Chain service report, SRAM PC10 protected by full chaincase

There is no wear on the OEM SRAM PC10 chain on my Trek L700 after
2110km. It is protected by a full chaincase. It ran for 1000km on the
factory lube, then was cleaned in a Coke bottle with washing-up
liquid, dried in an oven, and coated with three layers of White
Lightning Dry Wax as recommend for first application. That's it until
now. Zero wear against a steel ruler with two people measuring, one
holding the chain straight, one reading the ruler.

Dry wax works by enclosing foreign matter and then dropping off. The
chaincase collects the dry wax that drops off. It is a dusty gray.
There wasn't very much of it, and I suspect it was mainly oil from the
factory lube that wasn't cleaned off. In short, no dirt got to the
chain past the chaincase. I conclude that it is the chaincase that
protects the chain, not the lube. It seems to me that inside a chain
case you could lube your chain with water (it's excellent lubrication
for moving parts!) and nothing would happen. Very possibly an unlubed
chain, left in its factory lube forever without refreshment, would
last a very long time. Even a dry clean chain might last a surprising
mileage.

The similar chain on my Gazelle Toulouse has 3200km on it without
visible wear. It too is enclosed in a full chaincase and has never
been cleaned, merely had light machine oil (Singer Sewing Machine Oil)
run along the inside of the chain at 1000km intervals. See my
conclusions above.

For a check on conditions: Open chains on my Peugeot mountain bike
last around 2000km, sometimes when it is dry for longer, riding the
same roads.

HTH.

A chaincase is good thing, that's for sure!

Andre Jute
http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/B...20CYCLING.html