrade in any way.

You're getting weaker.

That's a given. ;)

Isn't chain wear more about the pins and rollers diameter and strength rather than the chain width?

Correct and that's why it doesn't make much difference how many "speed" the chain is. Roller and pin diameter hasn't changed.

+ 1.

Chain wear is the same but cassette cogs are thinner, so they wear slightly faster. Most of that is likely negated by the number of cogs used regularly.

Rhetorical question. LOL. Jury still out on my SRAM 11 speed. 1700 mi and no stretch. I have gotten over 3000 on my 10 speed Shimano before I changed.

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Do 11-speed crank chainrings and/or cassettes wear out faster? (I seem to blow through them at a mind-boggling rate.)

I just spent a bit of time trying to find where to do this on Garmin Connect, and failed. Any suggestions where to look?

I haven't looked, but am kind of interested too. Just add it as a piece of gear?

maybe.

How many miles are we talking about, and what are the weather conditions?

That's why I ride 105, I don't worry about wear and replacement. A 105 crank can be had for $65, cassette for $35, chain for $20. No problem.