Originally Posted by
Lombard
Why are your chains wearing out so fast? I have a chain that has 6000 miles and it isn't at 1/16 inch yet. Granted I'm mostly a fair weather rider....at least by choice.
Not sure. The ones that last the longest seem to be the ones I started waxing a while ago (racer and tandem), both of which are at over 4000 miles and less than 1/32" per foot of wear. I'm moving all my chains to wax as they reach their 500-mile cleaning schedules, and we'll see how that affects wear. Although Phoenix only gets 7" of rain in an average year, our Sunday rides expect the leader to show up rain or shine, and a number of recent Sundays have coincided with those infrequent showers, so some of the chains do get some foul weather exposure. I've also installed used but not worn-out chains on my commuting bike to "use them up", and they sometimes last another 1500 - 2000 miles.
None of this discussion includes the recumbent, whose current chain is from the early 1990s, has about 8000 miles on it, no measurable wear, and may outlive us all.