How much life do you get from a 10 speed chain?

[Wobblers]

I've had the same Mavic 10 speed chain on my Yukon for just over 2000 miles now. It's getting on a bit, so today I checked to see how it's wearing. Since I don't have chain wear gauge, I used a steel rule to measure over 20 links with the chain under tension (whilst wishing I had a third arm to make the job easier!). It's exactly ten inches, as far as I could determine. Certainly, wear seems to be less than 0.5%. Really??? Can it really have lasted so well? Am I doing something wrong?

What sort of mileage do you normally get from your ten speed chains?

 

[gbb]

I do use a proper wear guage, and didnt get anything like that mileage out of a KMC chain...1000 miles and it had worn to (and maybe beyond) the 1% marker. That was with regular lubrication.

Currently on a Veloce chain, still under the .75% mark at 800 miles.

Just to compare...i got 3000 miles on my old 8 speed setup.

Whats your riding style McW...sedate or hammering along ?
I do push on, especially up inclines, but generally i'm always pushing. I reckon that must have an impact on chain life.

 

[e-rider]

my shimano ultegra chain shows no wear after 2000 miles which is what I'd expect if they are mainly dry miles and a good lube is always used. I'll change mine after another 2000, perhaps even 3000.

 

[numbnuts]

I can get 6500 miles out of my 9 speed chain, but I sit and spin and never honk out of the saddle so I think that's why it lasts so long.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Having both nine and ten speed setups I think it's a myth that ten speed wear quicker, they both last about the same mileage. It's down to manufacturing quality, how narrow they are doesn't matter.

 

[HLaB]

I really should change mine, its a false economy! but on my Kinesis I've not splashed out on a new 10sp chain yet and its just over 5,500 miles old. On my Bianchi the chain probably has been changed prematurely; its usually around 0.75% worn at 1500-2000 miles. Although I've found as I'm sure other folk have that wiping clean with baby wipes rather than using aggressive chemicals extends the life of the chain.

 

[gbb]

Having both nine and ten speed setups I think it's a myth that ten speed wear quicker, they both last about the same mileage. It's down to manufacturing quality, how narrow they are doesn't matter.

I succumbed to this false theory in the past (that thinner 10 speed chains wear quicker), thinking that the roller widths were thinner therefore prone to faster wear. The fact is ive since learned is the roller widths (AFAIK) are the same, so the wear rate should be the same.

 

[Wobblers]

Whats your riding style McW...sedate or hammering along ?
I do push on, especially up inclines, but generally i'm always pushing. I reckon that must have an impact on chain life.

I tend to push hard and get out the saddle occasionally - which was why I was so surprised to see so little evidence of wear. I'm not praticularly assiduous about lubing it either - the Mickle method once a week using White Lightning Epic Ride (which seems better at removing the dirt than as a lubricant in the wet!).

Mind you, a few of the reviewers on CRC mentioned that their Mavic chain lasted longer than Shimano. At £12 a pop it might be worth a punt...

 

[zacklaws]

Since I don't have chain wear gauge, I used a steel rule to measure over 20 links with the chain under tension (whilst wishing I had a third arm to make the job easier!). It's exactly ten inches, as far as I could determine.

I think your doing something wrong, your supposed to measure 12 links and it should measure 12 inches from center of rivet to center of rivet. If it measures less than 1/16 of an inch more than 12 inches the chain is OK, if it measures more than 1/16 then the chain needs changing, if it is 1/8 of an inch more, then you have left it too long and not only does the chain need changing but also the cassette and probably the chain rings.

By your calculations, your chain has shrunk, do you ride a lot in the wet?

 

[Tynan]

12 links is 12 inches?

I think your chain has stretched

 

[arallsopp]

I do use a proper wear guage, and didnt get anything like that mileage out of a KMC chain...1000 miles and it had worn to (and maybe beyond) the 1% marker. That was with regular lubrication.
I do push on, especially up inclines, but generally i'm always pushing. I reckon that must have an impact on chain life.

I don't have a wear gauge, but will confess to riding a KMC superlight 10 speed 9k miles without changing it, and occasionally (say, once or twice, for around 6 months each time) forgetting to oil or clean it.
Its had a hostile little life, but still seems to be going strong.

I do run 3 at once, so its probably only really 3k miles each, but given that each chain spent a fair amount of time being dragged up scottish hillsides without an idler, I feel its doing rather well.

 

[woohoo]

I got 1500 miles out of my X10L before it stretched to the 0.75% mark. The replacement Campag Centaurs went well beyond that with minimal stretch but I changed them at 2000 miles anyway.

 

[zacklaws]

12 links is 12 inches?

I think your chain has stretched

The following is a quote from Sheldon Brown, 12 links is 12 inches:-


Measuring Chain Wear
The standard way to measure chain wear is with a ruler or steel tape measure. This can be done without removing the chain from the bicycle. The normal technique is to measure a one-foot length, placing an inch mark of the ruler exactly in the middle of one rivet, then looking at the corresponding rivet 12 complete links away. On a new, unworn chain, this rivet will also line up exactly with an inch mark. With a worn chain, the rivet will be past the inch mark. This gives a direct measurement of the wear to the chain, and an indirect measurement of the wear to the sprockets:

• If the rivet is less than 1/16" past the mark, all is well.
• If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, you should replace the chain, but the sprockets are probably undamaged.
• If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point, without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip, but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear state of the sprockets.
• If the rivet is past the 1/8" mark, a new chain will almost certainly skip on the worn sprockets, especially the smaller ones.

 

[arallsopp]

I think Sheldon defines a 'complete' link as one inner and one outer. Fair enough, as if you have to take a link out of your chain, you'd take one of each too.

Others would say 24 links, and that you'd shorten a chain by taking a pair of links out, which is probably where the confusion arises.

 

[Banjo]

Is the 12 inch / 1/16th method good enough or is it wiser to get a chain gauge?

Using the 12 inch method I changed my 105 10 speed chain at about 2000 miles.

The 8 speed chain on my trek hybrid has allready done double that with no measureable extra length.