Chain lifespan

[decky]

How many miles will a chain last before having to be replaced,under normal cycling.

 

[Hacienda71]

It depends how well the chain is maintained. I don't think you can just rely on miles covered. You can get a tool that measures chain wear to check if it is worn.

 

[rusky]

My last chain had done 2000 miles when I replaced it due to it being worn. In hindsight, I probably didn't maintain it as well as I could.

The current chain needs replacing after about 500 miles due to the grit on the roads getting into the links even with a better regime.

 

[swee'pea99]

Hi Decky and welcome.

To check, get a steel ruler and get the 0 mark exactly lined up with the rivet on a link. Then look at the 12" mark. If it's exactly in line with the rivet on a link, youhave a brand new chain,or as good as. If it's a bit out, it's worn. If it's out by a couple of mm or more, it's probably knackered. More precisely, to quote two worthwhile sets you could do worse than check out:

According to Sheldon Brown, if the rivet is less than 1/16″ past the mark, your chain is ok. If it’s between 1/16″ and 1/8″ past the mark you’ll likely need a new chain, but your sprockets should be ok. If it’s more than 1/8″ past the mark, you’ll have to replace both the chain and rear sprockets.

You should get several thousand miles unless you're doing something badly wrong.

 

[Steve Austin]

MTB chains can last as little as 500 miles before they are completely knacked to put it into some sort of perspective. Heavy riding and bad conditions will affect chain life, as will not keeping your drivetrain clean'ish

 

[gbb]

Also depends greatly on how many gears you have.
8 speed chain on my old Raleigh...pushing 6000 miles
9 speed on my 2005 Bianchi...maybe 2000 miles
10 speed on the new Bianchi...1 summer season
And my chains are cleaned and lubed religiously at work

 

[fossyant]

It varies as this lot say - MTB's eat chains.

My commuter, religiously looked after, will go through a chain every 6 months and that's a fixed (the geared bike before went through cassettes and chains every 6 months)....

 

[potsy]

I've done 2500+ on my 7speed one with very hit and miss maintenance,better get checking it out soon.
Saw on here somewhere that 8speed power links will be fine for a 7speed chain,but does it matter what make? sram or kmc? are they compatible with each others chains?

 

[swee'pea99]

My cheapo (fiver) ebay one has done 2000+ miles in all conditions on crappy London roads with less-than-immaculate maintenance (proper chain lube applied at the first sign of brown) and is still perfectly sound. But it's a fixie, and it's a basic chain. I'm sure 10 speeds wear out much quicker.

 

[rogerzilla]

On a commuting bike in winter it can be less than 500 miles if you have any country lanes on your route to work; a mixture of mud, grit, water and salt really speeds up the grinding process. Chains don't wear in a gradual fashion either; the rate of "stretch" accelerates as gaps open up between the pins and bushes and bigger pieces of grit get in, so you can have less than 1/16" per foot of stretch after six months but 1/8" per foot after seven. The idea for derailleur gears is to change the chain at 1/16" per foot, but on a tough fixie drivetrain the sprocket will cope with more.