Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)
  • 11-speed chain wear indication
  • chevychase
    Full Member

    Bike’s in at the LBS. Running SRAM GX1 with a PC1130 chain.

    On my FOURTH chain in just over a year. Changed the last one not all that long ago and haven’t done a shedload of miles on it. Got told it was at 0.75 on the wear indicator so needed swapping out.

    I’m not a fan of these wear indicators for 11 speed chains. What’s everyone else doing? I think I’m changing far too often.

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    I’m thinking their chain checker is sh1t (ie the park one)
    Unless you are running an XX1 cassette just ride it till it dies.

    devash
    Free Member

    I don’t believe in chain checkers. Some are poorly designed.

    Depends on how many miles you do though, and also where you ride.

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    oldnpastit
    Full Member

    Isn’t there a website somewhere explaining why chain checkers mostly don’t work?

    somafunk
    Full Member

    I’m at 2900 miles on my 16month old Scott E-Genius original XT 11 sp drivetrain, after 700 miles my chain had worn to .75 according to a park chain checker so I attempted to fit a new chain but it would not release from the stupidly small/expensive 17 tooth front sprocket so I refitted the old chain and have been running it ever since with absolutely no problems and it still shifts as good as ever. I’d not bother replacing a chain – just run the entire drivetrain into the ground and when it starts to **** up then buy a new drivetrain – cassette/chain/front ring in one go

    mattyfez
    Full Member

    How the hell are you getting through 4 chains a year? You must be doing serious millage in very bad weather.

    Call me a cynic but I belive there’s something else afoot here.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    As a customer said last week “those robbing gits at halfords told me i needed a new chain, but this one has been perfect riding to work 10 miles every day for the last 5 years!”

    Running your drive chain into the ground is fine until you pull across that busy intersection & because the chain is worn so much it snaps leaving you lying in the path of the vehicle you were trying to beat.

    A few new chains is a lot cheaper than a set of chain rings, cassette & jockey wheels. If you are ignoring drivechain maintenance what else are you ignoring on the bike?

    milky1980
    Free Member

    My 11 speed XT chain showed as worn after 300 miles with my chain checker. This seemed way too early so I used the ruler method instead and it was less than half worn. Got 680 miles out of it before changing at 1/8″ wear (as per Sheldon) and the new chain worked fine straight away. Now on my 3rd chain on the same cassette so I’ll be using that method now. The chain checker says my 10 speed stuff is worn around 500 miles, don’t know why it’s more accurate for that. Going the ruler method on all my bikes now.

    pdw
    Free Member

    Isn’t there a website somewhere explaining why chain checkers mostly don’t work?

    Yeah, I thought it was Sheldon’s site, but I can’t find the page I was thinking of, although he mentions it in passing.

    Basically, most chain checkers push two rollers away from each other. This means you’re measuring the combination of roller wear, which doesn’t matter, with pin wear, which does.

    oldnpastit
    Full Member
    Yak
    Full Member

    I go for the ruler method, usually changing once I’ve got to between 1/16″ and 1/8″ growth over 12 links.
    But rOckeTdOg is right, I can attest that the alternative ride-until-it-snaps method WILL put you on the ground in front of a queue of traffic. I was lucky – the car behind stopped with it’s bumper almost touching my head 😯 . A lottery ticket day if there ever was one.

    kenneththecurtain
    Free Member

    God knows how many miles my commuter* has done, but after maybe 4 chains and a couple of cassettes it’s finally started slipping on the big chainring 😯

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/U84p4G]IMG_20170511_074514890[/url] by howson.andy, on Flickr

    I’ve never even seen that happen before…

    * proper bikes get maintained well. For some reason the commuter gets ~zero maintenance, despite doing more miles than any other bike and in all weathers.

    ndthornton
    Free Member

    Chain Checkers do work as long as they are well maintained.
    Keep them clean and well lubricated
    Also purchasing a Chain-checker-checker is a wise investment.

    andysredmini
    Free Member

    My TCR started suffering from clunky shifts on the front a few weeks ago. I thought the di2 may need a tweek but my lbs said the chain was worn and needed changing. I had only just checked as matter of course a few days earlier and it wasn’t close to 0.75% wear on my 2 tools but I changed it anyway as I trust the shop. It had been on all winter and done about 2500 miles and even when deep cleaned it was still a bit noisy. The new one made a huge difference to the shifting and is a lot quieter than the old one.

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    I’m thinking their chain checker is sh1t (ie the park one)

    I don’t believe in chain checkers. Some are poorly designed.

    Come on then. Need more info than that.

    Seem to be 3 styles –

    Flat plate (park shown but many others down to 99p chinese direct jobs. All work in the same way as far as I can see.

    Pivot. I’ve had one of these for years. Has the benefit of being a bit more than go/nogo but risk that the pin gets bent so it goes out of measure.

    Both those push the rollers the same way so don’t isolate roller wear

    Shimano one is meant to isolate that

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    Actually, more than that
    http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html
    but most share the same error mode. Though http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/bicycle-chain-wear-explained-46015/ says that doesn’t really matter.

    How do people accurately measure their chain with a ruler? I’ve never been confidant about a measure I’ve taken. Maybe laid out flat on a bench but I want to be able to check my chain quickly while it’s on the bike.

    nickc
    Full Member

    I’m with somafunk, wear the whole lot down together and replace all at once. Perhaps there may be the danger of the chain snapping but the longest I’ve left it is about 2 years so I chance it

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    But rOckeTdOg is right

    first time for everything!

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    I’m with somafunk, wear the whole lot down together and replace all at once. Perhaps there may be the danger of the chain snapping but the longest I’ve left it is about 2 years so I chance it

    It makes more sense on 1x than it did on 3x. Only one chainring to replace now.

    fotorat
    Free Member

    Unless you can remove all the dirt from your chain after every ride you are simply grinding your chain away.

    Think about sharpening a tool on a wet stone – the same goes on if you oil a filthy chain –

    On expensive gear it is worth cleaning back to new after every ride – this makes it last for years.

    but on a commuter – you are just going to have to replace the chain every couple of hunded miles or leave it and replace cassette/chain rings and chain as the worrn chain will ruin everything else.

    My brompton uses 3 chains a year.

    But my 2008 Heckler XTR is on its original everthing

    joemmo
    Free Member

    I have one of the flat plate park ones – current GX 11spd chain has about 300 miles on it, is regularly cleaned but shows .075 wear… so I’m not sure the tool can be trusted.

Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)

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