Making chain longer.

[screenman]

Now I have given this a lot of thought. My chain lasts say 1500 miles so what I did is make it 20% longer by adding extra links, by my reckoning it will now last 1800 miles as each link will not have to go over the sprockets so often.

 

[Shortmember]

You could get the same effect without the bother and expense of fitting extra links if you just cycled everywhere at 4/5ths of your usual pedalling cadence.

 

[arch684]

Great idea,do it and report back to us.

 

[Katherine]

Now I have given this a lot of thought. My chain lasts say 1500 miles so what I did is make it 20% longer by adding extra links, by my reckoning it will now last 1800 miles as each link will not have to go over the sprockets so often.

I expect your thoughts will be less 'foolish' tomorrow?

 

[raleighnut]

You could always take it off and fit it the other way round so it wears on the other side.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Seems reasonable to me. My recumbent takes 2.5 chains so I expect it to last 2.5 times as long as a standard chain......but as the rear cassette and chain rings will still wear at the normal rate, they may wear the chain quicker than I expect.. So far over 3000 miles on this chain and no wear near 0.75 wear yet.....

 

[Smokin Joe]

[QUOTE 3629432, member: 9609"]when does the greatest wear occur ?
100 rotations standing on the pedals at max power on a big hill, or a 1000 rotations at 10% power on a flat road with the wind behind ?[/QUOTE]
I think the only answer to that is, "Who cares?"

 

[Biscuitfrisky]

I think General upkeep plays a part in this.
Unless you clean the chain after every ride, you'll lose miles from grime/grease/dirt in the chain that wil speed up the wearing.

 

[screenman]

I have started back pedalling every 4th revolution, as I think this will take out some of the stretch put in the chain when pedalling forward. This could be the reason why chains on fixed wheel bikes last longer.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I lubricate my chain with Holy Water, it hasn't stretched since I put it on in 1975.

 

[Citius]

You could always take it off and fit it the other way round so it wears on the other side.

After that, re-fit it upside down. Bingo - 4x the life span.

 

[ColinJ]

Chains effectively cost so much per link. If you could make each link last longer you would end up having to replace more links so you would not save money unless you somehow decreased the wear by more than the 20%.

And of course, you would have a great length of unnecessary chain bouncing about and probably causing problems since the rear mech would not take up all the slack in certain gears.

Apart from that, it is a WONDERFUL idea!

 

[screenman]

I have saved all those extra links you get each time you buy a chain, I will put them all together and make a complete one.

 

[screenman]

After that, re-fit it upside down. Bingo - 4x the life span.

Tried that, but at the bottom it was already upside down.

 

[ColinJ]

I have saved all those extra links you get each time you buy a chain, I will put them all together and make a complete one.

Ha ha - a mate of mine used to work in a bike shop and he always did that with the chain segments left over from chain replacements - he didn't have to buy a chain the whole time he worked there!

Still, the other points still apply - a drooping chain, and needing to replace more links, less frequently.