Given the B.S. flying in another thread, I thought I'd offer three instances of my own experience to try to put a better handle on it. Probably in vain, I'm sure.

None of my lubes or methods are anything unusual and certainly I'm not at all interested in debating how/why/when/what to lube a chain. Not the point of this thread at all.

#1 10 speed Campy Veloce CT w/ KMC DX10 chain on my CX bike, ridden mostly on road as a fast commuter and poor weather road bike. In service year round.

At about 1800 miles I popped the chain trying to sprint away from a light in the wrong gear. The missing link came apart shift under load. Operator error on chain failure. Replaced with a new Chorus chain. On the bench it shifted fine after substantial tuning. Not perfect, but good enough. Under load on the road it skipped cogs like mad. Stumped due to 'low' miles, I threw in the towel and sought refuge at my LBS. A few hours later and swapping parts to isolate the problem it was boiled down to being the cassette.

As an everyday/foul weather bike the chain saw at least a weekly wipe down and lube. Maintenance was generally good according to most conventional thinking on the topic.

#2 9 speed Shimano Deore XT w/ HG73 chain on my hardtail. All weather commuter, grocery getter, slop bike. I ride this rig through everything, but pretty much only road use. In service year round.

~1500 miles and time for an overhaul. Shifting is noisy and hard to tune, but functional. New chain, cables, grease here and there, and the whole drivetrain removed and cleaned in a parts washer before re-install. Cassette is spotless and on a new chain shifts like hell.

Maintenance was weekly wipe and lube with daily spraying with WD-40 if running in salt/slush/snow. Driveline was kept in a state of wet lube, but not much more. Inadequate for longevity, but not performance.

#3 10 Speed full Campy Chorus CT (chain too) on my primary roadbike. Ridden in-season only, generally in fair weather given the choice.

Currently have ~2500 miles on these bits and shifting has been a bit noisy/rough for a few hundred. Still performs well and I hope to get through the spring slop (mid-April) on it as is. I expect to change the bits out somewhere in the ~3,500 mile range.

Maintenance has been, frankly, pretty anal. Wipe down after every ride or two, kept in a state of optimal tune, and always clean. Not spotless, but more than should be needed for performance.

Obviously maintenance matters. But matter of riding style, weight, power and manner of delivery, all factor into this. It's not about pro-tour power, using Lube X, or religiously following your regimen. A large group of small parts with tight tolerances will wear at different rates under different operating conditions. How much wear is acceptable to you is another matter.

Off to a flame suit fitting.

The most important part of drivetrain maintenance is measuring the chain for wear. If its worn, replace it and the cassette and chainrings will last a long time. Everything else, what lube, when and if to clean, is secondary.

And as your real world experience shows, its how and where you ride that makes a big difference on how long a chain lasts.

Agreed. Too many variables in everyone's scenarios to state any hardened rules, but (IMHO) if you simply measure chain elongation and swap then your cassettes will last longer than they do now.

I measure when I lube. Takes 10 seconds. Oddly--and this is puzzling--all my chains are well within spec.

Hmmm...must be all the salt in St. Paul.

BTW - off topic - had a buddy living there call me last night to gloat about how he saw how much snow we got hit with while you guys got nothing....

Dry but cold this winter. La Nina, I guess. Spring can come any freakin' time now.

I was cleaning my drive train completely and while I sat at the sink with a toothbrush scrubbing all the crap off of it, I began to think about an easier way to clean the drive train. And so my thoughts turn to those devices that clean. And, of course, I came up with the dishwasher. What do you experts think about using the dishwasher to clean the drive train?

I think it's a great idea, but marriage counselors disagree.


....meh....

Are you married? If the answer is yes, don't try the dishwasher. If you are single, hey, why not?

Unless you have a dishwasher that uses an organic solvent, I don't think you'd find that it does much good. A parts washer, on the other hand, would probably work pretty well.

https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G4012-...2508591&sr=1-3

Someone posted a hypersonic cleaner from ahrbor freight a long time back. I looked for it about a month agho and couldn't find it. I remember the price was reasonable and it would do a great job with bike parts. Anyone with any info?

Something like this? They have several other cheaper ones, too. This is the meanest looking one.
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91957

The ultrasonic cleaner is very effective for drivetrain parts. A friend of mine has one and cleans his chain/cassette with it on a regular basis. It gets VERY clean. He also gets 5K-6K from his drivetrain (runs Shimano DA stuff).

But, alas, he doesn't ride very much, and isn't very fast, having spent most of his time being anal with cleaning. I would rather be fast than have a spotless drivetrain. To do both of those is too time-consuming.

I have also had very much the same experiences as cast-iron with lifespan, it does vary considerably between components.

Recommendations, however, are much better taken when specific examples are given, instead of harsh criticism. I believe this to be an extension of the "elitist roadie" attitude which is displayed so prominently, where everyone has the best answer. I certainly don't claim to know it all, thats for sure.

Cheers~

I didn't do it.