On 5/8/2011 12:43 AM, Ralph Barone wrote:
The obvious ways (to me) a

1) If you get chainsuck and end up in a tangled heap on the road, your
chainring may be worn out.

2) If you replace the chain and it doesn't fit properly on the
chainring, your chainring may be worn out.

3) If it's so far gone that you can see the asymmetrical wear and the
"shark fin" profile, your chainring may be worn out.

Does anyone have advice on diagnosing less obvious cases, without using
a new chain as a measuring gauge?

There really isn't any way that is cheaper and easier than just using a
piece of new/unused chain that is long enough to wrap completely around
the ring.

-And really, going all the way around is overkill. The chain only needs
to wrap halfway around the chainring, in actual use. If it can do that
without buckling and you get no other symptoms like skipping under hard
pedaling, then forget about it. It's still good.