Chain Wear Question

[biggs682]

[QUOTE 5531450, member: 9609"]that is what I did with the last cassette, kept rotating 4 chains and got them beyond 3% wear @Yellow Saddle
this time I'm trying 7 chains (although I'm not going as far as 3%, that was too far, started to loose indexing and they eat my jockeys)[/QUOTE]

How do you measure 3% wear and what tool do you use ?

 

[Nigelnightmare]

[QUOTE 5531610, member: 9609"]I have a little jig I hang the chain on and measure 54 links
so if its 1381.5 mm
1381.5 / (54*25.4) = 0.72%[/QUOTE]
Why not just measure in INCHES and save all the conversion factors?

 

[raleighnut]

I agree with this too. Our statements are in no way mutually exclusive.

I don't keep part-worn chains myself, but in a similar manner, I do keep part worn cassettes (that slip with a new chain), and put them back on part way through the life of the chain. They work perfectly and protect the newer cassette from the heavy wear inflicted by the now worn chain.

I only really bother if the cassette is off for maintenance/changing wheels, but you can make cassettes last ages by doing this and it has no effect on chain life.

My original statement might be better written as a worn chain will very quickly turn a cassette into one that will slip when a new chain is fitted.

The other benefit of keeping part-worn chains is when the young lad at work breaks the chain he's never oiled and tries to fit a new one that skates all over the sprockets you can magically produce one that works and get 'brownie points' for fixing a bike that the shop wanted £50 to fix. It might not be ideal but it gets em to work of a morning.

 

[Soltydog]

[QUOTE 5531610, member: 9609"]I have a little jig I hang the chain on and measure 54 links
so if its 1381.5 mm
1381.5 / (54*25.4) = 0.72%[/QUOTE]
& I thought my OCD was bad

My first thought was the last chain as it would be on a worn cassette, but then the weather conditions may have an effect, although some folk are likely to clean the drivetrain more in winter/wet months, so weather may not be a factor & I tend to ride harder in summer months when roads are at their best so it could be any of them

 

[Yellow Saddle]

[QUOTE 5530989, member: 9609"]Last April I fitted a new chain ring and cassette, I also bought 6 chains.
I have removed each chain well before 1% wear noting the mileage.
My maintenance regime, oil and riding style has not changed during that time.

If we call the chains ABCDEF and they were used in that order. Do you think

1. they would have all worn fairly equally
2. wear would have been very random
3. the first chains used would have suffered more wear
4. the latter chains would have suffered the most wear.

The latter chains would be running on an increasingly worn cassette and chain ring

I will put the numbers up later but thought it would be interesting to see what you think first and why.[/QUOTE]

I can't make head or tail of the question although I think I know what you are asking.

However, as stated above, all your chains are worn equally because you have used them until they are worn to a certain point. We know that point is below 1% and assume it is the 0.7% you mention later on. In that case, all chains are worn to 0.7% elongation.

What am I missing?

 

[Sea of vapours]

What he's not stated is the trigger for swapping one out. It could be any of:
- elapsed time since fitting a particular chain;
- total riding time since fitting a particular time;
- total distance ridden since fitting a particular chain;
- exceeding, or equalling, a particular degree of elongation.
The results are more likely to be interesting if it's one of the first three. The last option is a self-fulfilling thing really, though possibly the most effective at prolonging the collective life of components.

 

[Soltydog]

So that shows optimum chain wear is after 3000 miles on a cassette?
More miles on the later chains & during winter/worse weather is a surprise & not really what I would have thought

 

[faster]

[QUOTE 5531979, member: 9609"]do you think they would have worn at the same rate, or do you think wear rate would be different when the cassette was new to when it is a little worn.

Like others in this thread I would have thought semi worn cassette versus a new cassettes would have little variance on chain life, but my results were quite surprising and was curious if anyone would have an answer and explanation without first seeing my findings.

As you can see wear per mile seems to be decreasing (apart from chain 4) but there appears to be a definite pattern, had not expected that at all.
View attachment 451776 [/QUOTE]

Did you measure the chains when new?

 

[presta]

What are you doing to your chains to get that much wear? Your wear rates are six times higher than mine, even higher than in the Wippermann tests, and those are deliberately accelerated by daubing the chains with sand. I use my bike all year round in all weathers, and clean the chain less often than you replace yours.

Below is a plot of my chain wear data for the last 44,500 miles, I've added the Wippermann test results and your data for comparison.

 

[silva]

I've also seen weird chain wear with my latest bike.
It's now 2 years in use, at a 50-60 km/day
The bike started with a 5 mm out of center chainline, which took over a year to be discovered and solved, and an offcenter crankset (a Sugino XD75 or so), with the Stronglight Track 2000 replacement turned out not much better. Also, 1.5 years 48/16 gear ratio, so worst wear spreading over the chains links.
Despite that, the second chain on the bike, and the first with 3/16" sideplates, lasted 16 months.
But the wear progress of that second chain was just weird. The first 2 months, nearly none at all. Then, a couple snowy days, likely salt in snow, and it hung like it got hit by a sledge hammer, eccenter in one time moved half its range. From then on, again nearly none at all, and stayed like that, until rear sprockets teeths distance between front and rear teeth edges became too small, risking breaking.
I didn't lubricate this second chain those first months, since the chain appeared pre-lubricated well enough.
Later on, I used car motor oil.

Now, the third, and same model as second chain, is mounted since 3-4 months.
I lubricated it generously from its start. Already the first week I had to retension it.
And by now, I start to realize that everytime I lubricated, shortly afterwards I have to retension the chain, being about the opposite of the expectations.
And after that retension, no further retensions needed anymore, until the chain becomes too dry, noisy, and thinking I need to lubricate... to see again the same story repeating.

It starts to look like I'm doing something wrong. That motor oil? It's not used oil or so, it's new and clear.
My lubrication and maintenance goes like this:
- drip 1 oil blob on every roller,
- then 1 on top of every plate joint, left and right.
- the last lubrication I also put the bike on its side and dripped on the riveted pin ends.
- later on, everytime I notice black oil on the plate joints, I pick it off with a cloth, thinking that the black has to be dirt, and removal preventing building up, and allowing further with wear particles contaminated oil to pour out.

Any ideas?

 

[alicat]

My lubrication and maintenance goes like this:
- drip 1 oil blob on every roller,
- then 1 on top of every plate joint, left and right.
- the last lubrication I also put the bike on its side and dripped on the riveted pin ends.
- later on, everytime I notice black oil on the plate joints, I pick it off with a cloth, thinking that the black has to be dirt, and removal preventing building up, and allowing further with wear particles contaminated oil to pour out.

Any ideas?

Yes, that's way too much oil. One drop on every roller is plenty.

 

[silva]

Yes, that's way too much oil. One drop on every roller is plenty.

A half drop then?

 

[Waterwheel]

By the way here is how to make your own wax based chain liubricant:

View: https://youtu.be/D12BFIXZCes

 

[Ajax Bay]

here is how to make your own wax based chain liubricant:

Have you done this? What's it like to apply and use?