950 miles from a chain - is that bad?

[Globalti]

Transmission was clicking on this morning's windy slog so I checked he chain with the checker tool and found it worn out after only 950 miles. I keep it clean, wash it in paraffin every 300 miles or so and lube sparingly with Finish Line.

 

[RiflemanSmith]

What make is the chain?

 

[User6179]

Transmission was clicking on this morning's windy slog so I checked he chain with the checker tool and found it worn out after only 950 miles. I keep it clean, wash it in paraffin every 300 miles or so and lube sparingly with Finish Line.

I would say I get on average about 3000 miles but I don't check for wear .

 

[amaferanga]

It's very unlikely that that the clicking chain was caused by a 'worn out' chain. More likely you need to adjust your gears.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Why paraffin, any residue will wash away the lube you put on it after IMHO
Its a bad move and does nothing to prolong chain life

 

[shouldbeinbed]

agree, clicking doesn't automatically shout worn chain to me, have a look at the rest of the transmission too, but either way, 950 miles for a chain is pretty poor. I've had a £4 one from asda do that mileage on a beater MTB without giving me a moments concern

 

[Globalti]

The chain was a KMC X10.

The clicking was probably coming from the cassette; I found the lock ring to be too loose when I checked the transmission over.

I wash my chains with paraffin then dry them thoroughly and leave them to dry overnight or even longer before re-lubing them. Paraffin doesn't leave a residue, it evaporates cleanly away with time and heat.

Possibly the fast wear has been caused by the fact that the cassette and chainrings are around 5500 miles old; they look OK but will obviously be a little worn. Think I'll run this new chain and then treat the bike to new cassette and rings.

 

[MrJamie]

My last chain I had for about 2000 miles but it ate the cassette pretty badly, current chain seems fine after several hundred miles with maybe 2 wipe down and relubes. KMC Z7 and X8.99 respectively

 

[oldfatfool]

Chain longevity will also depend on terrain and wether you are a spinner or a grinder. More than happy to get 1000 miles out of a chain when touring.

 

[andrew_s]

Check the chain wear with a ruler (1/8" in 12" = 1%).
It's not unknown for a checker to show a chain as worn out after 0 miles.

 

[Globalti]

It was definitely longer when I hung it alongside the new chain to measure the links. It was a KMC 7D, maybe that was a cheap model.

 

[sittingbull]

I get 2000 miles out of a 9 speed chain.

I've already got almost twice that out of the 8 speed bike without any detectable stretch. The 8 speed is ridden harder too.

Both chains are the same make (SRAM) and are lubed the same (White Lightning).