How long should a chain last.

[johnnyb47]

Hi again.
The last few rides my bike has started making some irritating noises that appear to be coming from the drive train. I can also feel some roughness through the pedals when cycling hard.After a closer inspection I'm starting to think that the chain could be the culprit. I haven't got a chain wear gauge, but I've noticed that I can pull the chain a fair bit away from the front chain rings ( around 4mm) The chain is around 6 months old but has covered nearly 2000 miles. Admittedly it was a cheap chain from Wilkos and I tend to push a high gear as opposed to spinning fast. Would this be the normal life span of a cheap chain or am I missing something here,
All the very best,
johnny

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I tend to push a high gear as opposed to spinning fast.

You'd expect less wear with less spinning, your high gear should save things

 

[MarkF]

My chain on my Discovery 501 is 10 years old and is the original, it's been across France once, Spain twice, a few Dales tours and is used for all my trail/canal rides, I meant to give it new drive train this year but never got around to it, but may yet...............I am riding it to Skipton this Friday.........it must have 10k+ miles on it as it was my only bike for 4 years. I know it's shagged but I have adapted to to it's deterioration, it still changes gear fine, doesn't jump/miss.

 

[johnnyb47]

[QUOTE 5023385, member: 9609"]you must have womans legs getting that sort of distance, 1000 mile is more like it.[/QUOTE]
I've got man's legs. I always back comb the hairs on my legs to keep my tights up lol :-) :-)
Seriously though after reading the different posts it's obvious my chain is not yet knackered. I'm still on a learning curve with bike maintenance unfortunately :-)

 

[Moodyman]

For me, about 1500-1800 miles on 9 speed and 5000 miles on hub geared bike.

 

[Moodyman]

Use the 12 inch ruler method if you have no chain wear checker.

 

[johnnyb47]

Thanks for good advice. (always appreciated)

 

[andrew_s]

There's an intermediate stage of wear (it's about 0.75% to 1% increase in length, 3/32" to 1/8" over 12 inches), after which continued use will wear the cassette to match the worn chain, which means that a new chain will skip on the worn cassette so you've also got to buy a new cassette to match the new chain.

Some people call their chain dead at this intermediate stage, and if you run 11 speed and a new cassette is £60 or whatever, I can see why .
Other people just carry on using the same chain and cassette until it doesn't work any more, or the chain rollers start to fall off or something. These people may get well over 5000 miles, but when they do need the new chain, they may have to get a new chainring or two as well as the new cassette.

Chain wear rates can vary a great deal. Some mountain bikers have to change chains in as little as 2-300 miles, which shows what a generous helping of gritty mud will do.

As for the noisy chain, I do take it that it's properly oiled?

 

[Racing roadkill]

I measure chain life in KWh. It gives me a metric which encompasses length of time the chain has been on, and the amount of grief it’s taken. I also periodically check the chain with a measurement tool like this.

It’s really horse’s for courses, with chain wear. Lots of variables, keep one of these tools handy, and you can at least avoid dropping the ball too easily.

 

[froze]

[QUOTE 5023385, member: 9609"]you must have womans legs getting that sort of distance, 1000 mile is more like it.[/QUOTE]
Womens legs? Really? No that's not the reason for getting long miles out of a chain, and besides there may be some women lurking here that could kick your ass on a bike! so watch what you say.

While I don't race anymore I get at least 6,000 miles on the newer thinner chains...WHAT"S THAT I SAID?? I said at least 8,000 miles on a 9 speed chain. In fact the one I have right now is still good after 6,000 miles, and I only use Shimano chains. But I clean and lube my chain a lot more then most people, and my pedal style is smoother. Even a mechanic at my LBS gets that same kind of mileage while another mechanic only gets about 2,000 miles, and he noted that the other mechanic pedal style is not smooth. My cassettes typically last at least three times longer than my chains and my gear rings even longer. Before the newer thinner chains came along, and while I was Cat 3 racing I was getting an average of 13,000 miles on chains with the same gear cluster lasting 3 times longer then the chains. I think the secret to long chain life is a clean and well lubed chain; kind of like your car engine, I know people who are lucky if they get 100,000 miles out of car, and I know others who get at least 3 times that, how does the longer live engines do that? keeping the oil changed.

 

[hoopdriver]

[QUOTE 5023385, member: 9609"]you must have womans legs getting that sort of distance, 1000 mile is more like it.[/QUOTE]
I cannot believe you wrote that. Unbelievable....

And anyway, the mileage quoted above - at least 6000 miles, and often much more, for a chain has been my experience as well. When Rohloff used to make chains you could pretty much expect 15,000 to 20,000 miles on one of their chains. Cleaning and lubing is important - nothing obsessive, just good regular maintenance. If you are really getting only 1000 miles on a chain, you need to look at your maintenance and riding style.

 

[raleighnut]

If you replace a chain at 1% wear then don't bin the chain simply keep it in a container submerged in oil. When you get to the point that a new chain won't run cleanly on slightly worn sprockets then fit one of the 'part-worn' ones, chances are that'll run fine.

 

[Drago]

I can grind a chain to 0.75 in c.1500 miles.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

[QUOTE 5023394, member: 9609"]here is mine under tension, currently at 2% wear, amazingly she's still not slipping.
View attachment 381332 View attachment 381333 [/QUOTE]

I get 2.5% wear on that chain. You sure it is only 2%?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Well I must have Chris Hoy's legs because my last chain reached 1% in under 500 miles and that's on a hub-geared city commuter!

I do look after my chains, using the Mickle method, and normally get around 4000 miles before replacing so I'm wondering if I just got a duff chain. (It was a KMC Z510, my usual chain). Anyone know why I might have worn it out so quickly?