AS2914

In my experience an Ultegra 10sp chain doesnt last too long. I've found that KMC X10 chains last longer and are much more quieter

brundle_fly

Actually,I just measured the wear on my chain and it is exactly 1/16 worn at about 2500 miles,so it's just about had it.Lucky I got a brand new spare one off ebay for less than $10

smurf hunter

While road chains are relatively expensive (over $30), I don't understand all the fuss. Once my 105 chain is done, I'll get an SRAM with the power-lock thingie in it.
See: https://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...peed-Chain.htm

Makes for much easier cleaning, and I only need to use the chain tool in the event that I break it on a ride. I've got 2500 miles on my 8spd SRAM chain on my daily commuter (MTB drive train).

BikeWise1

I wish..... I think my kids would be better of if their dad wasn't carrying around a ridiculous amount of debt.

Boys and girls, we shop owners aren't in it for the money. There are far easier ways to make a living without having to spend 80 hours a week working and not getting to ride the things you sell....

But I digress....

Yes.....and use ProLink. Chains do not stretch. They wear at the pins. The wear makes them appear to have stretched, but the metal itself does not elongate. ProLink has a metal friction reducer that seems to reduce wear at the pins and thus enhances chain life....

Lastly, if you ANY doubts as to whether your chain is properly installed DO NOT ride the bike. A chain failure at an inopportune time can be disastrous.

bdcheung

Is it bad to use one chain with different cassettes? I have two rear wheels that I use (PowerTap and an expensive wheel for "A" races) and I have a cassette mounted to each. Both cassettes are Ultegra 10s, 12-25, but do I need to be concerned swapping between the two rear wheels with my one chain?

donrhummy

Just to double check: when measuring the chain, it's 12 inches from middle of rivet to middle of rivet, right?

bitterken

I have different wheelsets and a bunch of cassettes I swap in and out depending on the race/ride, and some of the bigger races have support wheels for us. As a general rule of thumb I start to think about replacing my chain at about 2000 miles or so and use a Rohloff "stretch" measuring tool to check once or twice a week until I replace it. I replace the chain once is gets near the 0.075 (near, not at) indicator. It's the only reliable way I've found to avoid worn chains skipping on not-so-worn cassettes and also wearing out the cassette at the same time. Yeah, it can get expensive, but if you buy in bulk and take advantages of sales, it's not too bad.

rooftest

Just chiming in - my Ultegra chain was well-stretched and got replaced at 2 - 2.5k miles. I replaced it with a DA chain.

ravenmore

K - there is a little gadget that measure chain "stretch" so you don't have to just arbitrarily guess when its time to replace a chain. If you do that, you'll wear out your cassette and have to replace both.

+1 on the Prolink gold suggestion. That stuff is amazing.

KMC chains last longer for some reason. They're also lighter. And more expensive.

I bought the top of the line sram 10 speed chain. It detonated withing 500 miles. I won't buy another.

Mavic also makes a 10 speed chain that is really nice. I think its made for them by Wipperman but is fairly inexpensive. Mine went for around 3k miles before I replaced it.

jwbnyc

I change mine between 2000 - 3000 Miles. That's every Two - Three Months for me.

It starts to act up around there. I could probably go a little longer. I'd rather save the cassette and chainrings. My oldest cassette has about 36,000 Miles on it. It's just starting to look a little raggedy.

Shimano rates the Ultegra Ten speed chain to Ten or Fifteen Thousand. I can't remember which.

I don't think I'm ever getting that kind of mileage out of one of these suckers.

ElJamoquio

Have you done the new Dura Ace 10 speeds? It's definitely in the do-it-yourself category, but I wouldn't say it's a piece of cake, either.

ElJamoquio

Or front of rivet to front of rivet.

Psimet2001 

+10(spd) - This ain't your fathers 8spd chain we're talking about here.

NomadVW 

3000 km, every time.

Snuffleupagus

4,500 miles on my DA chain so far...going strong.

It's actually a bit worn, but since I'm still doing trainer time I haven't replaced it yet.

linux_author

- good grief!

nitropowered

I had to replace my shimano 10speed chains every 1500-2000 miles.

Wipperman chain faired longer but never shifted right and the quicklink broke.

Now I run campy and my record chain is going strong.

banerjek

It only takes a few seconds to measure a chain, and it takes only a couple minutes to replace one. I highly recommend doing both because it is easy and does not require special skills.

Chain longevity depends on many things including riding style and riding conditions. My bikes all go through chains at different rates -- largely because I don't ride them in the same way or in the same conditions.

You can use rules of thumb to get by, but you'll get the best performance at the lowest cost if you just measure your chain and replace it when it needs it.

mingsta

Buy a chain wear tool, chain tool and learn how to measure wear and replace your own chains. That way you can change it as and when it wears, which may be considerably longer than the 1500 miles quoted by your LBS.

I got 2500 miles from my last ultegra chain and replaced it at the first signs of wear, could have got a good 500+ more no probs, but I figure that chains are cheap and it'd be cheaper in the long run to replace early than wear out the casette and chainrings.

ericgu

Buy yourself a chain gauge. I have 1500 on my current ultegra 10 chain, and it's about 1/3 of the way worn using my Park chain gauge.

slowandsteady

I have over 1200 miles on mine and I just measured it three weeks ago. There is zero "stretch" and it looks brand new. I also take excellent care of it.

Az B

It's not unusual to see little or no wear for quite a while, and then the chain will start wearing rapidly.

Just for the record, I've got 3200 miles on my Ultegra 10sp chain, and I'm currently replacing it. It shows just a hair under the "replace it now" mark on the chain wear tool. I clean and lube it frequently.

Az

bccycleguy

I've got 2300 km on my Ultegra 10-speed chain and it's not even close to 0.75 % wear using a Park Chain tool. I lube it and wipe off the excess before every ride.

sogood

Note that Campagnolo has a chain stretch spec of 132.60mm measured from inside to inside rollers. Calculated this some time back and it equated to around 0.5% stretch. The nice thing about this spec is that it's really easy to measure with a vernier caliper.

banerjek

If you're not mechanically inclined, there is some benefit to having the job done at the LBS -- they will notice other things that are wrong and can fix them. Everyone is paranoid about being shaken down, but I think the risk of this happening is very low. At recreational rides, it always blows my mind how many people ride expensive bikes that have obvious adjustment issues that could be fixed in a couple minutes.