Originally Posted by
Miradaman
after reading here that a chain is a wear item (something I never knew) I thought a new chain for my '89 Trek would be an easy affordable upgrade.
I gather your chain is not skipping cogs and so, why change it. You won't notice any upgrade with new chain, only upgrade will be in looks and the good feeling you got new chain, that you done something about your bike.
There is a whole spectrum of bike users here, from casuals and commuters to very serious bikers. Those discussions that would lead you into thinking you should do something about your chain pretty much weekly and change it altogether every season (or whatever) are pertaining to those serious bikers.
Those people have fancy bikes bikes with many gears and so correspondingly thin chains and they put serious miles on them and those folks tend to be in very good shape too (riding hills and sprinting on their bikes like you probably are not even remotely capable of). Couple that with the trend to lighter chains, even with hollow rivets and what not (like intricately machined side plates) and the result is, the chain (really the whole drivetrain) is like a baby that needs care if you want it to last.