Chain wear

[raleighnut]

Chain wear is also dependant on lube, someone on here did a comparison on different lubes, memory seems to suggest @Brandane but I may be wrong.
What it did show is that wear isn't linear, at first it is quite slow but towards the end of a chains life the wear accelerates drastically and a poor lubrication regime (or poor lube) exacerbates the problem.

 

[rivers]

Well just bought a chain checker and it is in fact worn. I'll be swapping that out today. I'm pretty religious about cleaning and lubing the chain, generally about once a week. Just waiting for the shop to open so I can pick up the chain I ordered last night.

 

[mjr]

Care to name and shame that chain, @rivers? The worst I've had was Shimano HG but that ain't cheap. Actually, Clarks anti-rust may have been worse but that didn't stay on the bike long enough to wear out (noisy as banshees). I think the only £5ish I've used has been an ETC-branded TAYA and that lasted OK. At the moment, SRAM PC chains seem fairly cheap and last fairly well.

 

[rivers]

Care to name and shame that chain, @rivers? The worst I've had was Shimano HG but that ain't cheap. Actually, Clarks anti-rust may have been worse but that didn't stay on the bike long enough to wear out (noisy as banshees). I think the only £5ish I've used has been an ETC-branded TAYA and that lasted OK. At the moment, SRAM PC chains seem fairly cheap and last fairly well.

KMC Z7. I went for a SRAM PC870, which will be going on this afternoon.

 

[mjr]

KMC Z7. I went for a SRAM PC870, which will be going on this afternoon.

Wow. I've used KMC Z-series chains without problem but I think they were Z50. Z50 is was 369g but Z7 is only 320g for the same 116 links. I wonder where they saved the weight?

(Edit: www.kmcchain.eu no longer lists the Z50 so I guess it's discontinued.)

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I have had nearly 6,000 miles out of a KMC 8sp

 

[rivers]

Well that's the chain replaced now. I will be keeping an eye on wear over the coming weeks. If it wears quickly again, then obviously it's something I'm doing wrong. If not, then I'm going with a bad batch of cheap chains were made somewhere along the way.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@rivers just figured it your coastal

 

[mjr]

@rivers just figured it your coastal

As am I - and I used Z50s ok when I lived in Sand Bay on the Bristol Channel coast. Unless @rivers is regularly cycling along the bank at Severn Beach, I doubt that's it.

 

[Brandane]

Chain wear is also dependant on lube, someone on here did a comparison on different lubes, memory seems to suggest @Brandane but I may be wrong.
What it did show is that wear isn't linear, at first it is quite slow but towards the end of a chains life the wear accelerates drastically and a poor lubrication regime (or poor lube) exacerbates the problem.

Not me!

 

[Nigelnaturist]

As am I - and I used Z50s ok when I lived in Sand Bay on the Bristol Channel coast. Unless @rivers is regularly cycling along the bank at Severn Beach, I doubt that's it.

It was a joke. On a side not just read a book that opened in that area.

 

[Pale Rider]

Not me!

I think the chain lube study was done by @User9609 who appears to be, er, taking a break from the forum.

 

[andrew_s]

I have had nearly 6,000 miles out of a KMC 8sp

6,000 miles isn't unusual, but what would be unusual is being able to use the same cassette after putting a new chain on.
Chain checkers or 3/32" increase over 12" are aimed at not wearing the chain enough that it wears the cassette too much for a new chain.

As noted above, checkers can be pessimistic, in some cases even reporting unused chains as being in need of replacement.
You can double check by using a ruler, which tells the truth.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

As noted above, checkers can be pessimistic, in some cases even reporting unused chains as being in need of replacement.
You can double check by using a ruler, which tells the truth.

Did I not point that out, I usually replace at about 3,000 miles, I on occasion run different cassettes on the same chain, something I don't keep a tally of though I do chain distance.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Ask Yellow saddle@.....I am surprised he has not been on this thread. He is the self proclaimed guru on chains......

I am curious to know what you were trying to achieve with this post.