tires, chains, etc., how long things last

[davesiskind]

I have complied about 400,000 miles of testing
and record keeping on most things on a bike.  For
example, one bike (frame) has gone 105,000
miles ands is still in use for long tours and I
typically get 11,000 miles on a chain.  If interested
in a copy of my summaries, contact me at
dsiskind@msn.com

[bentrider]

On recumbents I've found that I must replace my chain about every 7000-9000 km. It depends on the type of terain I've cycled in, if its very hilly and dirty the chain gets strained and very dirty by the end of a 1000+ km tour and recumbents have a tendency to but more strain on a chain than regular bikes. As for tires if I use roadslicks I'll be lucky if I get more than 3000km out of them, stronger tires last longer (7000km) but they seem to create more drag also. Also a big factor is how much weight I'm carrying while riding. :p