I don't understand why people will spend good money (and sometimes a lot of it) on chain wear measurement tools that are just plain inaccurate, when a simple metal tape measure with 1/16" markings that everyone should have will do a better job. It really doesn't take that much skill to see if the pin-to-pin length of 12 complete links is at or over 12-1/16".

I keep my chains nice and clean and replace when stretched which is approx every 12,000 km if I had to change my chain every 1500 milesthat would mean every other month (or monthly in the summer) the only exception to this was a sram chain which was stretched in 2000 miles

I've changed my 10 spd Ultegra chain 3 times in the last 25k miles, and I could have rode further on each one if I chose to. Cadence, climbing, and maintenance, matter much more than mileage does.

You mean you could have ridden further on each had you chosen to?

I agree that mileage is not the only factor affecting chain wear. Cross chaining, hammering while shifting, drive chain cleanliness (next to Godliness in my book)--all play a big role. Because I ride solo and therefore have nothing to prove, I try not to shift under load and I always let up a bit while executing a shift. If you anticipate your gearing needs in advance of--for example--a hill, your drive chain will benefit.

Why do all this to squeeze a few more miles out of a $25 chain? I believe that if you take good care of your gear, it will take good care of you.

There is a point when tossing chains too often costs far more than replacing a cassette more often. I expect 4-5,000 miles from a chain and I can get the full life of at least 3 chains on each cassette, by alternating their use. I might leave each chain in use for 1500-2000 miles on it's first go-around, but I don't toss the chain when I remove it, I keep it for further use.

Chain checking tools seem kind of dumb, when a precision 12" rule does a proper job and it's no more difficult to use. Just place one end of the rule on the edge of a pin and then look at the pin at the opposite end. When new, that pin will be completely covered. When the elongation increase to 1/16", nearly half of that pin will be exposed. There is nothing magic about the .5% elongation value. It may allow some people to use 6 chains with a cassette and others will only get 3 chains worth of use before encountering new-chain skip. I never get new-chain skip when I alternate the use of several chains.

A chain should never break because it's been in use for only 2000 miles, unless it's due to poor shifting technique. It's rare for a chain to actually break. What happens most often is one end of an outer plate is pried off the end of a pin and the chain comes apart, even though nothing is broken. That type of failure is common at the joining pin, which is always a weak link in a chain.

I'm curious about the lifespan of a Wippermann removable link. How many chains are they good for? Mine looks like it's wearing on the inside where the rest of the chain makes contact with the side plates, but I don't have a new one to compare it to. This one has been through maybe 2 chains and 6,000 miles. Maybe I should just buy a new one and keep this one in my seatbag for a backup.

Wipperman actually suggests that the links can be used until the pins wear down to .136 inch in diameter, from their original .142. Wipperman provides a new link with every chain, so they really don't intend for the links to be used more than once. Contrary to popular belief, Wipperman does not make connex links that are intended for use with other chain brands. They do happen to fit Shimano or KMC chains properly.

IMO the Wippe link is just a bit better than the KMC link, becuase it is possible to unseat the KMC link (that's another story).

New chain, new link, yes.

I also rotate three chains for life of one cassette. Although two might do, three is safer and easier - with said links, one is drying after its cleaning, one is one the bike, and one is lubed. The lube works better after a day or more time for the vehicle to completely evaporate...

The setup is showing significant wear at 10-12K miles, when all is replaced.

fwiw, I'm liking the Ultegra cassette better than the sram (the gap-toothed one), and kmc chain is tighter that the Wippi

If I replaced my chain every 1500 miles....

I clean my chain fairly often and used to measure via the 12 links/rivets method
My last chain measured quite good using that method, was a few thousand miles old.

HOWEVER the rollers actually had wear on the surface of them,
they were no longer flat but has a concave surface which only after getting a new pair of wheels
with cassette and trying to troubleshoot a creaking noise was an lbs with one of those tools able to
pinpoint the chain wear.
.02

needless to say my chainrings were also worn.

None of that makes any sense. The cogs should never make a roller have a concave shape or make the chainrings wear out. What does .02 refer to?

The only chain brand that I've seen that suffers from roller wear in advance of chain elongation is Campy. A well maintained Campy chain can show as little as .15% elongation after 6,ooo miles. I measured the rollers and found the OD to be about .005 inch smaller and the ID about .010 inch larger than a new roller. The distance between the rollers had increased from .200 inch to about .240 inch. That chain did not hurt the chainrings, but it did cause chain skip on the 19T cog, when a new chain was installed. What that proved is that a Campy chain need to have the roller spacing measured, rather than relying on the elongation measurement.

There is no chain measuring tool that pinpoints chain wear. All they do is add roller wear to elongation, giving a meaningless report.

by roller wear I mean


as an earlier poster stated, chain discussions are like religion......

What that picture shows is the fact the rollers are wider than the cogs. It should be not be a concave surface, it should be wear that's concentrated at the center of the roller. It may be a picture of a chain used on a single speed bike and/or a really cheap, low quality chain. I've got a lot of well used chains at home and none of mine have any wear pattern like that, even ones with 6,000 miles of use.

If you want to see an odd wear pattern, look at the inside of the roller. The split bushing formed into the sides of the inner plates wears grooves along each side, but the gap in the middle will have no wear. In an extreme case, the center of the roller could touch the pin and not the bushing.

The chain fairy just stopped by: He told me that it's Christmas eve and we should all get a life. I asked him what kind of mileage he gets.

So, what did he say about his chain mileage? You can't leave us hanging like that!!

the .02 was the percentage elongation

Yeah, 3K on a chain is about right, sometimes less under Pcad's Mighty Guads.

At least we've cleared that up.

Crank arms fear them.

Fixed

.02 would mean a huge 2%. .02% is not even measurable. Any decent chain should take many thousands of miles to reach 2%. Somewhere in the 1.5-2% range of true elongation, a chain will start skipping over the teeth and not drive the bike.

actually I was just be facetious,
the .02 in the original post was meant to be 2 cents

I've got 2000 on my Ultegra 6700 chain -- didn't even come close to engaging the 0.75mm wear arm on my chain checker. No new chain for me.