Got my new bike in late april this year and do most of my riding in the Peaks around Ladybower and Edale

On a ride on Sunday my mates chain snapped so when we got home I checked the wear on his chain with one of those gizmos from park tools and his chain was well worn out(been on years)

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=5&item=CC-3

Then i put it on my chain and that was showing .75% wear,should i expect a chain to wear this fast ??

My chain is a SRAM not sure what type without looking,,, and will a better more expensive chain last any longer in the Peaks where I ride??

oh and what about dunking the chain in some sort of cleaner overnight to get all the crap and grit out….never done this b4 but you can feel all the crap in the chain even when its been cleaned on the bike after every muddy ride

Cheers

Andy

depends on how you clean and lube it to be honest. How many miles would you guestimate that you have done on it?

I ride in the same area and buy cheaper chains and swap more, also clean and lube religiously with Rock n roll extreme lube.

The Peaks has a reputation for wearing kit bit there are a lot of variables to consider such as milage, weather, cleaning routine etc.

As above really. I fnid chains wear so fast in the peaks that I've given up replacing chains and just run the whole drivetrain til it dies and then start again.

yep same here im a regular peaks rider – that gritty mud destroys stuff quicker than you'd expect.

i find that cleaning/lubing after every wet ride helps – but it doesnt solve the problem

Done about 500 miles plus on it and in the last three weeks have done jacobs in the grit and rain and also been over cut gate from langset 5 times also in bagtastic conditions…

Use finishline wet lube b4 every ride and when i clean the chain to be fair its only been done in hot soapy water

thanks for the help guys

Andy

500 miles is good going for that little wear in my book!

I've found the latest SRAM chain I've put on has been made out of cheese. Rubbish., Snaps, stretches and has now twisted with normal peaks riding.
Everything else is hunky dory.

is it me are did things last a lont longer years ago ??

just getting back into riding after a ten year gap and my old bike has only ever seen the peaks and i think its had only three chains (1991 scott) saying that i only changed them when they fell apart

I once had over 8000 miles on a Campagnolo chain.

the chain is in a tub of diesel until its next outing

Seems about average to me. Especially on a new bike.

the jockey wheels are looking like they have seen better days also, its a XT rear mech..can you get better jockey wheels to fit than the paper mache ones that are on it now ??

looks like this getting back into MTB is going to empty my pockets of cash quicker than i expected 🙁

i moved to Oz from Manchester, where I wore a chain out in 3 months, and that was pushing it. here, a bloke complained that he hadnt been doing his maintainence, so he'd have to change his chain after 2 years! lack of grinding paste/mud makes a huuuuge difference

AndyW, I am not convinced the Wet Lube decreases wear. I am also Peak based and use Dry Lube and may lube half way through a ride if very wet and I don't get half the problems I used to with Wet Lube IME.

500 miles for just chain replacing, 1500 if doing full drive train replacement.

PaulB thanks for that I have some Dry Lube and will give it a go ..

sq, when ypou say 1500 for a full drive train replacement are you talking chain,rear cassette and the crank set ?? if so that just wrong 🙁

my chains reach 0.75 stretch at just 320 – 370 miles 🙁

I will be in the Peaks again at the weekend, and if i am lucky the chain will be at the 1% mark and then I can do some shopping for shiny things

So were all agreed the peaks destroys bikes!

new drivetrain every 1500 miles makes it a very expensive place to be

The peak simply kills drivetrain. I use 3 chains – rotate them and clean them lots – use wax lube there too – i have given up using alloy chainrings – i have steel deores fitted to an older style octalink xt chainset as way cheaper… tacx jockey wheels are good for replacements…

just wait till winter !

paul

"is it me are did things last a lont longer years ago ??"
wider 8spd (and 7, 6, 5 or SS) chains will have something to do with it

"new drivetrain every 1500 miles makes it a very expensive place to be "
Thats what? (30-)50-100(-150) rides? Thats sounds pretty good going?

In answer to the original question (well maybe not then):
You've a few choices. Forget about it until the chain snaps every ride and replace the chainrings, chain and casette all at once. Don't assume you 'need' to have the same as your original chainrings and because your rear mech is an XT one, you 'must' have an XT casette because its a (fast) wearing component which you aren't really caring for. Deore may be heavier, but is a lot cheaper and in the case of aluminium (XT or SLX inner/outer) or steel (Deore middle/inner) chainrings, the steel will last longer

Else, 0.75% stretch is the time to swap to a new chain before this one starts to put some real damage onto you chainrings and casette. Don't put it off until it gets to 1% stretch though as Its taken upto 3 rides with me for the new chain to stop skipping with a previous 1% stretched chain

Else you can (I've not tried this (yet)), keep 3 or so chains and rotate between them (SRAM powerlinks are probably a must) every couple of rides so that the set of chains, chainrings and casette all wear together, but the whole setup lasts a lot longer

The peak is fine if it's dry, but personally i prefer to ride on my own, and that means being free from red socked scum as well, which means wet days are a better choice. (I darkside on dry days).

1500 mile interval is chain, two front rings and cassette for me. that's the winter season, Nov-March then the rest of the year I'll just do chains.

Cheers all good stuff to take on board chaps

"just wait till winter !"

Just rode the winter on my 18 year old scott with rock-shox sl Ti's that have never been serviced (oops) and its never mist a beat not even a flat ….get myself a new bike and find out its chain is made of cheese !!