Are people changing their chains way too often?
10-11-21, 05:47 PM
#101
Full Member
Actually, I'm curious on what the consensus is regarding shifting frequency, reliance on fewer rear cogs, or not shifting much at all, and how there's an impact on chain or cassette wear.
For example, a flatlander Floridian.. who, once they're up to speed and cruising their ride in a pretty narrow range, are they experiencing the longest chain life, but the shortest cassette life (less shifting, but most of the miles are spent in 1-2 of the rear cogs). OTOH, someone doing a lot of shifting, using a lot of gears -- does this mean more wear on chain, but much more even distribution of wear on the cassette's cogs?
For example, a flatlander Floridian.. who, once they're up to speed and cruising their ride in a pretty narrow range, are they experiencing the longest chain life, but the shortest cassette life (less shifting, but most of the miles are spent in 1-2 of the rear cogs). OTOH, someone doing a lot of shifting, using a lot of gears -- does this mean more wear on chain, but much more even distribution of wear on the cassette's cogs?
I don't spend too much time in any one combination between the chain rings & cassette.
On a 100 mile ride with 7,200' of climbing I had 60 front shifts and 2650 rear shifts.
10-11-21, 08:54 PM
#102
Senior Member
Based on wear my chains last about 14,000 km (8,700 miles). I thoroughly clean and lube the drive train about every 1,400 km. I am planning on replacing the cassette and chain rings at about 45,000 km (I’m at 43,000 km). I’m just now starting to notice occasional pinging. Your mileage may vary😀
10-11-21, 09:05 PM
#103
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Wipe cleaning the chain after each ride adds many miles and quality shifting rides. Every week or so do a thorough clean and lube. When choosing to lube chain select a quality lube from the many different types of lube that match your riding conditions. Surprisingly many experienced cyclists do not know or recognize the last suggestion.
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10-12-21, 03:07 AM
#104
Full Member
has anybody mentioned rider weight?
and horsepower too. somebody who does animal sprints every three miles is gonna cook a chain.
my biggest problem with chain skip is due to friction shifters not being torqued up.
save those old chains, you can diy a pair of parktool chain whips for a net gain of 60 smackers.
this is good for 5 more new chains.
let's say you go through 2 chains a year. lets say you are 20 years old and will pedal every day til your 70. that's only 100 chains in your entire lifetime.
enjoy your new chains. because you will miss them when your gone.
i got about 20 chains worth of time left. no big deal to buy that many chains before i go.
and horsepower too. somebody who does animal sprints every three miles is gonna cook a chain.
my biggest problem with chain skip is due to friction shifters not being torqued up.
save those old chains, you can diy a pair of parktool chain whips for a net gain of 60 smackers.
this is good for 5 more new chains.
let's say you go through 2 chains a year. lets say you are 20 years old and will pedal every day til your 70. that's only 100 chains in your entire lifetime.
enjoy your new chains. because you will miss them when your gone.
i got about 20 chains worth of time left. no big deal to buy that many chains before i go.
Last edited by cjenrick; 10-12-21 at 03:13 AM.
10-12-21, 07:23 AM
#105
Senior Member
I have found that a worn chain flexes a lot laterally, so shifting isn't as crisp. So I replace mine once a year, which is 4-5000 miles and it always measures "just barely" on the shop tool. Part of my annual maintenance ritual, like new shifter cables and tires.
Even though I have an Ultegra drivetrain, my LBS likes SRAM chains and I have stuck with those for the last 5 years. Cheaper too.
Even though I have an Ultegra drivetrain, my LBS likes SRAM chains and I have stuck with those for the last 5 years. Cheaper too.
10-12-21, 08:21 AM
#106
Senior Member
I use 4 chains in a rotation for each of my SRAM force axs 12 speed bikes. I take a chain off for cleaning about every 600 miles and ride about 5,000 miles per year. By alternating the use of several chains, I don't have to worry about getting new-chain skip and don't have to toss chains at only 0.5% elongation, in an attempt to avoid new-chain skip. I expect to get at least 3,000 miles from each force chain, but it will take quite a while for any of my 8 chains to get that much mileage. One year's worth of riding only uses each chain for around 600 miles. When the chains start getting over 2,000 miles each, I'll have a better idea of how long they'll last.
I use a common 12 inch machinist's rule to measure elongation, without adding roller wear to the measurement. Roller wear can be measured separately with calipers placed between the outer plates of two links. A new chain will measure about 1.200 inch. After 3,000 miles of use, a Campy chain may show very little elongation, but plenty of roller wear. Others will show lots of elongation and roller wear.
I also have a setup to measure elongation over the full length of my 55 inch long chains. It's easy to measure 0.275 inch over that length.
I use a common 12 inch machinist's rule to measure elongation, without adding roller wear to the measurement. Roller wear can be measured separately with calipers placed between the outer plates of two links. A new chain will measure about 1.200 inch. After 3,000 miles of use, a Campy chain may show very little elongation, but plenty of roller wear. Others will show lots of elongation and roller wear.
I also have a setup to measure elongation over the full length of my 55 inch long chains. It's easy to measure 0.275 inch over that length.
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10-12-21, 09:51 AM
#107
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12-16-21, 07:22 PM
#109
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Well, I blew it. 2000 miles on an 11 speed chain (Shimano HG-11, if I recall) and checking today -it's well past 0.75%. So I'm gonna need a new cassette too, otherwise the new chain will skip.
Dumb. I knew better but didn't check.
Dumb. I knew better but didn't check.
12-16-21, 07:35 PM
#110
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Have you check the cassette to see if the teeth are worn, I can't believe you only got 2k on a chain, and that the cassette is toast. .
12-16-21, 07:59 PM
#111
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In my experience, 10 speed chains were more durable.
It's a gravel bike that gets dirty a lot. I'm mot surprised that the chain was overstretched in 2k miles. I should have been keeping closer track.
12-16-21, 08:12 PM
#112
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Changing my chain before it absolutely needs to be? Yes... Most likely. But I can afford it now. Still I don't throw them away, who knows what coming down the road...
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12-16-21, 08:50 PM
#113
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Just based on experience, when I let an 11 speed chain go so that the 0.75% pin in the chain checker goes in easily, the cassette is going to skip if I just put in a new chain with the old cassette..
In my experience, 10 speed chains were more durable.
It's a gravel bike that gets dirty a lot. I'm mot surprised that the chain was overstretched in 2k miles. I should have been keeping closer track.
In my experience, 10 speed chains were more durable.
It's a gravel bike that gets dirty a lot. I'm mot surprised that the chain was overstretched in 2k miles. I should have been keeping closer track.
12-17-21, 05:51 PM
#114
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The chain falling off every 10 rides or so may seem like no big deal, but trusting your equipment 100% can be important for safety. For instance I have 5 bikes and I only trust one of them enough to full out sprint out of the saddle, because of chain slipping issues.
12-17-21, 06:08 PM
#115
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The chain falling off every 10 rides or so may seem like no big deal, but trusting your equipment 100% can be important for safety. For instance I have 5 bikes and I only trust one of them enough to full out sprint out of the saddle, because of chain slipping issues.
You still have chain slip issues on 4 bikes?
12-24-21, 06:46 AM
#116
Junior Member
Got a road bike about 3-3 1/2 years ago. Was told that first year to replace the chain every 2,000-3,000 miles, something like that. And that if I didn't, it would wear out the sprocket, crank. And since chain is the least expensive, better to sacrifice a decent chain for the long-term good of the more expensive stuff that an older chain will ruin. OK, so started doing that.
Then, sometimes with a new chain, it would skip a little, and so some folks on here who work in bike shops say whenever you buy a new chain, buy a new sprocket too. I didn't follow that advice. Found that the new chain would slowly take the shape of the old sprocket, or for whatever reason, it would start working better.
Now, I can't get a new sprocket because of global supply issues. Was told by bike shop just to stay with old chain and sprocket as long as I could hold out. Now, whole drive chain is working as well as ever. Except for the chain coming off every 10 rides or so, everything seems fine. No skipping, no problems. I don't know how many miles I'm into this chain, but it's probably 6,000.
And finally, I've had a hybrid bike for probably 8 years now. I've never gotten a new chain. I don't know how many miles it has on it. Not as much as my road bike because the old hybrid is in semi-retirement.
So why should I buy so many new chains?
Then, sometimes with a new chain, it would skip a little, and so some folks on here who work in bike shops say whenever you buy a new chain, buy a new sprocket too. I didn't follow that advice. Found that the new chain would slowly take the shape of the old sprocket, or for whatever reason, it would start working better.
Now, I can't get a new sprocket because of global supply issues. Was told by bike shop just to stay with old chain and sprocket as long as I could hold out. Now, whole drive chain is working as well as ever. Except for the chain coming off every 10 rides or so, everything seems fine. No skipping, no problems. I don't know how many miles I'm into this chain, but it's probably 6,000.
And finally, I've had a hybrid bike for probably 8 years now. I've never gotten a new chain. I don't know how many miles it has on it. Not as much as my road bike because the old hybrid is in semi-retirement.
So why should I buy so many new chains?
I was recently chatting with a fellow cyclist about this and he told me he recently switched to the wax method of chain lube, and he's able to get more that 5000kms out of one chain. He prepares three in advance, hangs them up and replaces as needed, and is able to seriously prolong the life of the cassette and the chain rings. I'm going to look into this wax thing. It's not cheap, and is a laborious process, initially, at least.
12-24-21, 08:10 AM
#117
Junior Member
I use 4 chains in a rotation for each of my SRAM force axs 12 speed bikes. I take a chain off for cleaning about every 600 miles and ride about 5,000 miles per year. By alternating the use of several chains, I don't have to worry about getting new-chain skip and don't have to toss chains at only 0.5% elongation, in an attempt to avoid new-chain skip. I expect to get at least 3,000 miles from each force chain, but it will take quite a while for any of my 8 chains to get that much mileage. One year's worth of riding only uses each chain for around 600 miles. When the chains start getting over 2,000 miles each, I'll have a better idea of how long they'll last.
I use a common 12 inch machinist's rule to measure elongation, without adding roller wear to the measurement. Roller wear can be measured separately with calipers placed between the outer plates of two links. A new chain will measure about 1.200 inch. After 3,000 miles of use, a Campy chain may show very little elongation, but plenty of roller wear. Others will show lots of elongation and roller wear.
I also have a setup to measure elongation over the full length of my 55 inch long chains. It's easy to measure 0.275 inch over that length.
I use a common 12 inch machinist's rule to measure elongation, without adding roller wear to the measurement. Roller wear can be measured separately with calipers placed between the outer plates of two links. A new chain will measure about 1.200 inch. After 3,000 miles of use, a Campy chain may show very little elongation, but plenty of roller wear. Others will show lots of elongation and roller wear.
I also have a setup to measure elongation over the full length of my 55 inch long chains. It's easy to measure 0.275 inch over that length.
12-24-21, 04:08 PM
#118
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I don’t know about chains, but people are washing their bikes way too often.
12-24-21, 04:14 PM
#119
Junior Member
