chain mileage

[DDBB]

I have almost 1,900 mi. on my 10 speed chain. (Haibike Sduro trekking 6.0).. I am very particular about chain maintenance and my chain wear tool still shows the chain to be o.k. I'm finding it hard to believe that the chain has lasted this long (original chain) and wondering if I should trust my chain wear tool to be accurate. The chain isn't cheap but I do have one ready to put on. I'm wondering if I should just replace it or wait until the gauge says it's shot.

 

[rich c]

I get 3,000 miles on my Class 3 Haibike Trekking with Bosch motor. Flat terrain, shift detection, and gentle shifting along with a good maintenance program all helps. I just bought parts for a full drivetrain rebuild with over 7,000 on the bike since I was on the original cassette, original chainring, original jockey wheels. Just a little over $100 on Amazon, including a tool to replace the chainring. Shimano road bike chain is what I use., $27.

 

[indianajo]

I got ~5000 miles on my first 8 speed chain. Took off at 100%, didn't damage the sprockets. I have ~3000 miles on 2nd chain: Park tool measured 75% last week. No sprocket skipping yet. I oil chain biweekly with 5w non-detergent oil and never clean it except to remove grass & string. I do clean dirt sludge off sprockets & takeups about annually.

 

[dodgeman]

I have a Trek Verve3, coming up on 1400 miles and my chain doesn’t seem close to needing replaced. There is an old saying, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Trust your gauge and replace when it shows it’s needed.

 

[fooferdoggie]

it depends on a lot. I lose 500 miles in winter. I get about 2500 miles in summer on my bosch powered bike.

 

[DDBB]

Thanks for the replies. I'll leave the original chain on until my gauge says it needs replaced. I also shift very gently and I'm not a pedal masher

 

[Alaskan]

It really depends on which tool you are using. Only the ones with two hook points at one end and one at the other give you a truly accurate count. Also the chains should not be allowed to wear more than .5% or they will shorten the life of the smaller toothed cogs on your cassette.

 

[dodgeman]

I believe you mean 0.5%, not 0.05%.

 

[DDBB]

I just ordered that park tools chain measuring tool.. Mine is a cheap one that only does .75% and 1.0%.. Kind of expensive at 15 bucks but cheaper than a new cassette

 

[fooferdoggie]

I just ordered that park tools chain measuring tool.. Mine is a cheap one that only does .75% and 1.0%.. Kind of expensive at 15 bucks but cheaper than a new cassette

ya 15.00 the horror.

 

[Alaskan]

I believe you mean 0.5%, not 0.05%.

I stand corrected

 

[DDBB]

ya 15.00 the horror.

PLUS TAX!

 

[DaveMatthews]

I'm at 200 hours and 3100kms on my 10 speed. Decided to get a Park Tool CC-4 and check to ease my mind about wear.
Checked 4 times on different sections of chain (top and bottom) and it all looks good ie not at .5% yet.
May not need a new one in the spring... maybe!

 

[DDBB]

I measured close to .5% after 2,100mi. on my 10 speed chain. I'm happy with that. Replaced it just to try and be nice to the cassette... LBS guy told me to replace the chain every year. Might be good advice for someone who rides 2,000mi. a year I guess. I average 500mi. a year so 4 years before a new chain went on

 

[fooferdoggie]

I measured close to .5% after 2,100mi. on my 10 speed chain. I'm happy with that. Replaced it just to try and be nice to the cassette... LBS guy told me to replace the chain every year. Might be good advice for someone who rides 2,000mi. a year I guess. I average 500mi. a year so 4 years before a new chain went on

I do 9000 miles a year so that advice is bad too. its not by year its by milage. but people don't always keep track there has to be some regular interval.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

The particulars: Haibike Full FatSix. Yamaha PW drive, 70nm. 10 speed rear cassette, Shimano, Steel. Dual front chainrings, Full Speed Ahead with X-10, 44 tooth big chain ring, Aluminum. Exclusively ride in the High power setting. Pedal RPM average is in the 80's to 90's. I do not hammer the drive in a steep gear. My pedaling style is to "spin" the pedals lightly in order to save battery power. When shifting, which is constantly in order to remain in that RPM Comfort Zone, I always ease up pedaling before I shift as the Yamaha does not have Shift Detection. Now, onto what I have found in alot of accumulated miles:

One morning starting off for my ride in June 2020, I nearly smashed into the top tube and was singing "soprano" when I stood on the pedals to start riding and the front chain ring skipped and came off the chain ring. The cause-a worn out chain and front big chain ring after 11,000 miles of use. Even with diligent cleaning and lubing of the chain with DuPont Chain Saver, the chain was done and the original chain ring, after 11k miles, was so worn down that it could be considered an illegal weapon. Note the extreme wear on the FSA X-10 chain ring compared to it's replacement.

The Park Tools site on YouTube is an excellent repair reference for us home bike mechanics. In this one, Calvin Jones shows what happens with a worn front chain ring. Mine was about triple times worse then what Calvin shows here:

Now, some two years later and at 18,500 miles on the H-Bike, the same symptoms have returned. I replaced the chain last week, using the trusted Chain Saver Dry Lube, with the result being of the chain coming off the front chain ring in a violent way if I apply ANY amount of leg torque to the crank arms.

So, this FSA chain ring lasted some 7500 miles despite my conservative style of pedaling. Although I ordered another FSA aluminum chain ring, I also ordered up a steel Shimano chain ring that should fit the front spider sprocket. On the edge of deciding which one to put on first. So there you have it. Not only do chains stretch and become useless, at the same time, they are also digging out and enlarging the teeth of any and all aluminum front chain rings......

 

[DDBB]

I'm hoping to not need a new chainring or cassette until I've burned through at least 2 chains

 

[Flannel Guy]

I got about 750 miles to .75 wear and changed the cassette at 1500 on my bafang Ultra bike.

 

[DDBB]

I'd LOVE to have a bafang ultra motor on my Haibike. I'd gladly replace chains at 750mi. for having that power

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I have got the full information on the chain wear for both my Vado and Vado SL. 1000 mi for the 0.5% mark and 2000 miles to get at 1%. In the latter case the three smallest cassette sprockets got damaged.