How far to push chain wear

[Ticktockmy]

Just being a poor old cycle tourist who has no real interest in the technical stuff regarding percentages of wear, in my life a chain it is usable until its knackered;. on average my chains last approx. 3500 miles. To lube the chain I use whatevery I can get my hands on, at home I use a mix of white spirit, engine oil and Teflon grease on tour I use my own mix, and if it runs out I buy whatever is available. Personally I think the secret to reduce chain wear is to use the gears correctly, All to often I see people struggling uphill in to high a gear and straining the chain.

 

[byegad]

I've found that 0.75% wear and replace gives the best life out of the other components. So on my recumbent trikes I periodically check chain wear with a go/no go indicator and so get anything from 2000-4500 miles from a chain,depending on usage and wet weather. I wear out three chains before I need to swap cassette (11-34 and yes they all get used!) and a couple of cassettes before the most frequently used chain ring needs replacing.

Allowing the chain to get to 1% wear means much more frequent replacement of the cassette and chainring and is, for me a false economy.

 

[Crackle]

I am I the only one that doesn't bother checking chain wear. I just replace the chain and cassette together at about 4000 miles. One day I might have to replace a front cog, perhaps a little earlier than some do. I can see how it matters on something like a recumbent where economics of chain cost might be higher but for me, I don't care.

 

[Ajax Bay]

am I the only one that doesn't bother checking chain wear. I just replace the chain and cassette together at about 4000 miles.

From the thread, @Hugh Manatee @MontyVeda @Ticktockmy are with you on the 'ride till it skips' philosophy - not sure about @andrew_s
Provided one is prepared to replace chain and cassette together each time, with the implicit doubling/tripling of expenditure, that's an option a fair proportion take, I surmise.
So how do you "bother" replacing your brake blocks? How do you decide when to (or is that at a scheduled distance as well?)? By inspection, presumably, which is analagous to checking the extent of chain elongation with a 'chain checking tool'. Gear cable replacement philosophy?

 

[Crackle]

From the thread, @Hugh Manatee @MontyVeda @Ticktockmy are with you on the 'ride till it skips' philosophy - not sure about @andrew_s
Provided one is prepared to replace chain and cassette together each time, with the implicit doubling/tripling of expenditure, that's an option a fair proportion take, I surmise.
So how do you "bother" replacing your brake blocks? How do you decide when to (or is that at a scheduled distance as well?)? By inspection, presumably, which is analagous to checking the extent of chain elongation with a 'chain checking tool'. Gear cable replacement philosophy?

I check it but I don't worry about it. I should also add that that would be about two years riding for me. So now I think about it, if you do more, you might feel differently. So 36 quid (15 chain, 21 cassette), every two years. Blocks get examined and cables replaced every major service, again, 2 years ish or as needed. Probably going to do one the end of this summer.

 

[Tigerbiten]

I am I the only one that doesn't bother checking chain wear. I just replace the chain and cassette together at about 4000 miles. One day I might have to replace a front cog, perhaps a little earlier than some do. I can see how it matters on something like a recumbent where economics of chain cost might be higher but for me, I don't care.

I don't.

I change my chain every year before the start of that summers tour, normally after about 8k miles.
After two chains I need to reverse the Rohloff sprocket as it starts to skip.
After four chains it's time for a new sprocket and chainrings.
So in 4 years I'll go through 2x chainrings + 1x sprocket + 12x chains (recumbent ... )
Simple and easy.

 

[MarkF]

My Dawes 501 has 10 years and over 8k miles on the original chain, it might be well over, I was going to treat it to new chain & cassette last year but never got around to it as everything is still smooth.

 

[the snail]

A chain that runs in filtered oil without exposure to the elements lasts several thousand times longer than an open chain.

It doesn't need to be running in filtered oil even. I had a couple of bikes with enclosed chains, normally lubed, and I don't think I ever had to change the chains. Just keeping the rain, grit etc off the chain made a huge difference.

 

[Will Spin]

Personally I think the secret to reduce chain wear is to use the gears correctly, All to often I see people struggling uphill in to high a gear and straining the chain.

Actually this is wrong. It is possible to put much more load on the chain by cycling in a low gear, but what will wear the chain is frequently cross chaining (i.e. big chainring to big cassette ring) as the chain is running at an angle. I know because I do this myself....bad habit.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Ticktockmy said: ↑"All to often I see people struggling uphill in to [sic] high a gear and straining the chain."

It is possible to put much more load on the chain by cycling in a low gear,

If a rider exerts the maximum force possible on their pedal, the chain tension will vary inversely proportional to the size (number of teeth) of the different chainrings (ie higher tension when in the smaller chainring). [Edit (11 months on): this is rubbish - the chain tension is the same as the momentary net force exerted on the pedals.] But the 'resistance' from whichever sprocket is engaged at the rear will vary: from 'can't move it' to 'soar up the hill'. In a low gear (up a hill) the cadence will be higher (for a given speed, dictated by the rider's ability to deliver power and the gradient of the slope). In a 'high' gear 'struggling' up a hill, the variation of force during the crank's rotation will likely induce greater maximum force and torque (than if spinning up in the small chainring) so as @Ticktockmy says, this will 'strain' the chain more (and cause greater wear for the reasons @Yellow Saddle has explained upthread).

 

[Kajjal]

The way I look at chain wear is how much risk do you want to take. Every year I put a new chain and cassette on my mountain bike as I can then rely on it working fine in very remote places all year. On my road bike I tend to not worry and change it less often, normally waiting until the shifting degrades a little.

 

[Vegan1]

Chain rings and cassettes cost more then a chain for a like for like group set - change the chain as and when it is needed.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Chain rings and cassettes cost more then a chain for a like for like group set - change the chain as and when it is needed.

Although an elongated chain will wear the chainrings a bit, they last far far longer and are not really part of this equation / balance, imo. This may be different on recumbents such as those ridden by @Tigerbiten and @byegad.
Starting from a new chain and cassette.
Option 1:
Replace chain before it gets to 0.75% and do so [edited] once more, so three chains per cassette. Then change both simultaneously. 3 x £13 + £18 if the chain lasts 3000km: £57 for 9000km (0.63ppk).
Option 2: Run chain and cassette till skipping. Then change both simultaneously. £13 + £18; so if these together last 5000km (my experience) £31 for 5000km (0.62ppk). Appreciate these figures are based on a relatively cheap cassette so if you're running 11sp Ultegra, the figures will be larger, the sums different and likely the conclusions too.
Chain £13
Cassette £18

 

[Vegan1]

Although an elongated chain will wear the chainrings a bit, they last far far longer and are not really part of this equation / balance, imo. This may be different on recumbents such as those ridden by @Tigerbiten and @byegad.
Starting from a new chain and cassette.
Option 1:
Replace chain before it gets to 0.75% and do so twice. Then change both simultaneously. 3 x £13 + £18 if the chain lasts 3000km: £57 for 9000km (0.63ppk).
Option 2: Run chain and cassette till skipping. Then change both simultaneously. £13 + £18; so if these together last 5000km (my experience) £31 for 5000km (0.62ppk). Appreciate these figures are based on a relatively cheap cassette so if you're running 11sp Ultegra, the figures will be larger, the sums different and likely the conclusions too.
Chain £13
Cassette £18

A worn chain will wear out not only the block but also the rings.

 

[Ajax Bay]

First of all, @Vegan1

A worn chain will wear out not only the block but also the rings.

But much more slowly. Care to quantify that, to demonstrate why the wear on the chainrings should come into the equation? What is your experience? How long (how many 10,000km) did your chainring take to wear to a point where it needed replacement? Of course I appreciate you may not be able to answer this since I assume, as you have posted you "change the chain as and when it is needed".