At what stretch do you change your bicycle chain?

[aigel]

I have the park tool that measures stretch. It has a 0.5 and 0.75% reading. I change my chains when it just starts to hit .75%. When do you change?

On my commuter I racked up about 2k miles and just hit .75%. New chain on order - planning to put it in on the weekend!

George

[Arizona_928]

On the motorbike I change them when I can't adjust them anymore...

[jyl]

Use a metal ruler, the Park tool is unreliable/inexact.

I'll make a pitch for Chain-L chain lube. Lasts longer than anything I've tried, in the Portland winter I was still only relubing once every two months. Wipe chain down, a drop per link, rotate pedals and shift through all gears, then wipe off excess.

[look 171]

Ah John, thanks for the tip. I am still using old school Triflow. It doesn't get that dirty down here and no rain water to deal with. I will give it a try. How much dirt does it attract?

[look 171]

George, my chains get change out once every two years. I love my balls a little more then my money. Not worth it if it snaps on ya when you are out of the saddle. If not my balls, then I value my front teeth. When I was riding lots, it gets changed out every beginning of the season or after winter.

[aigel]

John, I have tried the ruler - not good at it. I can't read it well.

It seems anywhere from 1500-2000 miles I get to .75%- the MTB stretches faster. More dirt and power, for sure. So, I would not go 3k relying only on the gauge.

I am surprised Jeff, you only change once a year and not by at least mileage. Isn't that 10-15k miles?

G

[jyl]

Not too bad for dirt attraction, although for dry conditions maybe a dry lube would be better. I use Triflow on the bike that gets cleaned and relubed after every ride, Chain-L on the bikes that gets ridden hard and put away wet. Really makes the chain silent and it stays silent for a long time.

[aigel]

I use Pro Link on the commuter in the summer and on the MTB in clean areas. In the winter / wet MTB i use Finish Line Wet. The Pro Link needs frequent application but runs very clean. The Finish Line Wet is the best I have found in total mudfest rides where others have failed.

G

[look 171]

Originally Posted by aigel

John, I have tried the ruler - not good at it. I can't read it well.

It seems anywhere from 1500-2000 miles I get to .75%- the MTB stretches faster. More dirt and power, for sure. So, I would not go 3k relying only on the gauge.

I am surprised Jeff, you only change once a year and not by at least mileage. Isn't that 10-15k miles?

G

No I don't do those mileage anymore. I am lucky if I get in 9000 miles a year. I was doing 20k plus hard miles during my racing days. Then again, the chains were for 6 and 7 speed so they were thicker and stronger. Now, we ride those little thin chains. I snapped a ten speed chain two years ago going up my hill. Luck would have it, it was about 20 houses to home. My pedal was at 3 o'clock and I was beat tired and crawling up it, so I hit the floor. minor scraps and had to walk home. I was pissed, but glad it happened close by.

I look at chain change out as cheap insurance especially modern day 10spd plus chains that are just too thin to last.

[look 171]

I really like this dry wax stuff for keeping off the dirt (I can only speak for road riding). You can put 5-800 miles on it and it will be dirt free. Rub up against your calf, and you will not get a tatoo but it must be apply often or else it gets loud. Still, with oil, it is quiet. When its that quiet, you can go another 5mph faster, so it seems. I like oil and can deal with the dirt. I must try Chain-L. You don't use it on your nice road bikes, John?

[jyl]

I use Chain-L on all bikes, but the weekend rides sometimes get TriFlow just because they're getting cleaned and relubed often so the durability of Chain-L doesn't matter. The commute bike always gets Chain-L.

[look 171]

Thanks for the tip. gotta to try it now.

[billybek]

I still do the Triflow stuff too.
I like the way it smells.

I typically clean and lube the chain after every mountain bike ride and leave the bike ready to go for the next ride.

Changed out the mountain bike chain last year and it was past its prime.

Haven't tried any of the other chain lubes available now.

[rwest]

On my commuter bike, I tried the chain switch out by the Parks checker and also by mileage and I got skipping anyways. I was running lower end Campy 9sp and for awhile, I could pick up a NOS crank, rear derailleur, chain and cartridge for a bit more than a $100, so I would run it until performance was unacceptable and then just replace the whole drivetrain- harder to find the parts at loct cost now though.

I'm not putting on many miles these days, but here's something I would be curious to try: buy three or four of the quick link chains and then rotate them weekly; take one off wash, lube and put the next one in line on- got to think that you would get equal stretch and wear and maybe extend the life of the rest of the gear train, thoughts?

[red-beard]

Why do you say the go-no go gauge is not as accurate as a ruler. If you want exact stretch, use one of the adjustable units, measure in several spots. I can't see a ruler being better.

When I was riding 3 days a week 100-200 miles per week, I was cleaning the chain every week and after every wet ride. I use missing links, so popping chain off is about 10 seconds, 9 of which is finding link. Throw chain in ultrasonic cleaner. Blow out with air, lube, reinstall. Clean cassette and front crank at same time.

I use Finish Line Dry for most rides and Wet for days expecting rain.

[vash]

triflow here as well.

i have YET to finish a bottle since i keep losing them!! there is one in my wife subaru i swear. but i need to buy anthor bottle tonight. my chain is dry enough to make that buzzing sound.

and i'm an early chain changer. they dont cost much in the grand scheme of bike maint.

[Jim Bremner]

Pro tip: measure your NEW chain in 4 spots and keep notes to the average. now you have a base to go off of.

There is nothing cheap about a cheap chain. When I had a fleet of sample bikes ALL bike got Dura-Ace/XTR chains the day that I had them built.

KMC Ti-ni chains may be pimp butt gold but do last longer. than Shimano.

Oil your chain when you get back from the ride not prior.

[John Rogers]

Back in the 70's and 80's when I was racing bicycles and would ride around 400 to 450 miles a week I used to change the chains on the bikes the first week end every other month. I never measured or anything like that as new chains worked better and would never cause me to miss a shift at the sprint at the end of a race. I bought chain in bulk which was much cheaper. The pro's we had in our club would get new chains before every race but then they were sponsored and could afford it.

[Bill Verburg]

Park has 2 tools for measuring chain stretch


The short one, CC-3 is less accurate than the long one CC-32
W/ the long one the chain should be replaced when the .75 side just slides into the link, it's ok til then.

[Otter74]

I use the Park CC-32 and replace it per the above post. Or, since I am sort of lazy about chains, a bit after. I ride a lot in whatever weather, and my SS tends to go about a year between chains, the multi-speed bikes about 6 months.