Fast chain wear

[annirak]

It looks like I've worn out the chain on my bike. It's about 15 months old, but it's only been ridden for 6. About 6 miles a day for 3 months last summer, plus about 5 20 mile rides and 1 60 mile ride; then about 16 miles a day from the beginning of May until now, with one 60 mile ride and one 100 mile ride.

It's a KMC 8-speed chain on a Shimano Claris cassette; not sure what the chainset is. The chain measuring tool says that it's past the 0.75% wear point. Is there anything I can do to wear my chain less quickly? Can I get a more durable chain?

I'm worried that I've already worn the cassette, so if I replace the chain, I'll have to replace that too. Is there any way to check that without replacing the chain to start?

 

[Citius]

Do you maintain it? If so, how?

 

[lpretro1]

If you change the chain now you'll prob be ok with existing cassette - leave it longer and yuo won't

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

It looks like I've worn out the chain on my bike. It's about 15 months old, but it's only been ridden for 6. About 6 miles a day for 3 months last summer, plus about 5 20 mile rides and 1 60 mile ride; then about 16 miles a day from the beginning of May until now, with one 60 mile ride and one 100 mile ride.

It's a KMC 8-speed chain on a Shimano Claris cassette; not sure what the chainset is. The chain measuring tool says that it's past the 0.75% wear point. Is there anything I can do to wear my chain less quickly? Can I get a more durable chain?

I'm worried that I've already worn the cassette, so if I replace the chain, I'll have to replace that too. Is there any way to check that without replacing the chain to start?

I'm not enough of a mechanic to know whether there's an easy way of checking cassette wear but I did recently let a Shimano chain go too far and the good news was that the cassette both looked and was fine but the default middle ring on the triple was borked. I'm a bit surprised at the short life of the chain but, on the other hand, I'm definitely a low power rider.

 

[mjr]

To wear chains less, be fussy about keeping them clean and lightly lubricated, plus avoid crosschaining.

 

[slowmotion]

I use sub-£15 KMC 10 speed chains and they seem to last pretty well. I put some oil on them and wipe off the crud but I'm not exactly religious about it.....usually only paying them attention before a longer ride. I had one break on me when it was less than 0.5% worn, but all the rest have been pretty good. You can get a chain wear tool for about £8 on ebay. Well worth the money.

 

[Tom B]

Keep it clean... Wipe it each day. With a old tee shirt or kitchen roll and add a blob of new oil.

That said my commute is about the same and I get through a chain in similar time. Changing at .75% usually means the cassette lasts 2-4 chains.

The chain will cost you about a fiver. For that price I don't see the point in messing about going to town with cleaning or using daft oils/lubes which cost more than the chain and I doubt work better than the weldtite £2.cycle oil I use.

 

[annirak]

I think it's probably worthwhile to keep a spare chain on hand and change it at 0.5%. The price of the chain is so much lower than the other bits of the drive train.

 

[outlash]

For over 2,500 miles, £20 spend on a new chain & cassette isn't exactly high maintenance is it?

 

[Drago]

[QUOTE 3857159, member: 9609"]well i make that about 2,620 miles, which is working out at about 2½ miles per penny for a £10 chain. I am not sure you are going to get much better value for money than that.[/QUOTE]

He's doing pretty well. I munch through KMC HD chains in about 1500-1700 miles before they're at 1%.

 

[snorri]

Is there anything I can do to wear my chain less quickly?

Fit hub gears and a chain guard.

 

[Pale Rider]

Throw the chain wear gauge in the bin.

 

[annirak]

Fit hub gears and a chain guard.

I'm seriously considering that for the next commuter bike. The BMC Alpenchallenge and Genesis Day One Alfine (8/Di2) look like likely candidates!

Never the less, it seems like I could buy an awful lot of chains for the price of one new commuter bike! I think the answer I was looking for is: chains wear out. Just replace it every 3 months.

 

[palinurus]

The chain measuring tool says that it's past the 0.75% wear point. Is there anything I can do to wear my chain less quickly? Can I get a more durable chain?

I'm worried that I've already worn the cassette, so if I replace the chain, I'll have to replace that too. Is there any way to check that without replacing the chain to start?

Should be fine.

 

[howard2107]

If your cassette has any noticeable wear, you will be able to see it either by eye, or by sliding the chain back and forth in the sprocket. There will be some movement between chain and teeth, but not much, it should mesh quite snug and any forward or backward movement should see the chain rise up the teeth smoothly. The profile of each tooth should be the same on the front and back of it, it will show wear on the front of the tooth as this is the bit that does the work, when the profile is visually different, the sprocket (cassette) needs replacing. The speed of chain wear will depend on the type of work it does. if you are in the same gear pedalling at a steady rate for miles on end on a road it will last a lot longer than someone like me who is up and down the gears constantly and snap loading it due to the terrain i ride on.

The chain is made of softer material than the cassette, it is a sacrificial part that is designed to wear out and be replaced before it gets bad enough to damage the more expensive parts that it runs around, this is why chains snap, before teeth shear off. If the chain is cleaned and lubed regularly you will extend its life, and this will further extend the life of the other components. Over lubing can lead to other problems, so go easy, all mechanical moving surfaces need some friction to work as intended and blathering things with too much or the wrong lube will cause you more trouble than not lubing at all. Don't use WD40 or similar for lubing, is is not lubricant, and don't be tempted to put diesel on your chain either, cos that isn't a lube, and if it gets on your braking surfaces or tyres you wont be laughing about it in the pub, and the local A&E wont think your funny either.

Have a look on you tube to see how to check for wear, it is difficult to explain but will make sense if you can see what is being explained. i am not a cycle mechanic, but i am an engineer, but chains and sprockets are all much of a muchness and all show the same signs when worn.