I tried Sheldon’s 3 chain rotation suggestion a while back and to be honest wasn’t blown away by the results . I know not why, but starting with 3 new kmc chains and a Shimano 9 speed sprocket it didn’t last as long as I had hoped before one of the chains would slip ..then 2 and finally I left the last one on and it’s still going strong after several more months. I don’t remember the time frame but I was expecting perhaps a couple of years as I’m not a high mileage rider but it was not to be and I ended up with 2 chains I could no longer use. I spoke to a friend last night who had experienced similar and just wondered whether others felt it was worthwhile. I know it’s best to remove and clean then relube every so often ( I used petrol in a bottle then the wax tin method ..forget the name )
I always kept the chain well lubed ( squirt) in between deep cleaning / changes which were at a frequency of two months.
Opinions,tips,views would be helpful
Cheers

Not for me. Using putoline the chain wear is so low that a chain lasts many thousands of miles

I tried with 2 chains once, and didn’t find it a success. As far as I can tell, chains fail the chain checker test the first time you use them.

I’m just resigned to riding chain, chainrings, and cassette until they fail, then change them all.

I never bother, but then I don’t run cassettes that cost hundreds of £s.
I fit new, destroy then repeat.
Using Putoline has stretched the time between fitting and destroyed.

I do, I use putoline and 3 chains!

Primarily because a GX drivetrain is more expensive than I’m comfortable fitting, destroying, repeating which was my technique for 10speed drivechains.

I don’t own a chain checker, I just run until it’s objectively very dead, in which case I expect there’ll be a newer and shinier GX by the time I need it!

Also this made a lot more sense when chains weren’t £50 thanks to COVID! I think I paid £25 each for a Shimano SLX and a SRAM GX level chain, and the bike came with an SX/NX level one. So cost-effectiveness is only about a 30% increase in durability for me.

Yes it’s putoline I use . I was just searching the Sheldon brown website for his article on this method but I cannot find it …can anyone confirm it is indeed in one of his articles..? it’s really bugging me

It appears to work for me, at least it did until 1x came along. You need to change chains regularly, I get through at least 4 rotations. @SteveTheBarbarian – chains start with some wear, but if you catch them before they get much beyond 0.5 then a new one will run nicely. I have never had one behave as you described – how are you measuring the chain? I use a Park Tool chain checker.

It is more of an issue off-road as chains need cleaning more. But my three chains have lasted years on my 2×10 road bike. Strava records 3,000 km, but I have had the bike since 2012 and I joined Strava in 2014 so it is more than that. (More of my miles are off-road.)

The issue with 1x is that my rides often involve a lot of flat to-from the trails from home. On 1x that is all on one or two small cogs, and the wear on them tends to predominate, and I suspect accelerates the whole process. If I let a chain wear too much, the new chain will skip just on the outer cogs until it wears enough. I am still using the system, but I suspect this reduces its usefulness for my riding.

I did the 3 chain thing once with 10 speed chains, the advantage is the chains get a really good clean as they are off the bike and can be put in a bath of chain cleaner.

When they were worn out, I still needed to replace the cassette. I am not convinced it would have made a difference with 3 chains one after another.

These days I replace chains between 0.75 and 1 and tend to get 3 chains from a cassette.

Something else to keep in mind is newer quick links say they are single use only, if you listen to this then it adds a few quid each time you rotate the chain.

I use two chains and have just changed the whole lot (1×10) after I got a wee bit of a skip on one sprocket, that was 9800 miles on those two, usually swapping when each needed re-lubed (putoline) after around 300-500 miles.
I could’ve left them on for another few thousands miles if I was happy with a bit of skipping.
As above though, for me, its about 70% on road to get to trails, so I guess that’s why I get more miles instead of someone who purely rides off road.
Chains were KMC and Ultegra, about £25-£30.
My other bike is at 5800 miles using just the one chain, its a bit sloppy, but no skipping yet. Strava says I put that chain on on Feb 2016.

On the road bike I’ve got 2 putolined chains (and two cassettes on two wheels), they’re 10speed and about 5 years old and don’t show any signs of wear. It’s usage does fluctuate year to year though depending on weather and what sort of riding I’m doing. I probbaly switch/lube chains every 300 miles or so whether they needed it or not.

The MTB I just run them until they sound dry might be a wet week or might be a dry month.

2200ish miles on an SLX chain and cassette on mu ebike. Lubed with Putolene as often as I felt it was needed or after every wet ride. Chain snapped at 1960ish miles 20 miles from home so fitted a second split link and carried on using it until it snapped again. No slipping at any time with that chain but a new chain on the worn cassette was terrible.

This time I am rotating two chains at 100ish KM intervals, still cleaning whenever it’s required. One chain is SLX and one is SRAM NX.

whether it gives you longer drive train life is not the issue for me it’s just an nice way keep the drive train relatively clean especially when you’re not into washing the bike.

I used to do this, with jars of degreaser and lube. It made a difference overall, but I now achieve the same difference using Peaty’s link lube which doesn’t build up into a grinding paste and can be blasted out and reapplied with a hydroshot or decent hose gun without resorting to degreasers either on or off the bike.

This is way easier.

Its worth noting that SRAM 12 speed uses over sized rollers in their chains and only certain chain checkers will give you the correct reading.

Its worth noting that SRAM 12 speed uses over sized rollers in their chains and only certain chain checkers will give you the correct reading.

that is cunning and typical sram. i guess you need to buy a sram specific one?

How come no-one has asked the obvious question?

WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET TWO CHAINS FROM?

How come no-one has asked the obvious question?

WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET TWO CHAINS FROM?

2019 had lots of stock last time I needed them 🤣

I once tried the chain rotation method but my disorganization meant I forgot to do it, and when I did remember, I discovered I’d got the chains mixed up so no idea which was which. Then the children came along and there’s no time for that sort of thing any more, not even enough time to update the purchases spreadsheet. Never had enough time to create a fittings spreadsheet even before the kids. Just ride the bike and replace when needed. Shimano 1×9 11-32 cassette, kmc 9spd chain, and ebay/aliexpress NW chainrings.

I just use the lot until worn out and replace the lot.
Ime, it costs about the same by the time you’ve bought 2 extra chains and a plethora of single use chain links.
I might change my opinion on the newest bike of course, which is 1×11.

Life is too short for swapping chains.

I do it. Three or so chains and an all steel cassette means I get a comfortable two years out of a set rather than barely scraping to one with ‘throw it all on together and let it wear out’. This time around I have a steel chainring as well as that was the ‘most failed’ bit last time around that wouldnt take a new chain. I’m just waiting for some steel jockey wheels.

A mate is up to four, maybe five years on the same drivetrain. Five chains or so iirc and it’s his only bike. I mean, being honest it’s knackered, but in the current parts shortage it’s still trucking.

Not for me. Using putoline the chain wear is so low that a chain lasts many thousands of miles

Lasts and worn out are different things.

Chains typically last thousands of miles Putoline or not….. They do how ever show degregation in shift and efficiency performance long before that.

I was in the run it all into the ground, change everything camp.
Indeed I have just done this with GX 12spd that has lasted surprisingly well before its got so bad (but not broken) I finally caved and changed it over, ~2.5yrs no idea the mileage.

I was happy with the longevity of it, and not convinced I would see more from the cassette by swapping chains…

However…. It was pointed that if the chain snapped, or I trashed a chain ring or I needed a new chain/chain ring, the chances of it working well after say 1yr are virtually zero, so I would then need to swap everything ‘early’

So, on the new drive train, I plan on running 2 chains and swapping them regularly on the basis that they will wear at about the same rate still mesh with the cassette and in a failure incident I can still run the other chain and get max life out the cassette.

Just keep an eye on chain wear and fit a new chain when it hits 0.5%. Rotating through chains more often than that sounds like a lot of faff and I’m not convinced you end up getting significantly more life than multiple chains used consecutively.

I’m not a fan of the “run it into the ground” approach either. When I’ve failed to change stuff in time, it still works OK, but it sounds horrible. New chainring and cassette can easily be the cost of 5 or 6 chains, so you need to get a lot of extra miles out of it for it to make economic sense.

trail rat – thats thousands of miles until the chain reaches 0.5% wear

I’ve just sold my gravel bike that I used for commuting which had done 6,500 miles on the original ultegra cassette and Cannondale chainrings. Put a new chain on it to sell and it was fine. I think that’s the third chain to go on there. I don’t rotate chains, just replace as soon as they reach 0.5%. I keep my bikes clean and that was using Smoove lube.

Pretty pleased with that and would have been interested to know how many more miles I could have got out of the cassette.

tried the 2 chain method not 3.

marginally more life out the the chains but the point at which shifting degraded was the same. meaning i had longer with a crunchy drivechain. now i just swap the chain until it makes a noise then swap the front chainring and then the cassette if required. (on gx which is about 3k miles now and must be getting towards the end of its life)

trail rat – thats thousands of miles until the chain reaches 0.5% wear

You’ll be the only person in the world claiming that I’m quite sure on anything other than hub gears

Or of course your measuring wear after you’ve dipped your chain and filled up the wear with wax.

I have an Ultegra 6800 cassette + rings that have done 11000 miles, mostly summer admittedly. Still feels fine to me – my strategy is replace chain at 0.5%.

Having tried running one to death, running to death on the third chain and rotating three as a set, I reckon the benefit-faff compromise is probably running two as a set, no front confused, one is on the bike, one is off then try to swap semi regularly so they don’t get too out of wear from one another
My problem with running one to death is the chain starts snapping before the drivetrain is totally used. Of course the teeth are well when by this point but it means you’ve the other chain to fall back on when one starts snapping

My question is though, what is putoline?
(I bought a gallon of finish line wet in 2008 and still going strong, most of my rides do seem to be in the wet tbf)

Used to swap or replace chain early. I was binning several good chains and then cassette at 1500-2000 miles as new chain won’t mix.

Last one I ran one XTR cassette + one KMC chain for 3800 miles, all weather crud and grind MTB. Teeth proper pointy and just starting to skip on some gears, though otherwise shifting fine. Chain rollers loose but no hint of breaking. I reckon could have done 4000, but felt it was time to replace.

Squirt lube. 1x chainring, which helps perhaps as less likely to drop when ridden to death. Though chainrings are often soft and need replacing earlier but I never have issues with old chain and new chainring.

Mileage may vary on use obviously, with double probably on road.

Hullo,

A bit of a resurrection of a thread but that is probably best, as per title, place to ask about.

So yeah, just tried my first hot waxing of the chain and I’m happy like a pig in the muck.

Might even try 2 or 3 chains rotation method, however I have my very technical doubt…

So say, chain no 1 is good for cleaning, chains no 2 and no 3 ready to roll from batch waxing.

All good and nice but hey… What are you doing with chain no 1 It is good chain, in rotation, it is not going to the bin but… yeah… What do you do? Store it dirty/dry until batch clean/batch waxing? Store it clean before next batch waxing? If so how do you prevent corrosion?

Cheers!
I.

https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Wet-Weather-Guide-converted.pdf

I store mine waxed in a bag which is an airtight container – don’t seem to get any corrosion.

Did anyone ever find the original article? Sheldon Brown or otherwise?

Thanks paton!

For these that are not in mood for reading key piece below:

If a chain has seen a wet ride, thoroughly wipe dry with a microfiber cloth, then wrap in a
second dry microfiber cloth. This will keep chain from exposure to air and oxidation for
sufficient time until next weekly re wax.
DO NOT put in plastic bag – plastic traps moisture and acts as a humidifier / rust catalyst.

Cheers!
I.

I really don’t think rotating chains is going to help. A chain has a certain number of miles in it before it elongates to the point where it will ruin the cassette. In my view that’s the point at which you will see slipping if you change the chain. Cassette wear is not linear, a cassette hardly wears at all until your chain gets elongated past a certain point then it wears very quickly. Once it gets past that point it will work, but only with the chain it wore with otherwise it skips.

So to preserve a cassette in a condition that it will accept any new chain, you can run a chain for a certain number of miles, in other words a chain has a certain number of miles in it. Rotating three chains is no different to using them consecutively, unless there’s some other factor I don’t know about.