Shimano chain life

My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only have 1200
miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the replacement
point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten 4000 miles on
Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for Shimano? I lube the chain
every 100 miles with Prolink. I also checked another Shimano equiped bike
with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing considerable wear too.
Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal

On Apr 24, 10:23*am, "Neal" wrote:
My latest bike has a *Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. *I only have 1200
miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the replacement
point. *I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten 4000 miles on
Campy chains. *Is this typical chain life for Shimano? *I lube the chain
every 100 miles with Prolink. *I also checked another Shimano equiped bike
with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing considerable wear too.
Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal

Question, was your "Campagnolo equipment" made for 10 speed
drivetrain? I think the issue is not so much Shimano versus Campy
versus others, but probably more that the 10s chains are so narrow/
thin that it is possible to *wear* them out in about 1000 miles or
so.

I wouldn't spend the $$ on a DA chain. Instead, find the cheapest
chains and replace when needed. One of the problems with 10s is that
consumables like chains and cassettes are very expensive. Unless
you're racing and *NEED* to count every gram, use the cheapest and
replace often. Good Luck!

On Apr 24, 12:23 pm, "Neal" wrote:
My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only have 1200
miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the replacement
point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten 4000 miles on
Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for Shimano? I lube the chain
every 100 miles with Prolink. I also checked another Shimano equiped bike
with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing considerable wear too.
Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Use a Campy chain if you prefer. For my wallet, I'd give a $30 KMC a
shot.

Neal wrote:
My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only have
1200 miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the
replacement point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten
4000 miles on Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for Shimano? I
lube the chain every 100 miles with Prolink. I also checked another
Shimano equiped bike with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing
considerable wear too. Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal


How did you check the chain wear? A Rohloff caliber gives a pessimistic
chainwear with a Shimano 10 speed chain.

Lou

On Apr 24, 7:23*pm, "Neal" wrote:
My latest bike has a *Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. *I only have 1200
miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the replacement
point. *I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten 4000 miles on
Campy chains. *Is this typical chain life for Shimano? *I lube the chain
every 100 miles with Prolink. *I also checked another Shimano equiped bike
with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing considerable wear too.
Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal

I've gotten WAY more than 1200 miles on Ultegra 6600 chains. In grimy
conditions using all different types of lube, and quite often hardly
any at all when it gets rinsed off.

I also broke a near new 6600 chain recently, so who knows.

Joseph

"bfd" wrote in message
...
On Apr 24, 10:23 am, "Neal" wrote:
My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only have 1200
miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the replacement
point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten 4000 miles on
Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for Shimano? I lube the chain
every 100 miles with Prolink. I also checked another Shimano equiped bike
with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing considerable wear too.
Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal

Question, was your "Campagnolo equipment" made for 10 speed
drivetrain? I think the issue is not so much Shimano versus Campy
versus others, but probably more that the 10s chains are so narrow/
thin that it is possible to *wear* them out in about 1000 miles or
so.

I wouldn't spend the $$ on a DA chain. Instead, find the cheapest
chains and replace when needed. One of the problems with 10s is that
consumables like chains and cassettes are very expensive. Unless
you're racing and *NEED* to count every gram, use the cheapest and
replace often. Good Luck!




Yes, the Campagnol setup is Chorus 10 speed. I actually got 4800 miles on
my last Campy chain. The Shimano chain is not much narrower than the 9 speed
chain. The Campy chains are narrower. The difference in price between an
Ultegra chain and the Dura Ace is only $5. ($21 vs $26) so if it lasts
longer it might be a better deal.

Neal

"Lou Holtman" wrote in message
...
Neal wrote:
My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only have
1200 miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the
replacement point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten
4000 miles on Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for Shimano? I
lube the chain every 100 miles with Prolink. I also checked another
Shimano equiped bike with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing
considerable wear too. Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal


How did you check the chain wear? A Rohloff caliber gives a pessimistic
chainwear with a Shimano 10 speed chain.

Lou

I first measured with a ruler to 12 inches and then tried a Park gauge.
Both methods indicated wear.

Neal

Neal wrote:

"Lou Holtman" wrote in message
...
Neal wrote:
My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only
have 1200 miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the
replacement point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have
gotten 4000 miles on Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for
Shimano? I lube the chain every 100 miles with Prolink. I also
checked another Shimano equiped bike with only 1100 miles on the
chain and it is showing considerable wear too. Is the Dura Ace chain
more durable?

Neal


How did you check the chain wear? A Rohloff caliber gives a
pessimistic chainwear with a Shimano 10 speed chain.

Lou

I first measured with a ruler to 12 inches and then tried a Park gauge.
Both methods indicated wear.

Neal



Hmm. The last chain on my singlespeed was a (9 speed) Shimano chain and
it wore out extremely fast. Much faster then the SRAM chains I used in
the past. On my road bikes I get very good mileage (10000 km) with
Campagnolo 10 speed chains with a good clean and lube regime.


Lou

here, an 8 speed HG Shimano chain well cared for, cleaned everyday if
griity from road sand, rarely goes over 2000 miles at 1/8th over.
using Valvo synth trans oil.
I hesitate to believe any claims beyond 2000 miles as accurate.

"Neal" wrote in message
...
My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only have
1200 miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the
replacement point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten
4000 miles on Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for Shimano? I
lube the chain every 100 miles with Prolink. I also checked another
Shimano equiped bike with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing
considerable wear too. Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal


I go through chains like butter (I weigh too much, I only ride in the hills,
and my drivetrain gets mucky and stays mucky due to rides in
less-than-perfect weather sometimes), but even so I get closer to 2k miles
on a Shimano 10-speed chain. If you're just dumping Prolink on the chain
instead of actually keeping it clean, that could be part of the problem.

People who get 10k miles on a chain... I don't know how they do it. Unless
they weigh very little, only ride the flats, and spend more time cleaning
their bike than riding it. The other variable is how often they like to
replace the rear cogs. At 2k/chain, I get 5 chains to 1 cassette. I'm sure I
could get more miles out of the chain at the expense of cassette life, but I
also value the better shifting you get with a drivetrain that's in better
shape.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


"Neal" wrote in message
...
My latest bike has a Shimano Ultegra 10speed drive train. I only have
1200 miles on it and already the chain is measuring close to the
replacement point. I'm used to Campagnolo equipment and I have gotten
4000 miles on Campy chains. Is this typical chain life for Shimano? I
lube the chain every 100 miles with Prolink. I also checked another
Shimano equiped bike with only 1100 miles on the chain and it is showing
considerable wear too. Is the Dura Ace chain more durable?

Neal