Author Topic: Chain selection  (Read 21939 times)

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Offline John Nelson

Re: Chain selection
« Reply #15 on: March 02, 2012, 10:47:17 am »
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.

Offline misterflask

Re: Chain selection
« Reply #16 on: March 10, 2013, 04:36:49 pm »
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). 

Offline BikeFreak

Re: Chain selection
« Reply #17 on: March 10, 2013, 06:27:12 pm »
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

Offline John Nelson

Re: Chain selection
« Reply #18 on: March 11, 2013, 12:06:49 am »
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).