Chain selection

[John Nelson]

And John N, how about sharing some of that arduously collected data?  What's your chain life average and the range?

I measure my chains and change them when they get to 0.75% stretch. For my last 8 chains, I have gotten mileages of 4,223, 3,414, 3,767, 4,218, 3,348, 3,340, 1,859, and 3,142. That 4,218 and 3,348 numbers were SRAM 991, the 4,223 was a Shimano HG73, and the 3,414 was a SRAM 951. The rest were SRAM 771. Others have vastly different experiences and I have no good explanations why. Some change their chains every 1,000 miles and some every 10,000 miles. The differences can probably be attributed to a wide variety of factors, including how often you clean and lube, whether or not you're a masher or spinner, how often you ride in the rain, how many hills you ride, how heavy you and your load are, how dirty your roads are, etc.

[misterflask]

Bordering on straying from topic, but John, what was your lube for that chain life?  You're doing a little better than I am with white lightening (~2500mi). 

[BikeFreak]

The best chains are Rohloff SLT-99 chains, but they cannot be bought anymore. However I still have 5 chains in stock for future adventures.

On my trike I biked 14000 kms on the same Rohloff chain. The trike used 2 standard length chains linked together. After 14000 km the 0,075 Rohloff chain guide still did not show any wear.

On my standard bicycle I biked 6000 km last summer and there was still no 0,075 wear. I sense that the chain would have done at least 10000 km before hitting the 0,075 mark.

The above values are only valid for summer touring.

Bonus info: On my last summer ride I used more or less exactly 1 gram of lube for every 1000 km. That's approx 1/20 ounce for every 1000 miles. I use FinishLine Cross Country lube. The really heavy stuff - I don't rely on those "watery" lubes.

Lucas

[John Nelson]

Bordering on straying from topic, but John, what was your lube for that chain life?  You're doing a little better than I am with white lightening (~2500mi).

I use ProLink, but I'm sure it's not much different than many other brands (except of course it is very different from wax-based lubes such as white lightning).